Onward with the search for Raya House which has a reputation for some of the most authentic Thai food, served in an old Sino-Thai house that has been kept traditional, and not renovated excessively. The food is so renowned that A-list stars, Prime Ministers and other dignitaries fly in from Bangkok to eat – or fly out the Crab Curry to them in Bangkok if they can’t make it personally. We have though, that it is hard to find, hidden behind an “ugly” club (or ugly Japanese restaurant that may or may not be closed) – but that there is a big parking lot behind the restaurant that signals you are in the right location. I have tried to put it on my walking map, but turns out I’ve noted it one block off. So we end up on the wrong street. Oh well, we can walk around the block. No big deal.
So around the block we go, right into the craziness of the Phuket town on your own tour drop off. Of course – there is a mall like shopping center right there – where else would they drop you off? Oh well, not our tour, so we just slalom our way through the deer in the headlight stares of our fellow passengers and…..find the parking lot sign for Raya House. Yay. That wasn’t too hard! We end up coming through the back door by the kitchen area, but what the heck, we found it, which was our first concern!
Once inside, we are greeted by very friendly staff and shown into a heavenly cool, air conditioned front room. Ok, we’re forgoing the old, original feel of this house, for the A/C. But it’s a trade off we’re wiling to accept. And since this place is popular – with locals too, not much English heard at other tables – there are too many people here to take pictures of the interior. I did manage to take a picture of the menu though to give you a feel for the interior of the building.
The menu is extensive, but also pricey. Wow. We didn’t anticipate that. The famous crab curry is way more than we want to pay for lunch. Ok, so we’re being cheap, but really, we don’t want to spend that much for lunch. We order 2 big Chang beer to mull over our options. We end up with small plates of stir fried pork with basil and a fried seafood basket, plus melons on the house for dessert.
All in all, very yummy and very nice in the cool A/C. And not so bad in the final analysis – $23USD all told – just expensive from a relative standpoint. We actually leave through the front door and turn back to see that Raya House has a great facade, regally sitting back from the road, even ifi it is nestled next to the ugly club.
With plenty of time to spare, we wander back toward the old town and end up walking through the Wat Puttamongkon, a huge temple at the back of the old town. We can’t go in, because neither of us are appropriately dressed, but we can walk around the grounds and snap pictures of the exterior – which is the typically ornate Thai temple with golden Buddha statues inside and a Chedi in the back.
Right across the street from the Wat is Soi Romanee, which we use to get back to Thalang Road, where we look for a bar or cafe for an afternoon beverage. We don’t find the alcohol, but we do find these adorable children playing on the New Year’s wreath left behind from the celebrations.
After wandering around a bit, finding a great mural depicting cashew plants, and more interesting architecture…
….we end up at the Old Coffee Shop, a really cool little place where the walls are adorned with old radios and cool diaromas, the beer is cold and the table we have is right by the fan. Works for us!
As we sip our beers, we watch outside as Thalong street is converted into the walking street market with vendors of every ilk setting up their stalls. Too bad we don’t have enough time to stay here and wander through – but it is soon time we need to start thinking about getting back to the ship. We take our leave of the coffee shop and hit the streets. Immediately a taxi driver comes up and tries to sell us a tour – we tell her we just need to go to the Port. She starts at 500 baht, and she also wants to take us shopping. No. No shopping. But, we eventually relent – and get her and her husband (who is the driver) to take us to the port for 300 baht if we go shopping. Ok. That works.
And it does work well – the shopping is a huge jewelry store – which we are not interested in, but there is a good selection of little gifts which we pick up for folks at home. So everyone is happy as we hop back in the SUV to head off on the 20 minute drive to the port.
Back onboard, we hang out in the cool, take some great sunset shots off our balcony….
…then hit dinner and a show and crash out for the evening. Tomorrow is our last sea day of this leg – then it is back to Singapore to start the 2nd leg of our cruise journey.
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