Eating Thailand

After our hectic eating schedule in Singapore The Boy and I were glad to arrive in Thailand where we booked some serious time on our deckchairs by the pool...interspersed with some trips to the beach just across the road from our hotel.  The thing with deckchairs and Thailand is that you've got to get in really early and "bags" your chair by leaving your towel on it...all day, whether you're at the pool or not! The European tourists have this skill down pat, but we cottoned on pretty quick.

And it seems that we weren't the only ones keen on relaxing! I loved seeing the locals taking a nap in the middle of the day...or just taking the opporutnity for a bit of a power-nap when there were no customers about.  I really think this is a philosphy that should be apoteded in Australia - enough of this looking busy even though you're not...who needs it!  Life just seems so much more relaxed and less pressured than here. LOVE IT!

Like Singapore, Thailand is really really hot. When we tore ourselves away from our waterside relaxations we had to stop every now and then (ok, all the time) for drinks just to cool ourselves down.  The Boy thinks this suspect coconut juice gave him an upset tummy, but I reckon he's being a wimp. I feel head over heels in love with delicious fruit shakes - this one below is a mix of Watermelon, ice and a touch of water.

If you like food on sticks then Thailand is the country for you. I mean, just have a look at this stall...a happy sight indeed.  I did a fair amount of damage to corn-on-the-cob-on-a-stick, yummo.

Being in such a touristy area like Phuket you really don't get a "true flavour" of what the locals are eating. Sure you're eating "Thai food", just not what the locals would be eating.  After a few days of hanging around our hotel at Karon Beach I started asking around and the locals told me the food in this part of Thailand is super super spicy - like blow your head off amounts of chilli.  In all the places The Boy and I had been eating (places swamped with Russian, German and Scandinavian tourists) the food was mild...a bit disappointing as I was itching to try some real local eats.

I was really keen to try  the food from the loacl street-food vendors, but they were never around when I was ready to eat. I'd stand out on the street waiting for someone to drive past, like a despeate teengage girl waiting for the boy she likes to come pick her up for a date, but to no avial. Then The Boy and I would waddle off to a local restaurant/cafe - eat our fill and Pad Thai and Fish Cakes and waddle back to the hotel pool. Sure as night follows day just as we got back to the hotel a street cart would pull up bearing all manner of tasty, local delights that the local storekeepers would devoure. I managed to nab some fruit and a banana pancake from these fine fellows, but that's it. So sad.

You have to admire the Thai's ability to actually still have electricity running when you see the state of their cabling.  The Boy, an electrician by trade, was kinda horrified, yet totally in awe of this mess.  Of course it's all fun and games until a transformer thingy-ma-jiggy blows up and has all scrambling for safety one night!

And now sadly the holiday is over and we're back at work daydreaming about Watermelon Fruit Shakes and Tuk Tuks. Sigh.