26. Food in Thailand

Thai Cuisine
It helps if you know what type of food to expect when travelling overseas to a country for the first time. Dishes from Asian countries are far different to dishes from Australia, or indeed other western countries. And "Asian" dishes in Australia often bear little resemblance to Asian dishes in Asian countries.
When I was in Cambodia, I ate the most delicious Thai food at the guesthouse where I was staying, and the Chinese food I had in Malaysia was wonderful. Coming back to Australia, I have to say the Thai and Chinese meals I've had here are "Western" Chinese/Thai foods. Believe me, they are definitely not the same thing!

Rice
Rice - khao, is the staple food in Thailand. In southern and central Thailand, many people eat khao jao (plain rice) with every meal, while people in the north and northeast eat khao nieow (sticky rice) with their hands, sort of what we'd call finger food. The sticky rice is rolled into a small ball then dipped into different sauces. What we would call a main dish or side dish is called gap khao (with rice), so everything is "with rice".

The Four Tastes
There are four main tastes in Thai dishes - hot (spicy), sour, sweet, and salty and it is the combination of these tastes that gives Thai food its delicious flavour.

What if you don't eat spicy foods?
If you don't like spicy food, ask "Phet mai" which means is it spicy?
Chan au mai phet na ka means I don't want spicy please. "Mai phet" translates as not spicy. Mai sai prik means do not put in chillies. If you do happen to bite something that is too hot eating either plain rice or noodles will help as they soak up the spicy oil. Don't make the mistake of drinking water - it only spreads the oil around your mouth and you still feel like you have a volcano sitting there.

I wish I'd known this before, when I'd gone out with friends to an Indian restaurant and ordered what I was told was the mildest dish and not hot at all. Hah! We live and learn eh?☺

Popular dishes
Neua phat bai ka prao ~ Beef, stir-fried with vegetables and Thai basil.
Phat tai (Pronounced "pat tai") ~ Fried noodles with bean sprouts, peanuts, and lime juice, usually not spicy.
Gai phat met ma-muang ~ Chicken, stir-fried with vegetables and cashews.
Khao naa pet ~ Rice with roast duck, non-spicy normally found in shops with roasted duck in window display.
Khao phat ~ Fried rice, usually not spicy.
Kuoi tiaw ~ Chinese noodles, served as soup (kuoi tiaw naam) or dry (kuoi tiaw hang).
Plaa thawd ~ Savoury deep-fried fish, often whole, tilapia or catfish.
Phat pak lai yang ~ Stir-fried vegetables.
Raat naa taleh ~ Wide noodles (raat naa) with a selection of shrimp, squid etc in a light gravy. Not spicy.
Som tam ~ Green papaya salad with hot chilis, lime, tomatoes, peanuts, and a special sauce and a specialty of Isaan, in northeast Thailand.

And something to drink
Cha yen ~ Thai iced tea made with black tea, ice, and condensed milk. It is often served in a plastic bag with a straw for you to carry away.

25. Bangkok Tourist Attractions

What to see in Bangkok
If you decide to do a tour of the temples and the Grand Palace, be aware that the Grand Palace is not included in the temples tour, so if you're on a budget rather than paying two lots of money, if you do book a tour, choose the temples one, then see the Grand Palace by yourself.

Top Tourist Attractions
1. Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
2. Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon or Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
3. Wat Arun - (The Temple of Dawn)
4. Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple)
5. Vimanmek Mansion
6. Chao Phraya River - take a boat ride
7. Bangkok National Museum
8. Khaosan Road
9. Chinatown (Yaowarat)
10. Chatuchak Weekend Market


The Old City
Below is a map of the "Old City" of Bangkok - you will find many of the temples etc are in this part of Bangkok.

Above: The old city

Another popular pastime is to go to Emporium Park, stroll around the lake or sit one of the seats and feed the doves. Pack a picnic lunch and you're all set.

24. Food - Thai Travel Menu

Some of the best (and cheapest) food in Thailand I've been told is to be found at the food stalls on the street - food hawkers. The may not have menus written up and chances are if they do, they're most likely in Thai. Which can present a bit of a conundrum for tourists who are unfamiliar with the Thai language, although you could of course point to something on the "menu" and ask the person working there what it is.

Menu Explained
Take a look at this menu board below

Above: Menu board
It has great dishes on there like chicken fried with cashew nuts, fried thousand year eggs with crispy basil leaves, spicy squid in a basil & curry sauce and many others for 20 baht each. Yet many people don't get much way past the fried rice or fried noodles.

Over rice
Many of the items can be ordered "over rice", so including rice. Ordering an indivudal dish over rice is cheaper so probably the best thing when you're travelling by yourself. If you order seperately you get more, but the price will be a little higher.

Chanchao wrote a Thai Travel Menu which you can find here. The Travel Menu is a PDf file and it requires Adobe Reader to open.

Chanchao's travel menu is the copywright of Chanchao and netasia.org
Many thanks to Chanchao for giving me his permission to use the above information in my blog.

23. Maylin Guesthouse

The Maylin Guesthouse in Vang Vieng has been recommended to me.

Price:
With prices being from 40,000 kip to 80,000 kip per night - ($5.45 to $10.95) this is a pretty good price. It's away from the noisy backpacker scene and tubing corner which is where the "action" happens.
Vang Vieng is fast becoming known for "tubing" - flying over/down the river in a rubber tyre and drinking copious amounts of beer.

Edited to add:
I checked online and put in random dates for check in and check out for this property with two different websites. One gave the price as $33.75 and the other was showing $40 something and that was in US dollars. The dollar amount(s) I gave ($5.45 to $10.95) are Australian dollars. Now it may be a case of being a far higher price if you book online through accommodation websites.

Above: Maylin Guesthouse and bungalows

Above: Vang Vieng town map
As you can see, No 17 is Maylin GH, the red arrow is the Main Highway heading towards the Bus Station. The marked letter T (in yellow) is the High Street. And the broken white line near number 34 (Thavornsouk guesthouse) is the Song Bridge.

Legend:
17. Maylin Guesthouse

Eat and Meet
A: Erawan
B: Jeska Bar
C: Kangaroo Sunset
D: Luang Prabang Bakery
E: Nazim's
F: Organic Mulberry Farm Cafe
G: Sakura
H: Smile
I: Stalls set up in front of Kang Temple
J: The Rising Sun
K: Viengchampa
L: Viewpoint Restaurant


Attractions and Activities
4: Green Discovery
5: Laos Rock Climbing
6: Tubing Co-operative
7: Wat Kang

Transport
2: Bus Station


Vital Information
1: Bank
3: Exchange

22. North Thailand and Laos

Northern Thailand

The above map shows the main attractions around Chiang Mai and rivers and roads to other towns. I'll be going from Chiang Mai>Chiang Rai>Mae Sai across the border to Tachilek (Burma), the Golden Triangle, back to Chiang Rai then across to Chiang Khong for the border crossing into Laos.



Laos

The main cities and towns of Laos. The border crossing Thailand>Laos, Chiang Khong across the Mekong to Huay Xai. From there I'll be sailing down the Mekong with an overnight stop in Pakbeng, then continuing the following day to Luang Prabang and staying there for three nights. Travelling down to Vang Vieng where I'll break my journey then next day on to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Staying here for three nights.
From there it's over the Friendship Bridge back to Thailand and train from Nong Khai>Bangkok.

Maps courtesy of Ian from Ginny Place

21. Kanchanaburi - Getting There

I've come across a very good website for information about Kanchanaburi. It's called Kanchanaburi info.com and is in English and German. One of the things I really liked about it is not only does it tell you how to get there from Bangkok, it also has the bus timetables. You catch the bus from the Southern Bus Terminal. It gives timetables, bus numbers, duration and fares. There is also information for buses from Kanchanaburi to other destinations in the area.

Suvarnabhumi Airport to Kanchanaburi
Reading the information on this page, (Post 8) I will need to get Bus No. 556 from the airport to the Southern Bus Terminal, and then get either Bus No 81 1st class for 99 baht, or Bus No 81 -1 2nd class for 77 baht. The trip takes 2 hours. As my flight lands at 11.40am and allowing at least an hour to clear customs, an hour for the bus ride from the airport plus a good 30 minutes to get my bearings, I should hopefully arrive at the bus terminal in Bangkok around 2.15pm. Another 2 and a half hours or so and I should be in Kanchanaburi by 4.45pm.

Then of course I will have to get to my accommodation place. Not sure yet how long that will take or where exactly the bus stop is in relation to the town.

Accommodation
I'll most likely be staying at the Jolly Frog which is a backpackers and cheap. The rooms I believe are very small, but then so is the price. Unfortunately, they don't have a website, so I can't book online. As the time draws nearer, I may decide to stay elsewhere - somewhere that does have online booking, is close to town and not too dear. The trouble is finding them. One place that was recommended sounds very nice but is about five times more. Something to think about anyway.

20. Things You Should Not Do In Thailand

There are some things you definitely should not do when you're in Thailnd and it's a good thing to learn before going so as to avoid giving offence.

Criticising the King
The Thai people have a great love for their king and not only is it rude to make negative remarks about the King, the royal family or the institution of the monarchy, it is also a crime. Lèse majesté is enforced in Thailand.

Patting the head
The head is the most important part of the body, so no touching someone's head.

Pointing the feet
The feet are considered dirty - you should never point them at someone, it is considered offensive. And don't point your feet at any Buddha statue.

Visiting a temple
Remove your shoes before visiting a temple.

Getting angry
Raising your voice or losing your temper is a big no-no. Not only will it not get you what you want, the local people won't respect you.

Saving face
It is important never to cause someone to lose face. So don't shout and yell in public.

Palm down
When you hail a taxi, or wish to beckon a waiter or anyone, have your palm down and fingers straight.