Our day of medical tourism really took it out of us. We pretty much have just lazed around the last couple of days. And that's totally okay. We're supposed to be slowing down. Right?
Readers know that we have been seeking places/environments where we don't feel we need to be doing something to enjoy ourselves. For that to happen, we have to have an environment facilitating that. We've found it in Spain and El Campello. This trip was organized to see if we can find something similar in Southeast Asia.
We specifically selected our locate to test again an environment we experience when we visited Krabi/Ao Nang, Thailand in 2024. We were looking for the 'small house with pool' environment that is close enough to things that you can walk for a lot you want. In Thailand, to find this you are generally going to have to be in a very touristy area. We are in that here. Phuket is super touristy. This section of Phuket, Rawai, was described by Poo Lee Shah travel as "much more laid back and calmer" than the rest of Phuket. You could have fooled me. The main strip at night is a mad house and I don't think we are even at peak season.
However, we've been successful with our house selection. It is in a complex that is about 400 meters off the strip. It is incredibly quiet. And the design of the house with the pool, along with the comfort of the furniture mean it is a great place to chill.
Here's a quick look around at the rental
This home comes with some cool features such as its own in-house accountant to keep track of your holiday expenses!
The place has some quirky features. You can only enter the property through an electric gate which, unfortunately, has not been operating very well. (Many times I need to manhandle it open so we can slip out or in.) Also one of the bedrooms can only be entered via the swimming pool area. It has no connection to the rest of the house. But it is quiet, calm, comfortable, and the pool is ideal for the tropical weather.
An Ode to Grab
Grab is the equivalent of Uber in Southeast Asia. In fact Uber moved out of SE Asia because it could not compete with Grab. We've been using the Grab app for over a decade with our many trips to this part of the world. We use it primarily in Malaysia and Thailand. You use it for transportation, for ordering meals, and for grocery shopping. Literally, I don't think we would be anywhere as comfortable as we are in SE Asia if it were not for the services provided by Grab.
For example, when we arrived here, it was getting later in the afternoon. There was no water or food stuffs to speak of in the rental. I go on the Grab app and I have water and food within an hour. We need to eat. We order to restaurants through Grab. The key difference using this service here is everything is just a fraction of what it would cost in the U.S. or Europe.
The Grab food delivery allows us to greatly expand our culinary reach without having to schlepp all over. Here are a couple of examples.
Yesterday we wanted to try an Indian place 2B had recommended. It was too far to walk to and we didn't want to travel all that way just for a meal. But it was only a 40 minute delivery via Grab
Clockwise from the upper left Butter Chicken, some kind of fish cooked in a tandoor oven then sauced, a version of dal, and a vegetable and paneer dish.
Then today, I wanted some more authentic, Issan style Thai food. I found a place that again was further out than I would want to go in person but was only a 30 minute delivery away.
From top to bottom, crispy pork, steamed grouper, vegetables stir-fried with oyster sauce, local rice noodles made with fermented rice, long bean salad.
Both these meals were top notch, and very reasonably priced. This is part of the lifestyle that makes being here very enjoyable.
No comments:
Post a Comment