Phuket

M & M · #1 17-08-2006, 11:44

As Mike and I are leaving here for an extended period...we decided we would try the Restaurants in the area which we hadn't already tried...this isn't many as there aren't many restaurants around here to start with!!!

After a couple of failed attempts at a Local Winery with a restaurant attached and another local restaurant, we decided to try a new Thai restaurant at Harrington a few beaches south of us and about a 45 minute drive from here. It'd been open since Easter...and I kept saying to Mike that we should drive down there for lunch one day...never seemed to get around to it...

Anyway, yesterday was an exceptionally beautiful Winter's day, Sunny, still and about 23 degrees and I had done a shitload housework the day before...and I said, "lets go down to Harrington for a drive and try that Thai Restaurant for lunch"...Now Harrington is very much smaller than the town we live in and doesn't even have a supermarket...so we didn't even know whether the restaurant would be open...but it didn't matter it was a lovely day for a drive and we could have fish and chiips down there anyway and at least find the restaurant for future reference.

Now we hadn't been down to Harrington for about 10 years...and were very surprised to see some huge waterfront estates with giant houses that belonged to obviously pretty well off people been built...we went down the road another km or so into the little town of Harrington and noticed that the first shop, which used to be a gas station, into the town, was now "Em's Thai Restaurant"...also noticed it was open and a blackboard said outside...Coffee, Lunch and Dinner...

Well we were most surprised and drove a little further (and I mean a LITTLE further) only to find that the town hadn't changed in 10 years...still without a supermarket...just a fish and chip shop, newsagent and little general store...a few residents and a couple of caravan parks...But there was Em's Thai Restaurant where the gas station used to be...right in a prime spot for all the big houses at the entrance to the little town...

Obviously the owners of these houses are "in early" for a boom that looks like is going to happen in the area a few years down the track...the people living there have to travel at least 30kms to the nearst town for a supermarket and other necessities, or any entertainment (of sorts)...other than Em's Thai Restaurant.

Well it only took 5 minutes to drive through the town, have a look around, see that the fish and chip shop was still there that we bought fish and chips from 10 years ago...and drive back to Em's...

We entered the restaurant and there wasn't a person in there...but it was a lovely reno job on the old gas station...with an outdoor eating area for the summer...really done a nice job with lots of nice Thai paraphenalia decorating the place...and out came Em...I said "Open for lunch? Table for two please?" to which she replied "yes of course"...I immediately started by saying that we had noticed that she was new since Easter and that we had been meaning to come, been in LOS lots of times and that we were leaving in 5 weeks to go to live in LOS for a year or so...

Well!!...you know what the Thais are like! Any connection to home and they are off with the friendly dialogue as if they have known you forever...and made us completely welcome...and chatted as if there was no tomorrow for about 20 minutes before we could even look at a menu...we were already having a ball with this Thai lady and were nowhere near Thailand!!!!

She told us all about how she had been here 10 years with her Aussie husband who is a carpet layer and that they had now an 8 y/o daughter, bought some land close by at Coopernook and live there...and have now subdivided it only to find a lot of red tape and taxes involved in doing so...tried to sell it but can't because of the slump in the houseing market here right now...then took loans to renovate the old gas station and start the restaurant...when she turned around and said "There too many rules in Australia...No rules in Thailand...should be something in between!"...We laughed hard and agreed that that was one of the reasons we were moving to LOS for a year or two...just to be free for a while and able to be ourselves with like minded people and just have some fun...she was very jealous at us moving to LOS and said that she wanted to go back home as well...her husband wants to go and live in LOS but she won't allow this to happen till they have enough money to ritire there and buy a house...of course!!!!! Thai mentaity again...must be secure...but to her enormous credit she's working hard as they do...

We continued the discussion how there should be something in between...Too many rules here in Australia and everything has to be just so...then in Thailand, No rules and the Mai Pen Rai attitude that frustrates so many farangs...

If only there was a happy medium...it would be a perfect world....

I cannot finish this story without telling you that the meal was to die for...Em said that she was a teacher in Thailand...I said to her that "If she was as good a teacher as she is cook...then she must have been very good teacher"...The first mouthful of Phad Thai took me straight back to LOS...She spoke near perfect english and wouldn't let us leave the restaurant chatting for ages...giving us her number and taking ours telling us that her sister has a cousin (LOL) that owns a House and Bungalows in Phuket for rent and said she would ring her sister in Adelaide to get the number of her cousin...

Em rang me today with the Phone number of her sister and the website of the House and Bungalows in Phuket...BLOODY AMASING!!...she was even embarrassed to give us a bill and wouldn't give us one till we insisted on one, adding that if she hadn't just started the restaurant that she wouldn't charge us at all...Of course we insisted on a bill and left a heafty Tip. We'll be back before we leave for LOS that's for sure...even if it is a 45 minute drive...On a nice day...it's lovely!!

We felt like we'd experienced 'A Little Bit of LOS...out of LOS' was a really magic experience...and by the way it was nice to run into a success story of a Thai Farang relationship here so close to home...and let me tell you, Harrington is a long way from home for a Thai girl!!!

Marcia

nickels · #2 17-08-2006, 13:54

That's a nice story. And it is good to hear a farang-Thai success story.

Spector · #3 17-08-2006, 21:27

Great story…easy reading. You’re a talented writer. Now you have a lead on some long-term accommodation as well as a great meal. A chuckle about your “Winter” day of 23C…..my winter day would be –23C.

andy50 · #4 17-08-2006, 23:00

nice post m&m, i enjoyed reading it !

shark1963 · #5 17-08-2006, 23:01

Hey Marcia, nice to hear that you enjoyed your meal in that thai- restaurant and met a nice person too. And its always good to her a some successfu and happy stories about thi-farang relationships.So it was a good idea to spend this day there,after your disapointing trials with some other restaurants as i know.
Hope you find a nice long-term rental too.

M & M · #6 18-08-2006, 03:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Searanger

Great story…easy reading. You’re a talented writer. Now you have a lead on some long-term accommodation as well as a great meal. A chuckle about your “Winter” day of 23C…..my winter day would be –23C.

Nice compliment Searanger, thanks...

Not many stories to be told around here, they are few and far between I'm afraid...so couldn't let this little gem slip by without being told...LOL

I hope to have more stories to write when in LOS...

August is notoriously our coldest month here...usually accompannied by strong southerly winds...but July seemed to blow all the nasty weather out this year and it seems to be lovely right now...

Man -23C...I couldn't cope with that...I'm a bit like a Thai girl and anything under 26C...I'm cold...

whuakito · #7 18-08-2006, 03:35

amazing marcia as searanger said you are very talented. it is posts like this that makes me learn more and more of this wonderful language.

nelsonone · #8 18-08-2006, 06:17

warmed my heart Marcia.....I just love those Thai surprise presents!!

shark1963 · #9 18-08-2006, 06:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelsonone

warmed my heart Marcia.....I just love those Thai surprise presents!!

and nice to know there is an happy aussie with his tg out in nowhere

M & M · #10 20-08-2006, 16:49

Well it was another nice day for a drive so we decided to go to Em's again...and take Robbie this time as it was weekend.

The restaurant was busy today with about 5 tables occupied and also doing take-aways. Em had her 8 y/o daughter waiting the tables, taking orders and bringing the food with great ease...really remarkable for an 8 y/o girl in year 3 at school, remarkable at least for an Australian child of this age...and after all she is Australian having been born and schooled here.

We way over-ordered, I intentionally did this so there would be some to take home...

We ordered Pad Thai with chicken, King prawns with Garlic Basil and Chili, Beef in Garlic and Pepper, Chicken and Cashew Nuts and some Fish Cakes to start...it was all excellent..we noticed that the last dish to come was the chicken and chashews...This is Robbies favourite...when it came there had been a mistake made and she brought us Steamed Seafood...looked like it was steamed in red curry and looked terrific very much down Mike's ally...anyway Em came out, said she was sorry and took it away and said she would get the Chicken and Cashews...I said..."don't throw out that dish" she said "do you want to take home?" and we said yes...she didn't put the steamed seafood on the bill isnsisting that she not charge us for it even though we were taking it home...anyway Mike just paid her and added the amount for the cost of the fish dish to the tip...she still tried to get us to take change back...but of course we refused. There were leftovers to bring home as well having over-ordered.

As we were paying she mentioned that it was getting busy as the weather was getting warmer...and said that she would have to put someone on to help...her daughter was doing a very nice job...but any more people in the restaurant and they couldn't cope...Apparently the husband often helps on the weekend and at night but this weekend he had a big carpet laying contract in town and couldn't be at the restaurant.

A friend of Em's Aunty who lives in Harrington is a good friend to Em and calls into the restaurant every other day to lend a hand...as the thais do...she would be in her late 60's i would think...she was there today.

It was really worthwhile bringing Robbie, and I had to convince him to come because he said he didn't want to eat thai food out of thailand...cause it just isn't good around here usually...but I was really pleased as he said the food was "awesome" which is a top notch compliment from a 14 y/o. He really is a little man of the world from all his trips with us...and is really looking forward to school in Thailand.

Anyway we have decided that we will go there once a week until we leave...as it is a lovely outing and just great food!

I probably won't bore you with another post about Em's but I just thought I would update and share with you our second experience.

Thanks for reading

Marcia

beuk · #11 20-08-2006, 19:29

Reading your posts make me hungry. Think i`m going next week to eat some thai food. Just don`t know yet where.

JayBee · #12 20-08-2006, 19:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by M & M

Robbie really is a little man of the world from all his trips with us...and is really looking forward to school in Thailand.
Marcia

You are lucky your son feels that way! Usually at that age nothing can tear them from their friends, if they have any say in it.

BTW, I'm going to the the Sunday outdoors restaurant at the wat today for lunch, as usual. Yum, yum! Great food, and little bit of LOS right here at home!

M & M · #13 21-08-2006, 02:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayBee

You are lucky your son feels that way! Usually at that age nothing can tear them from their friends, if they have any say in it.

BTW, I'm going to the the Sunday outdoors restaurant at the wat today for lunch, as usual. Yum, yum! Great food, and little bit of LOS right here at home!

Yes JayBee we are lucky with Robert's attitude. He doesn't have any say on whether we go to Thailand or not...so he doesnt have a choice!!! But he is mature and travelled enough to realize what is going on and to go with the flow... Very true he is not looking forward to leaving his friends...most of these being girls not boys...but we've assured him that his friends will be here when he returns and that he will make many new friends in Thailand...who knows, in the end he may not want to leave Thailand.

What! you have a Wat in California...LOL with an outdoors restaurant attached? Sounds great...!!

nelsonone · #14 23-08-2006, 09:51

Come on Marcia.......I want to know what happens + what you order next week........I realy like this thread......takews me back to Nth Coast NSW and Phuket.......2 of my favouirite places....

jayel · #15 23-08-2006, 16:33

North coast wonderland man.
I am lucky enough to have traveled and lived around OZ .
most fun was 9 months outback catttle station in the 80's.
I live 30 k's south of byron bay and close to a devoloping town.
everyware you go is a rain forest , the beaches are full of topless tourists and dolfins and wales to spoil the veiw.the best dack roads for riding hog's to hiperactive honda's. and the weather give you shits some times, as we have no water restrictions and have recycled water to fluch the dunnie, iggrigate the gardens.on a real clear day i can see 20k's to evens head.
another thing is how the values jumped 2 years ago.
Ya just got to love a place you can get a job anytime.
It's so hard up here that i just want to rent my place out and look around s/e asia. ONYA

M & M · #16 23-08-2006, 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayel

North coast wonderland man.
I am lucky enough to have traveled and lived around OZ .
most fun was 9 months outback catttle station in the 80's.
I live 30 k's south of byron bay and close to a devoloping town.
everyware you go is a rain forest , the beaches are full of topless tourists and dolfins and wales to spoil the veiw.the best dack roads for riding hog's to hiperactive honda's. and the weather give you shits some times, as we have no water restrictions and have recycled water to fluch the dunnie, iggrigate the gardens.on a real clear day i can see 20k's to evens head.
another thing is how the values jumped 2 years ago.
Ya just got to love a place you can get a job anytime.
It's so hard up here that i just want to rent my place out and look around s/e asia. ONYA

Yep jayel...well where you live is like "Wankerland"...Byron bay has really blown out with the upper class...I know my brother is a member of the upper class and has a several apartments in Byron...

Laurieton is no where near this...but the area will one day boom...It's too bloody quiet for us at the moment...

Can't you rent your place so you can do a bit of travel? Would have thought round there you could rent your place out???

Just keep trying...Where there's a will...there's a way...

Taffy · #17 06-09-2006, 16:39

Enjoyed reading your story MUM.Change from the Barby Eh!.Going to put some bacon under the grill now,and wash it back with a great cuppa tea.We also like Thai food but limited choice in uk,dependant on where you live.Keep it up MUM.Bye Taffy.

M & M · #18 06-09-2006, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taffy

Enjoyed reading your story MUM.Change from the Barby Eh!.Going to put some bacon under the grill now,and wash it back with a great cuppa tea.We also like Thai food but limited choice in uk,dependant on where you live.Keep it up MUM.Bye Taffy.

Welcome to the board Taffy...

Glad you enjoyed my story...

This forum is very informative...this is just a fun story from Oz...

If you love Thailand you will love reading this forum...

BTW I love that bit of grilled bacon and cuppa tea!!!

Denver · #19 08-09-2006, 06:22

G'donya mate, Bonza post there Marcia. It was a good read.

I'm bloody hungry now!