coffee is my HAPPY

Over the past weeks I have been having all sorts of adventure.  From summer camps to Surat Thani (ST) exploration, I have been enjoying time.  Several of my mornings have started with 3-4 year olds.  They keep my energy up and have me smiling often.  There are 17-20 of them depending on the day.  I work with their English speaking and motor development, but also creating fun activities for them.  Mostly I take advantage of playing with gooey, messy, colorful things.  My best discoveries so far, playing with color, duck-duck-goose (they say duck-duck-goot or gooth - ha makes me laugh).  I just showed them the game two days ago and they are in love with it.  It's the simple things.

Everyday, I walk around the ST, looking for new and interesting things to see and do.  Depending on the day and time of day, there seems to be a variety of new happenings.  I came across a local fair on the east central area of ST a couple of weeks ago. It was neat to see.  It was different that the fair by the river.  It was small but with different foods and venders.  Everyone seemed like they were having a good time.  Kids were just getting out of their summer classes, walking towards the fair, enjoying games and rides.  In one of the clothing stalls, I saw some skirts for 100 baht each.  I decided it was a good price and that they were good quality, I purchased three.  I know I will get some good use out of them working with a more strict dresscode, black skirts and pants.  Interestingly, there are always 40-50 year old working at all-female clothing stalls.  I had to laugh as the man assisting me (in his button-down shirt and boxer shorts) was telling me what size I needed. 
 
I have tried different foods after school or during the lunch hours.  I have had some good luck finding some new and interesting food.

 Khao paht - chicken fried rice 

I am not a big fan of fried rice, you see a lot of it in Asia. This however was probably the best I have had.

 

One day after class I stopped and order an item in the window mostly because I had no idea what it was.  I found out later, from Chanphen that it was beet root with egg. The flavor was good, it was a sweet/salty-tangy taste. It doesn't look like much, but it was worth a try.  With it, each table receives the long beans (shown above) and the table condiment is the soy/fish sauce with minced chilies to add flavor and heat to nearly any dish.  Overall it was good, but there was more rice than the actual dish. I have a feeling I was suppose to add another entree to the rice. Next time I shall get it figured out, cost 25 baht. Some free ice water included, much appreciated on 90+degree days.

Chanphen (pronounced Shawn-Penn) met up me several times in the past two weeks, we went for several city strolls.  One days I decided I'd treat her to a coffee outing.  She suggested the spot.  Chanphen LOVES coffee. She always tells me, "coffee is my happy." She says she drinks 3 cups a day, when she would rather drink 5. She cuts back because she believes it's healthier. She enjoyed her hot coffee and I tried my first Thai ice-coffee.  Mine was a bit too sweet, but not awful.  Thais' like to add sugar and condensed milk to their ice-coffees.  Custard breads are available all over, typically at the street side or in mobile street carts. She encouraged me to try it.  The color is natural, comes from the pandan leaf.  The sauce or custard is coconut milk, sugar, and a pandan leaf.  The bread is also colored by the pandan leaf, steamed.  The leaf is used in many dishes, favored for its aromatic properties.  The bread is very soft and has a sweet chewy feel.  To concluded the afternoon stop, we enjoyed some hot tea.

Chanphen and I have had several dates lately.  She was remodeling a bathroom so she asked if I wanted to got to Tesco Lotus.  I was picturing the small grocery store (more like a grocery/convenience store) that I see all over Thailand.  I met her at her place. He nephew then drove us to the outer limits of the city, where we ended up at, I would describe as a mall.  There was a 'home center', called Home Pro on the upper level.  It was similar to a Home Depot.  It wasn't exciting but it was a worthwhile experience seeing more of the region by vehicle versus foot (somewhat limiting). In addition, I think the workers hadn't seen such white skin walk through their doors.  Interesting culture piece for you, if Thai's aren't working they sit and talk, and sometimes sleep. So it's really obvious that I am not a typical sight, when I walk by a group of workers sitting in an aisle talking, they all stop talking to watch me.  The funniest thing I experienced was waiting for Chanphen at the checkout.  The man holding her bags was lifting the bags in one hand as if they were dumbbells, staring at his biceps - all 80 lbs of him. He would casually look over at me, I couldn't help it, I laughed out loud.

On the way back we stopped along the river and went to a Vietnamese restaurant.  Her nephew joined us, not saying much of anything the whole trip. I tried talking with him, and eventually ruled out him knowing any English.  I would say he was in his early thirties.  At the restaurant were given a list of menu items on a tablet, all in Thai.  We then checked off what we wanted, I had no idea what any of the food was aside from a few menu pictures. Kind of exciting.  Chanphen encouraged me to order a few items so that we could all share them together, common practice in Vietnamese and even some Thai restaurants (family style).  As we waited for food, I began to ask Chanphen several questions about different foods.

My interest was spurred by a large dish of herbs and greens placed before us on the table.  I tried some new herbs, the Thai basil is still one of my favorites.  The others were still quite good. Slowly her nephew began to contribute to the conversation. After about 2 hours of knowing him he started to talk to me after he heard me say that I grew up on a farm.  He spoke English after all.  I soon learned that he was going to school for nuclear engineering, hoping to start his own sustainable farm through natural energy.

Soon enough the food came.  This was such a fun way to try some new cuisine.  Between the two of them I was able to get some good translation and food info from them. And so the course went.  As a customary welcome, her nephew paid for the meal.  He was very happy to do it and wanted me to feel welcome in ST. Check out some of our dishes..

 

 Spicy Tuna Salad - tomatoes, lemongrass, chilies, green papaya, red onions, chilies, herbs, sauces.

  Vietnamese fish and vegetable rolls with a spicy peanut and vegetable sauce.

  Steamed pork in leaves, rice noodles with crisp onion, and spicy peanut/chili sauce.  The pork was really good, looks interesting in the leaves but was really tender and flavorful.

 Fried tofu with a sweet honey/toasted peanut sauce.

Each dish was really good.  The sauces were all different.  I look forward to revisiting this restaurant, nice location along the river. Sadly I had all the Thai names of these foods, but my papers got rained on and now I don't know where I put them to keep them 'safe.'

PS I am a little behind on my posts with my moving and Malaysian visa run. Stay tuned for more fun.

Ko Phagnam - Songkran

Friday morning, come 4 am, Holly and I set out for our island adventure to Ko Phagnam.  We took her vehicle to the ferry.  It was about a 45 minute ride to the ferry, from her residence.  We arrived to find that we were not early enough for the 6am ferry.  We were told we had to wait for the 10am ferry if we wished to take a vehicle over. The ferry ride was about 2.5 hours. It would have been slightly more pleasant without the powerful rains that stuck 30 minutes in. A bit cold for me with the ocean breezes.

 The views while waiting on the pier.

While waiting, I spotted some excitement in the water.

From the ferry, I saw something rippling the water.

Can you guess?

Dolphins hunting. Right in front of me.  I saw the fish being chased.  I saw cow's with their calves at their sides during the full hunt. I saw my PINK dolphins. I got to see some after all; and I have only been here a couple of weeks.  The fish actually skim the top of the water before being devoured. I would guess that I saw about 8 or so dolphins and perhaps 3 calves.

 How beautiful is this? And just think about the splendor and plunder below.

What's my favorite planet? 

Earth.

Keeps a smile on my face.

On Friday night I enjoyed some fire shows along the shore. This is always fun. I experienced some of this in Cambodia. Young Thai men used batons and ball-chain fire wods. I was called up several times by one Thai guy so that he could throw fire around me, behind me, in front of me, and around my head - things we can't do in the US without lawsuits. Most of the action was set to music.  The best part was that these men/boys just do it for fun and to hang out, expecting no tips.  The fire wasn't the only crazy element to experience.  Several times I felt the earth give out below me.  The tide was playing with my mind. In my head I knew the water was far from the outershore, but not really.  The water would randomly gush in 50-70 feet and there I would be, sitting on a bench with a surge of water pulling at me. I had firey sky ahead of me, waves tugging tugging on my ankles and glittery night sky.  And because it was almost the thirteenth, waterworks were already starting.  I was shot with water and water balloons several times. Then came the downpour.  I walked back to my guesthouse through water trenches.  Let's just say that this island could use some help with runoff management, but then I wouldn't have deep puddles to jump in.

 And now ladies and gents, I present to you... Songkran 2013 - Ko Phangam Edition.

No time to prepare.

Water explosions. Rain. Chalk paint. Buckets. Hoses. Music. Adults. Children. WaterGuns. Ice water. Smiles...

All coming your way. Unavoidable.

(Hide your camera)

 Enjoying the street water fights.  The cars and trucks coming down the road are full of people with water guns, 30 gallon drums of water (many with ice blocks in them), and buckets.

 More street action.

 Checking out the wave seen by one of the local beaches. WINDY and rainy. Some powerful water.

 

 This is the area where I went snorkeling. Believe it or not. I saw some amazing things.  The picture makes me smile because not many people have any idea what's hiding in that water. But I do!

I set off from shore seeing some neat fish and sea cucumbers in the shallows.  Then a significant drop off at 50 feet in. It was then that it hit me that I was in the ocean.  It was a scary and exciting feeling.  I saw beautiful neon colored fish and the biggest, flattest fish I have ever seen. Some of the neon fish were cheetah printed (5-6 neon colors) and others were striped. There was a huge camouflaged grouper hiding against some coral.  As I went deeper I saw neon blue fish, maybe 1-2" in length, at most.  There were sea cucumbers by the hundred on the floor, the deeper I went the bigger they got.  I watched schools of 6-18" fish swim by me as if I was one of them.  The coral was gold and some with metallic purple surfaces.  Floating on the surface, at times I feared getting my legs ripped by the larger coral. Giant red sea anemone swayed in the water as I went by.  I felt like I was in the living, Finding Nemo.  I lost track of time while I was there.  The beach was nearly empty, I was by myself most of the time exploring the underworld. I am looking forward to more of this. Cost, 230 baht ticket on a ferry. I was lent the snorkel mask. Free entertainment once you have a mask.

This is was a beautiful veiwpoint near the area where I snorkeled. What you may never know, is how hard it is to get to the top, barefoot.  This cliff had a rugged surface, felt like I was walking on sharp shards of rock.

 

Corn and vegetable tofu, 80 baht. Ordered from a resort restaurant.

The next evening, I went to a quaint night market and bought some supper. It rained 4 out of the 5 days I was there.  The nice part was that the weather was cooler than normal.  I am really looking forwards to more island exploration.  There are several islands within a closer proximity to my future home.  Maybe even attend a full moon party if I have the right company.

Pre-Songkran

Happy New Year

The Thai New Year, Songkran (April 13-15) started early for me (April 11).  I attended some of the festivities at The Language school last Thursday to get a feel of the summer camps.

The kids did a presentation with skits in Thai.  I didn't understand what they were saying, but they were having fun.  Some of the children were dressed in Traditional attire. Later the kids lined up.  They then paraded into the courtyard area.  The Buddha was placed on on gold plate.  Two little girls then passed through and placed pink flower petals around it.  Next the children paraded towards some of the new staff, including me.  Each staff member was given a fragrant flower wreath. Our hands were held in a praying position (I'm only using one hand in the pic to take the picture) with a pocket on the inside of my hands.  A few little girls placed flower petals in my hands, and the white flowered-wreath dangled from my finger tips.  The children the used silver bowls to pour water over our hands t wish us luck in the new year. Coincidentally it started to rain and pour.  The fun didn't stop there.

With in a few moments, two young boys made eye contact with me. One threw a bucket of water and the other went at me with his water gun. And so the pre-Songkran activities began.

 

The little girl with the gold flowers in her hair kept filling my bowl and bucket with water.  She was getting dumped on, but that didn't stop her - she brought me bucket after bucket of water. Kinda cute. One great thing, no crying kids.  The kids were either smiling happy or with determined faces, nothing in-between. I was a target for several kids.  No worries, I did my fair share of soaking small, foreign children.  As the afternoon concluded, I walked back to my current place, drenched.  I received several smiles on my way back as I meandered past several shop owners.

On the way back, I has strict orders to call Chanphen.  We had a date planned.  She met up with me and we set out for a stroll.  She told me that she had somewhere that she wanted to take me.  We ended up at a quaint little restaurant.  The decor was interesting, while small, it was filled with interesting collections of the shop owner.  Chanphen treated me to some fried tofu and fried Thai bread. In Thai, the bread is called salapow - typically steamed.  The bread actually originated in China.   The bread is white and has some sort of filling on the inside (ie minced/shredded pork, red beans, custard, chicken, etc). From what I gathered, the owners had taken a popular Thai steamed bread and fry it in soybean oil.  I am not a huge fan of fried bread, but getting a taste is worth it.  I was quizzing Chanphen.  I suspected it was made with taro, so it was.  Both dishes were served with a chili sauce sauces topped with peanuts, I also reckon it had a bit of a 'tea' taste to it that I couldn't put my finger on.  The sauce was different than any I have tried thus far in SE Asia and I have tried several sauces.  Good experience. Each plate was 20.

  Fried Steamed Bread - pronounced: salapow taw-d; 20 Baht

 Fried Tofu - pronounced: td-owhoo; 20 Baht

Khanom Beach

  

My first weekend in Surat Thani was eventful and pleasant.  After the Walking Street Market on Saturday, Holly I and I headed to Khanom Sunday. In Khanom there is a beach about 45 minutes from my soon to be home. I don't have a lot of words to share about the beach. I think the pictures are enough. These are the ocean views to each side of me (2 above pictures). Notice all the people, beach towels, venders, and chaos. This is about 2pm in the afternoon, Sunday.  This was a peaceful day. I spent most of my day in the salty waves, completely by myself.  If I were to guess, I would say this is a beach more for Thai's.  In which case, if Thai individual were to swim here, they would wait til the sun went down, to protect their skin.  I saw a couple locals down at the beach just before sunset, some distance away.  Thai's don't particularly like the sun, many wear hats.  To swim, it's common to see Thai's just walk into the water with their clothes on. 

The surf was clean, sandy, and with gentle waves.  I saw some fish as I went further out.  I am told that typically I would be able to see Ko Samui (Samui Island) from the beach. However due to the hazy sky, the island wasn't visible.  As I was swimming into the afternoon, I got to thinking, 'hey this is the first time I will swim in SE Asia without being stung by a jellyfish.' Just after I finished that thought, I swiped my hand through the water and caught a plastic bag on my hand. However, this object was more of a jellyfish than a bag.  Luckily it was small and not the stinging-type.  The jellyfish looked looked like a clear cloud, I didn't see any tentacles.  I now wished I would have held on to it longer to get a good look at it.  My first reaction was to get it off my hand, as I am unfamiliar with the good vs not-so-good jellyfish.  Not long after, I caught sight of something peculiar near the shore.  I walked towards one of the biggest jellyfish I have ever seen in person. I found the size of the jellyfish fascinating.  I have seen this type of jellyfish on the Discovery Channel, they are quite a site to see floating in the water.  The little sacks on its side fill up as they float in the water. 

In the evening I was looking forward to spotting some dolphin activity.  I was told that dolphins make there way back to the river at dusk, always traveling together.  They hit the gulf for hunting purposes. and then travel back to the river in the evening.  A local shop owner indicated that the dolphins area seen nearly every night around 5pm.  The Surat Thani coastal area is known for its pink dolphins.  There are only two countries in the world with pink dolphins, Thailand and Brazil.  As for as Thailand, the pink dolphins are only seen in Surat Thani, so I am told.  The color of the dolphins is believed to be related to their diet, rich in shrimp.  Some of the dolphins are all pink, while others have spots of pink on them.  It was unfortunate to succumb to the fact that I wouldn't be seeing dolphins as night hit.  However, all wasn't lost.  I was given one beautiful, quiet sunset that evening.

The food near the beach was good.  There was a small restaurant (CC Beach) on the beach where meals could be ordered. I spent a bit more on the Indian food, it was good but they completely toned down the spice nothing.  I know they did this because I am white.  I am finding that unless I specify, SPICY, Thai's assume I cannot handle the heat.  I was very surprise with the Tikka masala, as it is known to be a spicy Indian meal, had no spice. As for the dish, it was good but needed some spicy Indian flare, like real tikka. This was probably the most expensive meal I have ordered the whole time I have been in Asia. I am a sucker for Indian food, cost 260 baht.  The chapati however, was great. Chapati is an Indian flat bread, slightly thicker than a tortilla.

Cashew chicken with chillies, carrots, peppers. 80 B.

Chicken tikka masala with chapati, coriander sauce, yogurt sauce - Indian cuisine. Cost, 60 baht.

When I arrived back to Surat Thani, I had ordered 'take away,' meaning the food is to be taken 'to-go.'  This quaint restaurant might be a favorite of mine in the area.  The lady that works there has several silver pots with various curries.  The tables each have their pickled greens and other fresh vegetables to add to the dishes.  I am going to say that was one of my best take-out experiences. All food items are bagged up.  I ordered the spicy green curry with Thai noodles (white rice noodle). Cost, 35 baht! 

I got definitely got my moneys worth. Also, I received a lovely bouquet of Thai basil with my order. I was flattered. Thai basil is nothing like sweet basil that we get in the US. This basic has a non-basil-like taste, it's full of refreshing flavor and goes well with curries or sticky rice, in my opinion.  The great think about Thai basil is that it keeps well refrigerated and also can be replanted as is.  To replant, the stem is simply placed in the soil.  I am told that one does not need to put the stem in water to start roots.