Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Marketplace...

Speaking of food... this is sort of a postscript to my last blog. Some pics I snapped between boughts of nausea at the marketplace.
Yes, people around here actually EAT these things.=0 I had I'm afraid congratulated myself to have bypassed the famous culture shock, that is until I went to a local market. How can I describe it? Follow me in your imagination, if you will, to a place where flys abide and nearly unbearable stenchs torment sensitive noses. Enter with me into a dark and dank roofed structure filled with tables of miscelanious and at times unrecognizable items known as food.

To be continued...someday........







Thursday, November 6, 2008

Food?

Written 10-23-08

Before coming over here, I really never was a fan of Thai food. It just seemed a bit authentic for my american palate. So I'm sorry to say that the food here hasn't always been an easy matter for me. On the other hand, it's a continual source of enthrallment for Mama and Emily. I had strong (and I'm afraid to say possibly founded) suspicions that that's one of the things that helped to lure them over here.=0 Honestly, all in all the food isn't as bad as I might have imagined it to be, though there has been times when I've seriously struggled to get it down. Sometimes the heat is a bit more than I can take. Even on occasion Mama and Emily have been unable to finish their food. Of course, Thailand does have a few rather peculiar things they consider to be delicacies. Take rats, for instance! Guess what? The meat's really "good." But, be warned, don't try any Bangkok rats. Further up north it's OK, 'cause they're "clean." Haha! They're bought by the kilo, just in case you were interested. And guess what I caught sight of in a civil looking store last night? Don't worry, I'm not going to keep you in suspense for long--Live toads. For eating, I assume!

How germ laden is the food we're eating you ask? Generally I try not to go there. But......as an exception (for your special benefit), I'll expound.

These are the general rules of thumb around here for when you go out to find some food from any of those quaint little rice shops along the road:

Don't look around. Just don't. Trust me, you don't want to! Don't look at the sewer in the gutter in front; don't study the refuse lying around; tune out the buzzing flys; don't worry as to the sanitary conditions of the counter, or, for that matter, the knife cutting the vegetables, or, most of all don't glance at the skim covering the brackish water they just used to wash the vegetables; don't dwell on the fact that the person cutting up your vegetables didn't use toilet paper when they last used the restroom; and, whatever you do, please, please don't investigate as to the source of that peculiar (may I say gross?) odor wafting around you; if you by chance out of the corner of your eye catch a glimpse of odd looking critters frying or waiting to be fried, quickly redirect your gaze elsewhere and don't even consider as to if your wonderful vegetarian food will come into contact with that same pot; don't allow your mind to linger on the (true) horror stories of the dishes not being washed with soap, or, worse yet, being washed in the sewer; don't worry, I'm not going to the drinking water... So, really, just don't - it's that simple! Don't look up, don't look down, don't look in front of you, to the sides, or behind you - they're by far the most dangerous. Maybe acting blind is the best option after all! They say that what you don't know won't hurt you...blissful ignorance is the best!:) Wanna come eat with me?=P

(Disclaimer: This could be slightly exaggerated for some places! Not necessarily all of said conditions are accumilated in one place, although that is sometimes the case.)



I caught sight of this dog taking it's morning beauty sleep up on one of the tables at a restaurant I passed. Simply had to snap a picture. Thought it quite fitting for this blog.:)