Living Within Our Tax Bracket

Travelling for 7 weeks has made us keep a close eye on how much we spend for things. In general we have stayed at moderately priced hotels, and have eaten meals that generally top out at $5 for the two of us. Even though we eat cheaply, we don't skimp on the taste. We eat at recommended restaurants, but for the price we are not getting things like ambience or air conditioning.

Early on, we made a point to try to have one nice meal in each country we have been in. But while we were splurging in Ko Samui, we thought it would be appropriate to have a couple nice meals (both in taste and ambience), especially since many nice meals are closer to $10-$15/person in Thailand compared to $30-$50/person in the States.

Our first nice meal was at the Italian restaurant at the hotel. While we didn't go all out (only had one course and didn't order wine), we had a lovely meal (with the chef taking our order). Unfortunately our second meal didn't treat us as well. Supposedly the best restaurant on the island, Betelnut was a fusion of Asian and Western food. The chef/owner came out to answer any questions we had (there were only three tables occupied - about 1/4 full). I orderd deep friend soft shell crabs - didn't quite realize that I was supposed to eat the entire thing (shell/claws/eyes and all - no thanks). I did eat most of it, but it just tasted deep fried - no real flavor. Jeremy ordered beef, and was underwhelmed by the tastes and quality of the cut. However, we both did enjoy our appetizers (chicken wontons and prawn spring roll), and a nice glass of wine. While we are happy we did a fancy night out, we didn't feel that the meal was worth quite what we paid.

Despite the one bad experience, we are still going to try having nicer meals interspersed with our cheap ones. Spending a fair amount of effort choosing inexpensive places, we have sometimes forgotten the income bracket we actually exist in. In the remaining days of our trip, we're going to try to remember that it is worth paying extra (while not sacrificing things like taste), especially since the little extra here goes a very long way.