There are many aspects of living in Thailand some of you may be interested in learning about. This next blog post gives you a more in-depth look at the particulars of typical Thai living from our perspective:

THE FOOD

I know very few friends who don't count Thai food among their very favorite cuisines. I suspect the combo of sweet and spicy flavors holds the appeal. Indeed most Thai dishes include at least a minimal amount of some form of sugar. But eating it is still healthy here for a multitude of reasons. Typically Thais eat small amounts and eat often. Meat is added for flavor and normally isn't intended to make up the bulk of the meal. You can find dishes using modest amounts of chicken, pork, beef and vast varieties of seafood served in succulent curries accompanied by vegetables and herbs.

Junk food has only recently entered diets here and for the first time you may occasionally spy a chunky Thai. But for the most part the meals Thais eat are made on the spot using ingredients bought that day from local fresh markets. Fish right from the sea; meat recently butchered, often halal-the Moslem version of kosher; veggies picked from a garden that same day; fruit picked ripe off a tree, often juiced and found far more refreshing than soda pop. No pre-prepared or boxed anything! Even the curry pastes are made daily and sold from bulk mounds at fresh markets. Coconut milk that is rendered from the pulverized meat of the fruit is used in a multitude of our favorite curries but has to be used the same day it's made or it goes sour. Wheat and dairy products that are commonly cited as cause for many western health woes are almost non-existent here except in tourist zones. Eating fresh and buying local, a trend that's been gaining traction in the States lately, is ingrained in the psyche of Thailand and translates into a much healthier population than we boast in the far richer U.S.

Many distinctive cuisines have their essential ingredients that practically identify the region. Where would Cajun cuisine be without the holy trinity of green pepper, onion and celery? Or Italian food without garlic and olive oil? Thai cookery revolves around chilies-often in the form of curries, and coriander-cilantro to Yankees. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga-a root similar to ginger-and basil (Thai or sweet) round out the essentials found in many dishes. Add turmeric to that list and that covers most of the ingredients found in the basic red, yellow and green curry pastes. Varying amounts of peanuts mixed with many of those same herbs and spices give you panaang and massaman curry pastes.

Tropical Thai fruits are a succulent world unto themselves and we were happily introduced to many including jackfruit, mangosteen, and the world famous smelly delight called durian. Ripe papayas and mangos we've enjoyed in many other countries are served with a new twist here...shredded green and mixed with nut's, dried shrimp and Thai chilies in salad called som tam.

The uniqueness of Thai Cookery has spawned a tourist industry all it's own with an abundance of cooking schools sprinkled throughout tourist areas. I attended one such school not long after our arrival in Ao Nang. It was not the best class but gave me a good opportunity to identify which dishes peaked my taste buds and merited further examination.

As I mentioned earlier I was completely fortunate to receive unsolicited and often impromptu lessons from the Thai partner at the resort. Bo graciously took me under her wing, escorted me to the large local market in Krabi and taught me how to buy the freshest fish, the sweetest coconut milk, and the tastiest fruits and vegetables. And then we cooked-once even making tiny bowls out of banana leaves and bamboo toothpicks! It was always an incredibly relaxed, yet in-depth, personal cooking session with unbelievably divine results. My repertoire now includes pork spring rolls and shrimp cakes-crisp and delicious and nothing like their greasy counterparts found elsewhere, Pad Thai-guaranteed better than anything you've ever tasted in a restaurant, curried fish-steamed to creamy perfection, several variations of sticky rice with mango, fiery green papaya and green mango salads, delicately delicious chicken with cashew nuts, luscious larb, heaven sent tom ka gai-chicken in coconut milk soup, and a variety of pungent curry dishes including massaman. Bo's cooking skills and generosity amaze!

Once we left the sultry south we moved onto other cuisines more closely identified with the northern regions of the country. Khao Soi is king up north, although most locals eat it for breakfast. The proximity to China has breakfast eaters throughout Thailand more likely to slurp savory soups and down diminutive dim sum to start their day rather than the sugar or fat loaded breakfast treats Americans tend to wake up to. In Chiang Mai Khao Soi is served to farangs throughout the day and night, however. It is a soupy noodle treat that Ken and I can barely get enough.

I used to think it impossible to ever tire of these sensuous meals. But a steady diet of anything gets boring after a while and I must admit I've craved chips and salsa and a good fish taco on more than one occasion. The beauty of having our own kitchen meant we could shake things up now and then and treat ourselves to Italian, American and even Greek food. But it is impossible to find a jalapeno here, much less a corn tortilla! Still, I know when we get back to the states our Thai cravings will drive us wild with desire and we'll be scrambling to find the ingredients that will take us back in time to the gastronomic visit of a lifetime.


THE LANGUAGE

The only down side of our Thai experience has been our lack of language skills. We've spoken to several farangs (non-Asians) who have taken classes for 2 years and still speak very little Thai. Thai script consists of 44 consonants and 48 vowel and diphthong possibilities! A single syllable word, when spoken in various 'tones' can mean 5 different things. Low, high, mid, falling and rising tones can make the syllable 'mai' mean 'new', 'burn', 'wood', 'not?' or 'not. The phrase mai mai mai mai mai, spoken in just the right tones means' new wood doesn't burn does it'? Our communication skills haven't gotten much past hello/good-bye, thank you, how are you, what's your name and so on. Ken knows monetary amounts well and we both know many dish names and some colors, extremely helpful when buying curry pastes. If we were spending longer than 6 months, though, we would have certainly taken classes. But when we travel for such short amounts of time I imagine we will always have to stick to the basics unless we find ourselves back in Spanish speaking territories. There is always a need to improve our Espanol.


THAI MASSAGE

Imagine getting a massage, a yoga session and a chiropractic adjustment all at once and you'll get close to picturing what a real Thai Massage is like. I have treated myself to this local pleasure every ten days to two weeks since January. At $10.00/sixty minutes how can I deny myself this luxury? Thai massage is not at all similar to Swedish oil massage and is done on a cushioned mat either on the floor or a massage platform. It can be painful at times as you are manhandled and manipulated like a human Gumby. The tiny but powerful practitioners are as much acrobats as therapists getting hefty workouts themselves while administering this energetic massage using their hands, thumbs, elbows, arms, legs and feet. In Chiang Mai the price for 60 minutes on the mat dropped to five bucks! The frequency of my new addiction rose proportionally! I began needing a fix every few days! Why not help out the locals?


SAY WAT?

By now many of you are scratching your heads and asking yourself "what's a wat, anyway?" To be precise a wat is a Buddhist compound where men or women can be ordained as monks or nuns and typically include both a consecrated chapel, where ordinations are held and a vihara, where important Buddha images are housed. Almost every village in Thailand has at least one. Commonly cities have many. Indeed, here in Chiang Mai, a city of 160,000, you'll find upwards of forty on our small tourist map of the Old City alone! A monastic center without an ordination chapel that exist only as a residence for monks and nuns-sangha-are quite often used as retreat facilities in conjunction with larger forest monasteries. A very usual component of temple architecture is the chedi-or stupa- which looks like an upside down cone shaped monument that signifies the enduring stability of Buddhism. They may also contain open-sided areas for group meetings or lectures, bell towers, schools and clinics. All contain statuary of the Buddha, often by the dozens.


SPIRIT HOUSES

Another interesting adjunct to Buddhist-minded properties are spirit houses. These are miniature temples that Buddhists position at just the right location outside their homes and businesses to give the spirits living around a place to live away from the main house. Often Thai Buddhists, much like Mayan Catholics in Guatemala, commingle the basic faith with local animist or ancient Hindu traditions. And if there is one thing Thai's embrace almost as much as Buddha it is ghosts. They wholeheartedly believe the spirits of past beings continue to reside in the place they resided while alive. Spirit houses are carefully placed in order to keep such spirits from interfering with current-as yet breathing-residents. Offerings are made daily, weekly, bi-monthly and so on in the form of food, water, flowers and money to keep the spirits happily content, or to ask for protection and/or good luck. Most Thai Buddhists have at least one and oftentimes up to three of these quirky yard objects on site.

Whole industries are kept in business from the manufacturer and sale of these spirit houses that range from basic painted concrete models to the quite elaborate mirrored or gold leaf renditions. Drive across the country and you will see thousands of retail venues selling these sundries as well as Buddhist statuary. Big Buddha business!!!

In southern Thailand it is how you identify a Moslem home or business from a Buddhist home or business...that and the presence or lack thereof of dogs. Muslims won't own dogs. They are considered dirty, as are hogs and frogs while Buddhists have no such dislike of any animals. Wats, in fact, are quite often safe havens for all manner of mongrels.


THE KING AND THAIS

Thailand, more formally called the Kingdom of Thailand, is a constitutional monarchy styled after the British system but with a slew of subtle differences. His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej is not only the longest reigning monarch in Thai history, at 86 years of age (sitting on the throne since 1946) he is the longest reigning monarch in the history of the world-out reigning England's Queen Elizabeth II by almost 6 years. Thai's adore the man and their adoration often reaches hero worship. God save the person who dishonors their much beloved King. There are many ways you can offend Thais...but innocently stepping on a coin or bill is one surefire way. The King's face is on every single coin and bill of Thai currency.

It is illegal to disparage King Rama IX by pen or mouth or to even read material that maligns him written outside the country. We have been at several public venues when the King has spoken to his people via television. Everyone, everywhere-even in the busiest markets-stops whatever they're doing to show respect to this kind man who vies, in Thai eyes and hearts, with the Buddha for saintliness. The day he perishes, I fear, will bring about nationwide mourning incomparable to any ruler ever known.