By myself in the wilderness

I would go monks too actually. Not necessarily Shaolin though. I would prefer the quiet meditative type.

Private, spider free tropical island.
Not in the hurricane or tornado zone
No problem with snakes, wild pigs or other edible critters.

Preferably after winning a huge amount of money on the lottery.

The problem with most 'primitive' lifestyles is that they are bloody hard work.
Nonstop 24 hours a day survival.
To me that's not something I'm looking for at this stage if my life.

Now I've nothing against going out and catching some fish for dinner, or the odd lobster or crab.
But the option to fly in a gourmet chef every now and then would be good as well.

Plus I'll want all mod cons.

Also jetting off to run a slinging event somewhere , once in a while would also be a good option.

The whole wilderness thing - not do much.

Maybe 20 years or so back when my body wasn't quite as damaged as it is now and my knees still worked properly.
I'd have considered it.

But honestly, now, let's keep the comforts of modern society in a comfortable setting and just remove most if the people, most of the time

Likewise the shaolin experience.
When I was in my twenties, that would have been cool.
I've never been flexible, and that's pretty crucial to most Kung Fu styles.
So fun it would never be.

But I am stubborn and always had good stamina, so I'd have persevered.

But ideally, lots of money and somewhere that didn't take all your time simply to survive, I'd want to get some life out of it as well.

I live close by to Amish, they have changed within the last few years. The amish can now use generators and hook up machines to work, for example  washing machines. I see them getting soft

Sorry if I break the mood but the Shaolin monks are not monks. They are employed by training centers. In China, the Communist party is everywhere. For foreigners, this is called soft power.
But the idea going to monks is excellent.
For me, going into a dark cave with cavemen : fire, music, songs ... Whaaou !

I’d go to Costa Rica, probably among the most beautiful places in the world. I’d probably choose the Pacific side.

Actually you could be right.  Today, right now, I don't know how difficult it would be.  Or even if it's possible.  I know at one point a person could.

I love this guy's videos on the Shaolin Temple.  He was there for several years and has made multiple videos on his experiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZuKUPMpcwA


On whether or not they're monks, I can't speak intelligently on the subject.  Everything I've watched from people who were there refer to them as "monks".  Not my place to say either way.