Remote and Exotic Locations of the World you've visited with facilities atypical for their location

[JohnS]

This thread was inspired by our FoH ZOOM chat today, which was awesome as usual! During the chat, El Pres mentioned an excellent restaurant that he went to on his recent holiday in Asia. It evoked fond memories of the time I visited Salamina in 2022, an island very close to Athens, Greece but couldn't be more different. For starters, despite being located 9 miles or 16 kilometres from central Athens, there are only forty thousand people that live on Salamina, as compared to 4 million people that live in the greater urban area of Athens.

There's definitely a rural 'feel' to Salamina and I went there with my cousin and wife in September, 2022. After taking a car ferry from Piraeus, we drove about half an hour along windy roads to reach the remote town of Kanakia in the south-west. There we lunched at Tavern Meltemi, the one restaurant in town and what an establishment it was. Stellios, the proprietor, is a wine aficionado which could be easily gleaned from his investment in wine fridges. He chose a wonderful Rose Dry Wine to compliment our meal that day...everything was just ideal!

The location was quite picturesque, but the restaurant was other-worldly, not what one would expect from the locale. Have you visited places in the world that have surprised you with their remoteness, exoticism and facilities?

[Chibearsv]

Went to Puerto Plata DR and took a 4 wheeler tour all over the area. Had lunch at our guides friends house in the jungle hills on their patio. Mama killed and fried a chicken, and made beans, rice, fried yucca, plantains, fresh fruit, all simple and fantastic. Best meal I've had in DR ever. 

[Ken Gargett]

a friend of a friend recommended a little place next to a pub in the backstreets of Girona. mate and i went there quite a few years ago. utterly blown away by it. one of the greatest meals i'd ever had. chatting to the owners after, i said that they really should get the Michelin people there. he looked at me like i was an idiot and told me that they had two stars (you never would have known from the prices - so cheap). turned out to be el cellar can roca. a few years later, named best in the world. have been back a number of times. this would be the choice for my last meal. they re-did the place down the hill into a much more snazzy place, worthy of the accolades. prices were still ridiculously low. think that might have changed recently though.