Being here in Thailand has given me the opportunity to try a diversity of Thai food. There are usually just one or two dishes of a food type that I will find that are enjoyable and I will stick with those, however, where I am at now there are just so damn many variations to try. To be completely honest, when I first got here I was so intimidated by the language barrier that I only ate the Kaao Tom Moo with Kai, which was served to me at the bed and breakfast where I was staying. Kaao Tom with Kai is a rice soup with greens, pork and egg; it is a very tasty dish to start the day with. But just subsisting off this one meal a day was not going to cut it. On the third day here, I ventured out and found a restaurant that had a banner hung on the wall that showed all types of dishes being served. Having the banner as a reference gave me the opportunity to choose something that looked edible. Of course this place was more expensive than many of the other places that I now eat; the meal I ate at this place was two American dollars, which is twice as much as I pay now. But at least I was finally getting out conquering my insecurities with the language and my inexperience with ordering from the multitude of Thai fare. Like the first encounter with a new found attraction, it’s the getting through those first fumbling insecure moments that allow for the prospects of new and wonderful experiences. Now that the ice had been broken, I was on my way to try just about any type dish. Fortunately, I am able to eat just about anything and this stomach of mine has been strengthened like the hands of a martial artist that are calcified through repeated slams into hard stone. 
Before going out to gain a new taste perspective, I would first do some research via my laptop. This research allowed me to pull up multiple Thai dishes along with the ingredients in the dishes. Now that I had a list of what I wanted to eat, I could now go with my English to Thai dictionary in hand and try a new taste. A couple of funny things occurred though and still occur on my ventures when going to get something to eat; one, my pronunciation of what I wanted was usually well off from the actual pronunciation and two, many of the places I first went to, did not serve the dish I was requesting. That’s the thing here; there are so many restaurants that specialize in a certain type of Thai food. So, if I order something like Kang Pet with rice at a place where they only make noodle dishes or Tom dishes or this or that dish, they would look at me like I’m mad and point to the menu, which was all in Thai. Like a mad man, I would just keep repeating the phrase for the meal that I had worked so hard on to pronounce. Finally, and this is a great thing about many of the Thai people, someone at the place would physically walk me down a few steps or would point me towards a place that did serve what I was looking for. People here are so damn accommodating and for their graciousness, I have always returned back to their serving place to try out whatever dish that the restaurant specialized in.On a few occasions I have ended up eating a few things that are pretty unsavory looking and do have a unique look as well as taste. One time, actually two times now, I have ordered a dish that sounds pretty basic and familiar; noodles with chicken and vegetables, chicken noodle soup, right; well not exactly. A steaming bowl of noodles, veggies and chicken came out but the chicken is broken up with various bones protruding from parts that I did not recognize. Keep in mind, that the Thais waste nothing from an animal and will eat the feet, head, ass and all other parts. Tentatively I poked at the dark pieces of meat floating about in what I thought was to be my cozy warm chicken noodle soup. If you know me, then you probably know that I am about as frugal as they come and it is a rare moment when I will pay for something and not utilize it. In this case the thought did cross my mind of just leaving it and ordering another dish, but in the end the thought of leaving something to waste was too much of a burden for me to carry. After loading the dish up with a lot of red pepper and other provided spicy ingredients, I dove in. Not so bad, the meat was very tender and the noodles were pretty good. All in all, it was a pretty bland dish but not inedible. Still, I am not sure exactly what part of the chicken I was eating and that is probably best. The worst dish that I have tried so far is this noodle soup that consist of these balls of pork bobbing about like little fat castaways trying to find an edge to rest upon, along with some greens and then the ingredient that gives it a real punch, blood. Many of the Thais that I have met really enjoy this blood soup but it’s not something that I found any sort of want for. Happily for me, I did not order this blood dish and only tried a spoonful of my friends. Nah, I just stuck with my standard noodle and buoyant floating balls of pork. Not too bad, but again, too bland for my taste. Phet is a word that I use often when I am ordering food, it means spicy and I do dig it as spicy as they can get it. Also, Kai Doa are words that I use every time that I order a rice dish, Kai Doa means with a fried egg. Ummm, I do love me that fried egg on everything, very tasty. I have even tried to order this crown of a fried egg for noodle dishes and dishes that already have egg in them, like Phad Thai. The waiters or cooks usually smile and laugh at me; they never believe me and I still have yet to have a nice fried egg on top of noodles while eating out. It’s OK; I have made my own fried noodles with a fried egg to serve as my cherry on top. Smile.
Local Friends though are the best guides in finding the best Thai morsels to stimulate the palate and fill the gullet. Bo and Sai have both showed me so many great traditional dishes as well as some of my most wonderful times during my stay here in Thailand. Bo introduced me to Gang Pet, which is a red curry pork dish that I have with rice. It’s loaded up with galangal, lemon grass, kaffir, coriander, fennel seeds, shallots, garlic, and a lot of chilies. This dish can be served with any sort of meat and I have always had it with pork. Oh man, it is served in a bowl and comes out steaming hot. I usually order two helpings of rice and I smoother this spicy goodness over some white steamed rice, so good. Sai got me into Jim Joom, which comes out in a ceramic bowl that is resting over flame or hot coals. The ingredients are placed on individual plates that include lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf and chopped chillies. The meats include beef, pork, chicken, pork liver and squid cut into thin slices, with an egg broken over them. So far, I have only had this delicious soup dish with pork and I have loved it every time I have had it. There is something enjoyable about taking fresh ingredients from the plates strewn across the table and placing them into the flame heated thom, then serving the mixture once the medley of flavors have commingled and the meat has cooked to a ideal tenderness. It’s also very nice to have some perfectly grilled chicken with meat just falling from the bone on the side. In reality, when eating out with my Thai friends, there are always several types of foods laid out on the table. A nice spicy Thai salad, some grilled veggies, spicy meats and a fair amount of rice. Yes, the taste are abundant when eating a Thai meal, it is so nice to have the palate bombarded by so many differing flavors. Oh and of course I can not leave out the great meals that I enjoyed during my trek at the eco-lodge. While laying back and relaxing in the mountains of Chiang Mai, I ate some of the best pork ribs I have ever had along with traditional Thai dishes and man that hot vanilla rice pudding was just damn amazing. Man o man, the exposure that I have had to the Thai food here will probably be the best that I will ever have in my life, and this has been a great plus to my stay here in Thailand. Being exposed to such a diversity of people, of sites, and of flavors has been such a great thing for me and it is this diversity that I believe to be the essence of this beautiful and wondrous place that I now reside. Adjusting to all of the divergences from my previous way of living has been such a magnificent benefit to my growth as a person and has so added to my distinctiveness as an individual. It is my belief that every person in this world of seven billion individuals is so very inimitable, and that each of us has within an aptitude to grow our acceptance of this world of unique ideas, flavors, beliefs, sites, wonders, loves, and desires. At least this sort of thinking keeps a smile on my face and allows me to be content and happy more often than not.
Tasting all of this greatness here in this land of smiles has certainly been a bonus, but I must say, I do miss the taste of melted cheese wrapped in tortillas, smothered with more melted cheese and covered in onions, and of course, with a nice fried egg on top to serve as that little cherry of goodness on my Sunday. Also, a nice margarita on ice would be another fine addition to that tasty treat. I am so very much looking forward to getting me some of that fine Tex-Mex fare upon my return to Austin. Wishing you well and envying those of you that sip margaritas and enjoy the fine taste of Austin on a patio while enjoying the beautiful Texas sky on a languid Sunday.
