The Thai New Year — Year of the Tiger.
Words don’t do justice. Nor do pictures. Maybe video will show the wildness.
Luckily we were spared during our meal. From the street level.
Street level view from Songkran
Ah, the culinary world of Thailand. And Southeast Asia for that matter. What a major draw for our travels.
And we have had our fish balls and seen our fair share of dried fish at the markets. I am still working on the courage (?) to try the dried shrimp over rice for the breakfast, but until then, I will settle on ‘pancakes with banana’ or what I have known as a crepe.
But the latest experience with fish was a role reversal. We were the fish food. Yes, Brooke and Michael. Being eaten by the fish. This relatively new phenomenon has supposedly swept across SE Asia, beginning in 2006. It is “fish therapy”. The fish, known as Garra Rufa, is about two inches long. You drop your feet in the fish tank, and hundreds swarm to nibble on your dead skin. It is supposed to increase circulation, give you some type of ‘pedicure’, and create better skin.
The feeling? Like a small electric current traveling throughout your feet. I did not find it particularly amusing (fascinating, yes), but the sensation was too much for my already ticklish feet.
Fine dining on Brooke's feet
Prime fish food real estate
While the fish searched for spots on Brooke’s feet, somehow years of soccer accumulated a nice depository of prime Garra Rufa fish food. And they pecked away for 15-20 minutes, but it could have probably been days.
And now, with all this trekking throughout the city, I am working on providing some more ‘fish food’ for my next indulgence. Or is it the Garra Rufa’s?
One once described dodging traffic in SE Asia as a great game of Frogger. Well, the game only works here if you attempt to cross the street. Otherwise, you will be waiting on the sidewalk waiting for the safest and most spacious opportunity to cross. And you will be waiting…and waiting…and waiting. The best approach to get across the street: close your eyes and just walk through the middle of the street; don’t worry, the cars, trucks, buses, mopeds, scooters, bicycles, motorcyles, pedicabs, and tuk-tuks will weave to avoid you. Yes, there are that many types going down the street at once. After many hesitations, we learned to watch the Thai cross the street and we picked up on it. Go. Anytime. Without Trepidation.
Life in the middle of the road
While we could have taken that picture while crossing the street, we took it as we rode in the back of a bus.
Somehow, the traffic “system” works amazingly well. There is a general understanding that people merge, turn, stop (well, slow down), and everyone else makes do. As Americans, we tend to think that stoplights signal go and stop. I think Thai drivers have a different understanding. Green means go. Go as fast as you want. Red means go too. As long as no person is in the middle of the road.
We have ventured to take in the different modes of transport. The tuk-tuks (three wheelers with a lawn mower motor, as Brooke describes it, and room for people in the back) are nice to catch a breeze. On the other hand, we thought it would be romantic to catch a pedi-cab. The 70 year old pedaler might have weighed 100 pounds and had to get off the bike several times to push the ‘big’ Americans up the road. We had negotiated a rate of 80 Baht ($2.75) from his offer of 100 Baht ($3). Although he did not seem to struggle, we gave him his full fare for the effort.
Pedi-cab driver
Tuk-tuks and pedicabs are fun, but now off to get better at Frogger.
Of the many good reasons we had for visiting Thailand, the food was pretty high on our list. So far we’ve happily enjoyed Pad Thai, Massaman Curry, Panang Curry, a variety of Spring Rolls, and several delicious fruit shakes (my favorite so far being pineapple and milk. Mmmmm.)
Our first dinner was not really Thai at all, but rather a hybrid Mongolian/Chinese (?) delicacy: Hot Pot. This was pretty simple, really, just a big, long buffet of raw meat and vegetables from which to choose. While you’re hunting and gathering, a server brings a bucket of red-hot coals and places it in the table’s red-hot coal receptacle. Then your chosen meats and veggies are cooked in another metal pan, in and around hot broth. Here’s a few pictures for your culinary enjoyment:
Did I mention they don’t call it “hot pot” for nothing? The coals are right next to your knees, actually, and it’s already 100 degrees (F) outside. Surpisingly, the heat is not as oppressive as I had thought it would be; and it’s definitely not keeping us away from the spicy foods!
Other well-known Thai dishes we’ve enjoyed are pictured below. My new favorite condiment is the chili oil that sits, temptingly, on nearly every table we’ve seen. My brother explained it’s some combination of sesame oil and garlic, with chopped red and/or green hot chilies.
Spring rolls have been a favorite of Michael’s, and I confessed today that they might even be tastier when fried. Saturated fat, be damned. I hear it’s not so bad after all.
Hot tea and Tom Yam have topped the favorites list, too. We’re planning to take a cooking class, after which you can expect a Thai-food tell-all. The many variations on themes in Thai cooking has already been noted… But I have yet to have been served a dish I didn’t like.
Typhoid? Check.
Hep A? Half check.
(Why only a half check? This vaccine requires two doses for full immunity, and I only had time enough to get one of the two required shots. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I only planned accordingly enough to get one of the two shots.)
H1N1? Check.
Yellow Fever? Check.
Tetanus? Check.
Malaria? Check.
Now that we glow in the dark, it’s time to fill our packs and kiss the cats goodbye. If anyone has last minute travel tips or packing advice, please do share!
