Travelfood

Thailand has quickly risen to one of favourite winter destinations for Finns and there are lots of reasons for it. The country is warm, relatively safe, affordable and the service is friendly. It is incomprehensible how a whole nation is able to smile credibly to all of us, who arrive there with all our needs and concerns, which probably feel insignificant to them. Greetings and thanking the Thai way by pressing palms against one another and nodding is truly calming and it shows mutual respect. I just cannot understand why the Thais are as interested in moving to our countries as we are in moving to theirs.

During several trips we have used Bangkok as a connection point for our trips in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. It is a joy to stay in one of the hotels by Shilom Road and drive a longtail boat on Chao Phraya River before continueing on to the next destination. In Hua Hin there is a hill called Takiab with lots of apes and golden Buddhas and that is a beautiful place. If you travel to Patong Beach in Phuket, I recommend a day-trip to Phang Nga Bay, where you are able to visit the Wat Suwannahuba cave temple, James Bond Island and the floating markets.

Thai food is versatile and there are lots of classics which we are able to taste also in our home countries as frozen food, in ethnic restaurants or by preparing them ourselves with ready-make curry sauces. Thai food is nevertheless nowhere as good as it is in the ordinary street stands in Thailand. Tom yum- chicken coconut soup is perhaps the most well-known but also green curry, cashew sauce, fish sauce and ginger fish are familiar to all of us. In the coastal resorts it is worthwhile to pay a little more for tasting lobster, since back home in Europe it would cost a lot more.

For me the most memorable Thai memory is probably the smiling faces of the young pupils in that countryside elementary school. They greeted us by giving drawings of dragons and colourful fish, while European kids usually draw cats and dogs. Another memory is of that happy woman on her pineapple field who was extremely pleased for the minimum kilo fee she would receive for her pineapples from a multinational company. For her that was a much better alternative than selling the pineapple by the road for a higher price but with a higher probability that the fruit would be spoiled before it was sold.

Asia, food, Thailand, travel, travel experiences