Thailand: Same-Same but Different

The above phrase describes perfectly how I felt upon arriving in Bangkok. A huge western city with skyscrapers, 7-elevens and lots of traffic. Same as home, but different people, food and customs. This phrase is also commonly used by Thai people to describe how two things differ, or don't as the case may be. Maybe you are trying to decide between two rooms in a guest house, two different dishes, two modes of transportation. The Thai people will tell you "same-same, but different" which is true I guess, in the end.

In this entry, though, I think I will focus on the differences rather than the sames. The biggest difference is well, the food. All of the amazing, delicious, spicy, sour, sweet, cheap, ever-present, did I mention delicious, food. You can't move five feet down the street without bumping into a food stall. And behind every good food stall, small as it may be, there is an amazing cook ready to whip up any of about 200 dishes, all for under a dollar. Oh and the best phrase of all in Thailand "gin len" literally translates as "eat for fun". And gin len is what Thai people love to do! This makes me happy. I have always felt a close kinship to food which goes beyond just being hungry and filling the belly. Gin len describes one of my favorite hobbies, and refined talents. And what better way to hone this talent than to devote my time in Thailand to food? So this is what I have been doing.

Besides eating five meals a day in Bangkok, my time was spent running from super soakers (huge water guns). I arrived during Songkhran, the Thai New Year and water festival, where the city shuts down, and locals stand on the corner with huge buckets of water or spray guns, ready to soak unsuspecting walkers, like me, from head to toe. This was a surprise, but I adapted quickly by wearing my same sweaty running clothes for three days straight. And in fact, it was so hot that being drenched, and laughed at, every 10 minutes or so, wasn't so bad.

From Bangkok I headed north by train to see the sacred ruins of Sukhothai. From there I continued on to Chiang Mai. I quickly signed up for two days of cooking classes from a Thai TV chef, intent on bringing a taste of Thailand back home with me. The classes were great and involved a trip to the local market, making my own curry paste and 12 other classic Thai dishes and then eating every last one of them. Is this heaven? After that I headed up to the cute little mountain village of Pai, where I rode a scooter through the hills, past elephant camps and to a WWII Memorial Bridge. While in Pai I happened upon a flyer that was advertising a three day farm stay, with yoga classes and two full days of , you guessed it, cooking classes. By this time, my stomach had recovered from the last binge session, so I packed up my bag and headed for the farm.

It was a rustic, wet and buggy experience, but delightful all the same. The cooking classes were even better than before and the fresh farm air was invigorating. The termites on the other hand, were disgusting. Our accommodations were open mud huts with bucket showers and squat toilets, a small mattress and mosquito net. Unfortunately, termites of the flying variety, can shimmy through the holes of the nets. My nights were spent burning mosquito coils and brushing termite wings off my body. But hey, I got my fill of delicious food, yet again.

After leaving the farm, I headed six hours north to Chiang Khong and yet another border crossing, with plenty of food stops along the way. The border crossing over the Mekong river went smoothly and I found myself safely in Laos, with a new language to tackle and a new cuisine to explore.