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Food

Purifying Food: Crass Stuff in Bags

is inseparable from purification in Thailand. Spices are not being used sparingly, which is especially true for chili. The Thai kitchen is said to be one of the spiciest for a reason. You sweat, you gasp, you struggle with your plate until it’s finally empty, being glad to have defeated it. Not that you had any choice: Most dishes are also more than delicious. it seems to be all about the balance. If I use 15 cloves of garlic for a dish with 500g of rice, I also have to take 15 chile peppers and 5 bunches of thai basil so the extremes even out. I gain an intense yet balanced taste.

The act of cooking is done expeditiously fast and looks astonishingly simple when done by Thai mamas. Food stalls often offer 20 or more dishes, most of them available with fish, tofu, or meat of your choice, yet are not bigger than a student’s kitchenette. Plus, they are not even furnished much better. One gas cooker, one Wok, some fresh ingredients. This and that, a dash of this one, some fish sauce, stir twice and finished. A meal has been born. The cook dubs it “pork with chili”(most Thai dishes really have descriptive names like this one, but in Thai of course). One essential thing is that most intense dishes are served with loads of rice to make them sufferable.

For those who want to do it the hard way, there is a spice rack standing by on every table: dried chili, vinegar with fresh chili and sugar. If not, there is at least a bowl of nam pla (fish sauce). Needless to say it has chopped chile peppers in it. A real magic potion for good taste. Pour on anything to make it intense, spicy and well rounded. Nam Pla – Sagesex’ spice advice of the season.

Still doubtlessly the best thing about food in Thailand is that you can get it everytime and everywhere. Food stalls are really everywhere. “Night market” is only a synonym for a place with plastic tables and chairs encircled by food stalls where the whole village comes together for food and drinking in the evenings. Here food has a crucial social, nearly ritual function. Restaurants and food stalls line the streets of cities and towns. But what if you still cannot find anything? Just ask a local for the way to the next restaurant, or perform eating gestures with a questioning look on your face. If you are lucky you will get to know it: The Thai

Hospitality

Kind Hosts and good Friends

On exactly that kind of occasion we and two co-travellers have been hustled onto a scooter side car. When the good man who drove us could not find an open restaurant in the village he used the words “home home” to invite us to his place on the spot. First we had to stop at the market for some fresh ingredients, then he searched all neighbors’ houses for his wife who rushed to cook a delicious meal for us. Meanwhile we were served Coke, rummaged in the family photos and took some photos with our hosts ourselved, all the time being gazed at by half the village. Finally two more drivers were recruited and, appropriate to our social status, we were driven home to our bungalows.

Another time I was dragged out of a bar to a small colony of huts by a young girl. I had been hanging out with Tao, a 20 year old Chinese, who spoke a few words of English and assured me she was not a hooker. Which somehow calmed me. Then he pointed out that this was about “no sex, just talk”. Which on the other hand naturally disappointed me but most of all baffled me. Namely, the girl did not a word of English. Just like her 7 neighbors/hutmates, who were all student aged. They were drummed up at 2 am, so they could all gaze at me. Then they began cooking and barbecueing and at 3 we all sat together in a circle feasting on the veranda. They would giggle at every move I made. Time and again Tao would explain to me what a privilege our hosts felt with me eating with them. Well, you do what you can …

You can experience this real and kind hospitality in many moments of daily life. Often when you step out of a bus in a new place you are approached by a local trying to help you get around. Still more often they are taxi drivers who smell big business. Like I said before white people are thought of as incredibly rich. So con artists circle around bus stations, tourist attractions  and hotels like vultures. “Taxi?”, “Where you go” or simply “You!” are the kind of phrases you cannot bear to hear after a few days in touristy places. Everytime we asked for a price for a stretch of way at a travel agency or a longer taxi ride, we got to the destination for less than half the money. Of course, also in this case the boundaries blur. Some only want to help, some only want money, some like to help but like it even more for a fat taxi commission and most really think Farang like ridiculously priced taxi rides.

Always keep in mind: Maybe they really only want to help you. When you simply smile, stay calm and friendly and laugh about impertinences and misunderstandings, many things work out much easier. Friendliness and patience are virtues that you really learn to appreciate in Thailand. You never see an angry Thai and still their country works just fine. For sure there is much you can learn from this people, but these things are so easy and obvious, that they can change you in one month’s time – do it the Thai way!

To those who want a deeper insight into Thai culture, we strongly recommend the wonderful book Very Thai, Everyday Popular Culture

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