In November 2012, I spent fifteen days travelling across Thailand, fifteen days enjoying its beaches and tropical forests, getting to know its culture through its handicrafts, children’s smiles, the colours and the silence of Buddhist temples; two weeks feeling the humanity of the tribes that still live in the mountains, their respect for wildlife, the greatness of a lovely society full of traditions, dreams and the hope of spreading and sharing the beauty of their land.
Thailand is a treat for the senses of the foreigner: street food stands can be found on every corner of every village and city, the local products are fresh and healthy and people sell anything that can be made at home. There aren’t timetables for selling goods because people are at their stands at all hours of the day and night. Day markets are mainly for selling fresh and cooked local food products like vegetables, meat, seafood, soups, spices, fish, juices and fruits. These markets are filled of local people bargaining over merchandise, with motorbikes and bicycles crossing between the best stands and children playing and laughing with their families, as if this place were their home. Night markets and bazaars are for selling handicrafts, clothes, shoes, jewellery, pictures, little Buddha figures and all of those goods that are made mainly for tourists who want to buy local products as souvenirs. I really enjoyed both types because they offered me a huge vision of Thai culture and cuisine, but the day markets had something special -an atmosphere of tradition and customs that made them more genuine.
My experience with Thai food was another big surprise for my senses because the smells were something strange and so unusual for foreign visitors. From the first moment that I arrived in Bangkok and went for a walk through its anarchic traffic and chaotic streets, a host of strong odours enveloped me as quickly as fog on the top of a mountain. I realised that all of Bangkok was a one big street food market, because there were traditional drink and food stands all over the city. Thai people usually eat in the street: they buy their food and eat it while are going for a walk or to their jobs. It’s difficult to explain the smell of Thai food because most of it, for me, I admit was disgusting: sometimes I didn’t know what they were cooking or if the pieces grilling on the barbecue were sweet or salty or fish or meat or a little wild animal, so I decided to only eat food that I could recognize. On my third day in Thailand, my taste buds were full of curry, rice cookies, noodles, soups, pineapples, chilli peppers, boiled rice, fried banana, sesame seeds, mango, lemon, cocoa, soya beans, seafood, garlic, watermelon and more tastes that opened my mouth and my mind. And so when I went to the north and the south of Thailand, I was even able to eat a fried worm; by the way, it wasn’t as disgusting as I thought because its taste was similar to pork rind. After that, I was able to break with my western thinking and I could savour Thai food much better, although I wasn’t able to eat any more insects. I simply observed with curiosity those food stands full of fried roaches, scorpions, caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and even big frogs. All in all, my Thai food experience was very surprising and amusing and if I had to describe it, I would define it as spicy, exotic, intense, sweet and sour, refreshing, crispy and flavourful.
Although I really love Thailand and its culinary culture, the first thought I had when getting back to Spain was that I wouldn’t eat Asian food for a few months!
Uinen
