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| In Phuket, Thailand, we’d purchased enough food here to last a week. Check out the fantastic total cost below! |
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| Check out the size of the fish and steak portions. Tom was craving peanuts, and we added a few packages to the stash. The brats in the bottom right of the photo are gluten, grain, and sugar-free. |
Again, today’s photos are from four years ago, but this time from Phuket, Thailand, where we stayed from July 23, 2016, until August 31, 2016. For the starting photos in Phuket in our archives, please click here, which will lead you to the events of the next 40 days and nights.
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| Using this app to convert the Thai baht (THB) to 3,803.25, we discovered we’d only spent US $109.38. We were shocked. (See the photos of everything we purchased). |
Before I was with Tom starting in 1991, I’d visited Phuket, Thailand, for my 40th birthday in 1988 with my former husband. This was before the devastation from the tsunami that changed the entire look of the island.
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| We purchased so many items. It took several photos to include all of them. |
When returning to Phuket with Tom in 2016, 28 years later, I didn’t recognize a thing except for the white sand beaches, the aquamarine seas, and the friendly faces of many locals.
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| Free-range eggs, beef, and celery rounded out our purchases. |
We’d rented a beautiful house with rooms surrounding a large pool, air-con, WiFi, and cleaning staff we paid separately twice a week. We cheaply rented an older car from the property owner and managed to get around the city amid the crazy traffic to shop and see the various sites.
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| The fresh produce department is packed with locally caught treasures at reasonable prices. |
Unfortunately, we were anxious to leave not long after we’d arrived. Nearby, there was violence in the streets with an eventual bombing, the frequent sounds of sirens, armed military police outside the shops and markets, and a feeling of being more unsafe than we had in most other countries.
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| It looks like Sam’s or Costco. |
, The mosquitoes were worse than we’d seen in Africa (or even Minnesota, for that matter). It rained almost every day, and we seldom used the pool or lounged outdoors. Instead, we often stayed indoors in air-conditioned comfort, and for the first time in our world travels, we began counting the days until we were scheduled to leave.
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| Row after row of frozen foods. We don’t buy much in the way of frozen foods when most contain additives. |
Our highlight of the week was grocery shopping in the enormous warehouse-type grocery store, comparable to Sam’s Club or Costco. The huge amount of selection and ingredients contributed to making some of our favorite meals.
Although we ventured sightseeing a few times each week, we never dined out when Thai food didn’t appeal to Tom due to the spices and often odd ingredients for his tastes. This didn’t bother me when we thoroughly enjoyed cooking our meals in the roomy, well-equipped kitchen.
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| Littleneck clams. |
In essence, it wasn’t safe to eat out in the evenings when the streets were jammed with motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and fast-moving cars and trucks, and an endless stream of troublemakers. Foreigners were frequent targets of crime.
We’ve been to many rough cities throughout the world, but we’d never felt so unsafe as we had in Thailand. Staying inside with several locks on the doors felt the safest, although we were somewhat of a regular residential neighborhood.
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| We weren’t able to determine which type of seafood this might be. |
While living in a country, we write with caution, preferring not to draw attention to ourselves by possible “haters” living nearby. It wouldn’t be hard for local troublemakers to find where we’re living when reading our posts and seeing photos of our location. Americans, especially seniors, are often victims of horrific crimes in some parts of the world.
We were thrilled to leave after the 40 nights to return to Sumbersari, Bali. We once again stayed in the fantastic beachfront villa, besides having a wonderful experience, feeling safe and comfortable in the exquisite location and property.
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| Squid, yet to be cleaned. |
Thailand has many charms, cultures, stunning temples, beaches, and history. It simply worked out that we happened to be in “the wrong place at the wrong time,” which ultimately tainted our view at the time.
In India, we recall the extraordinary times we spent touring many popular sites in big cities and remote locations. Never once did we feel unsafe or in danger, even when we were out walking independently.
Regardless of this challenging time in lockdown, we’ll always have good memories of our time spent touring in India, a very special country with its kind and gentle people.
Rest easy. Stay safe. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands. Have hope.
Photo from one year ago today, July 30, 2019:
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| The Glinsk Pier is located near our holiday home in Connemara, Ireland. Fishing has always been a big business in this village. For more photos, please click here. |