sweet green

Allow me to set the scene. It's a Saturday afternoon, and I have the evening open. I'm living in Southern Thailand, with the house to myself tonight. How will I make the most of my time and weekend? 

I am thinking green. I am thinking spicy. I am thinking curry. I am thinking vegetables. I am thinking fresh.

Helmet, check. Shoulders covered, check. Bargaining skills, check. Thai vocabulary..hmm, we'll see. And I'm off. First, stop is the Tesco Lotus, a mini grocery store/7Eleven-type, as I need to break my bill for some small, market change. What can I purchase that will be useful? Ah yes, a 6 liter bottle of mineral water for 35 baht. That will do.

Now what do I need for Gaeng Kiew Wan (Sweet Green Curry)? Hmm, I have coconut milk, garlic, tofu, and fish sauce at home. I think I'll grab a giant carrot, some Thai sweet basil, an onion, Thai eggplant, Thai pea eggplant, and of course some fresh curry paste. That woman looks like she knows her paste.  I'm seeing about 8-10 large bowls of curry paste before her, all the signs are in Thai. I have know idea what is what. Looks like I'll need to do some smooth talkin'.  I utter, 'Gaeng kiew wan.' The moment of truth, does she understand me. She looks at me, pauses, and says "pet pet mai (rising tone)", I say, 'chai pet pet.' She says, "yee sib baht," to which I respond, 'nit noi.' She then looks at me and smiles and says, "nit noi, nit noi, sib et baht." In Thai, she then asked, in Thai, if I wanted chicken, coconut milk, or other vegetables as she wanted to help me find my other ingredients around the market. I responded, mai chai, 'khob khun ka (thank you).' To translate it all quickly, I just ordered green curry, very spicy, in a small amount, for a grand total of 11 baht.

I'm just going to scout out the stalls quick to see who has the best produce for the best price. Ah yes, over there. Yes, I will take 1 large carrot, a basil bouquet, 1 medium-sized onion, and 8 Thai eggplant (regular). "How much?"... "25 baht?, here you are." And for the last item, pea-size eggplant, I see some just around the corner. 'How much for this handful?' The lady looks at me oddly and laughs at my tiny portion and says, "5 baht without weighing it." 'Deal', I say.

Cost
Eggplant (Thai, regular-size), Thai basil bouquet, Carrot, Onion - 25 baht
Pea eggplant - 5 baht
Garlic - free, because I chose a damaged one
Fresh green curry paste, spicy spicy - 11 baht
Coconut milk - 20 baht at the 7Eleven (I discovered later that I can buy this in the market for 10 baht for over twice the volume)
Fish sauce - no cost
Tofu - 16 baht
TOTAL COST - 79 baht for 5 servings, or 15 baht per serving (18 baht per serving with the rice)

What's in a green curry paste?
green chilies - add to your liking, also provides the green color
shallots, sliced
garlic
galangal root, sliced
lemongrass, sliced
keffir lime peel
cilantro roots/coriander root, sliced
cumin seeds, toasted
white pepper corns, toasted
salt (for taste, also preservative)
shrimp paste


The paste is made by toasting spices and grinding the ingredients together with a mortar and pestle. Wet ingredients are mixed first.

* I bought steamed rice for 15 baht (3 servings for me) due to the fact that I discovered my rice steamer does not have a cord. However, the portion I bought was the typical portion for 1 serving in Thailand. These people sure love their rice.

I wanna test out this ride home with my loot. I think I can fit everything but the water under my seat. I'll have to keep the water jug between my feet. And a successful trip home. Time to prep some vegetables.

Lets just give everything a quick rinse. While I don't drink the water here, I still wash my produce with it. Thai basil, onion, garlic, eggplant, pea-size eggplant, carrot, curry paste, fish sauce.

 Prepped vegetables, somewhat Thai-style. Sliced eggplant, tofu and onion, minced garlic, basil, coconut milk, sunflower oil, fish sauce, and shredded carrots (traditionally carrots are finely cut in curry dished, but matchstick size) from what I have noticed, but I have a fun papaya salad grater in my utensils that I just HAVE to use.  I think that the long spaghetti-length carrot strips in my dish will add some creative Holly flair.

 Close up on the produce - onion, pea-eggplant, Thai eggplant, garlic.

A closer look at the fresh curry paste (the two paste balls in the dish), one is the spicy paste and the other is the traditional green curry paste. I used nearly all of both for my dish. An option for those of you back home wanting some curry is to look for it in either the "Asian aisle" or at an "Asian food store."  Some people just buy the green curry its self, pre-made, but I guaranteed it wont be as good, I have seen it sold in jar in the US.  An advanced option is for you to come up with the paste on your own, but it will take some dedication and patience.  Sometimes it is found in packets while other times in small glass jars. Packets are found in most 7Elevens and Tesco Lotus in Thailand. If you are weary of MSG and hight sodium content, perhaps you want to make your own or avoid buying the packets (as pictured to the left).

I'm ready to start. This now be as easy as a wok in the kitchen. Fire up the gas, for some sizzle.

 Throw in some garlic, cook til aromatic in a small amount of oil. Thai's traditionally use palm or soybean oil, I used sunflower oil. This step may not be necessary, I just want to toast the garlic a bit. To make this easy for you, simply add the vegetables to the heated coconut milk (explained in recipe below).

 Adding the coconut milk, with the fresh curry paste.

 Heating the vegetables and curry paste through. Hmm, doesn't look so green to me. Add some fish sauce and a dash of sugar or honey. Fresh palm sugar is commonly used by many Thai's, inexpensive purchase in the market.

 There's the green I have been waiting for. Once the coconut milk is heated at a high enough heat for about 3-4 minutes, the oils in the coconut milk begins to separate and the curry paste aroma intensifies.  This is when you would actually want to add the protein.  The color from the Thai green chilies in the curry paste releases a beautiful "sweet green" color. It looks like it's time to add the Thai basil leaves. At this time, if I would of had keffir lime leaves, I would have added them as well. They have an amazing taste, that I cannot explain.

 I think I am ready to dish up.

  Wow, this is a beautiful dish. Did I just make that? I kind of wish I has some candles and a glass of wine to go with this. I wish I would have planned some festive music to go with this..Hmm, what was that?  Oh I know that noise, the sound of spastic feet across the tile floor, yep. Looks like the only sweet serene I am going to be hearing is 'la cucharacha.' Whatever, doesn't even phase me.  

...And that's the Thai life for me. 

My first bite, ah roi (delicious). I can't believe I just made that dish.

Gaeng Kiew Wan - Sweet Green Curry

Holly's take on Thai sweet green curry; serves: 4-5

7-8 Thai eggplant, quartered

 handful of pea eggplant

1 large carrot, sliced or grated

1 medium-size onion, cut into 6ths

3 cloves of garlic, minced (may not be necessary if you are using fresh curry paste)

~2 C of coconut milk

1-1.5 C water

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1.5 tsp of  palm sugar/sugar/honey

~ 8-10 ounces of protein (fish balls, chicken, beef, pork, or tofu)

5-6 keffir lime leaves (optional)

3 small chilies (optional), slice diagnally

1 small handful of Thai sweet basil (for garnish and a few pieces for the actual curry.

Method Clean and prep the vegetables. Start the curry paste, garlic, and onion in a wok until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, just 1.5 cups. Stir over the heat until the oil begins to separate on the surface.
Next add your protein (beef, chicken, pork, fish balls, or tofu) and keffir lime leaves (if desired). Cook until the protein is tender or done. Add the remaining coconut milk, sugar, and fish sauce. Once boiling, add the eggplant varieties. Cook until the vegetable is tender. Finally garnish with Thai basil and red chilies (sliced diagonally), prior to serving.

Eating a Thai Green Curry - Green curries are among the spiciest of curries.  The spiciness is can be adjusted but the amount of curry paste and/or chilies used.  Traditionally green curry is served with steamed sticky rice, white rice noodles, or roti (flat bread). Typical garnishes, besides the fresh Thai sweet basil leaves, may include sliced fresh cucumbers, pickled vegetables, raw long beans, and/or fresh eggplant.  If you prefer to use less coconut milk, that is also an option, simply replace it with soy milk, yogurt, etc. I would like to add that my Thai Green Curry was not traditional as I used a soft tofu (what I had on hand, wanted to add some protein). In addition I used more vegetables than I see in most curries here.  For example, most of the Gaeng Kiew Wan here does not use onions or a large quantity of carrot.  When I make this again, I plan to use more vegetables. I truly enjoyed this meal!

Dessert! "Tangmo" - watermelon

My new fruit of the week - yellow watermelon.

the road traveled

Saturdays. I love them. A day with no boundaries. My morning started off me with me looking for vanilla, yeast, whole wheat flour, and a baking sheet; the essentials for a westerner's kitchen. It was the first day in a while where the forecast was to be sunny most of the day, with a 60% chance of rain in the late afternoon.  So I hit the S. Downtiam Food Market. I was able to get what I needed and shoved everything under the seat of my bike. I wasn't sure where the next few hours would take me. 

I think what happened next was more of the 'shiny object effect.'  I took Talad Mai Road, east for several miles. I started seeing lots of temples I hadn't seen before. I then looped around and took another road. This is when I decided that there was just too much to see. 'It's sunny and the clouds are as beautiful as they ever will be. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'

Jump on the back, kick the pegs downs, and lets go.

 This road looks promising.

It appears that it's a bit difficult to blend in here. I think we are catching a lot of attention and curiosity. They must think we are lost.

Laundry day in these parts

This reminds me of the commercial where the woman drives out to the country with her laundry to get some fresh country air.

It 's a moo!

 I will always break for a cow.

 Picnic Perfect?

Rivers, rivers, rivers. So many rivers. Love the water. And the clouds.

 I think this might be a school and monastery, here along the river. Yep, there's a monk and a few nuns..and of course a few hens and cocks. None of them seem to mind that we are here.

 Rubber trees! Pulling over now. Finally, I am the one behind the throttle and have the power to pull over. Hope you don't mind. I've been wanting to see this up close.

 Can you find the collecting cups?

 This is so cool. I have never seen this before! Quit staring at me like I'm crazy. I can't help it, this is cool. Trees usually produce about 4lbs of latex in a year.  The collection is usually done while its cooler outside, as the cuts can seal if the latex begins to coagulate to quickly. You can see the panel where the the bark was stripped, searing the veins to release the latex. A panel, from what I have heard lasts around 5 years, the the opposite side is used for the next 5 so that the initially tapped side has time to heal.

 Interesting smell, not bad. I kind of want to put my hand in it. The latex is stored in tanks, coagulates and gels, then is flattened into sheets, smoke-dried then shopped to a manufacturer.

 Palm. Lush, green, and all sorts of exotic.

My only thoughts, I wonder what kinds of creatures we could find in those waters? And where is the man that dropped anchor?

I hope the homeowner and his dog don't see us hiding behind this pole. I don't think he will mind but, it just might be awkward. He seems far to fascinated in his trees to notice us right now.

 See the bags? I'll give you 20 baht or lunch on me if you can guess what kind of tree this is. Alright lets head back to the road.

 These roads and paths were far from boring. I encountered potholes, dirt roads, lizards, chickens, colorful butterflies, and a few other things that I will never be able to describe in words. I think I almost used a half a talk of fuel today, twice as much as I have used all week heading to work and my Thai lessons.  Ready to head back and get some food for the evening? Me too. 

I am thinking we should head to the night market, maybe stop by P'Phen's to say hi. Oh, you're not interested.. oh you're sunburned eh. Alright, why don't you rest up and I will tell you about the happenings later.

 Rambutan, pronounced n'gh'ah in Thai.

P'Phen told me that rambutan originated in Surat Thani and that this native fruit won't be ready until July.  She continually reminds me or their origin and that the best ones come from Surat. Her claim is that Surat rambutans are sweet and crisper.  She informed me that the truck beds of rambutan that I see daily are from the Chanthanuri province (Thailand), which is east of Surat Thani - across the gulf, near Cambodia. I have tried several rambutans over the course of the past week, they are sweet and juicy, with the texture of a grape.  In the center is a small almond-shaped, woody seed.

P'Phen ended up inviting me in, as she was excited to have me as company.  Her nephew was there. The three of us talked some and then she asked if I had eaten yet. I said, no that I was going to head to the market.  She then asked if I would join her for supper. I of course said yes. I even got to help with some of the meal prep.

 Rice steaming on the burner to the left and the wok preheating.

 The omelet mixture to the right, with red onion and fish sauce. The bowl on the left has has what P'Phen calls small red onions.

 The omelet, frying away in the soybean oil. P'Phen said that palm or peanut oil have a much better taste.  She told me that I need to make this for my family when I go back home. She stated that I could also add sweet raisins to add some fragrant flavor. The egg was heated through by pulling the outside edges away from the center.

 Flipping the omelet.

 Dishing up some steamed rice. Whether you like it or not, just put a little on your plate. Saves a lot of confusion on the Thai end.

 Japanese fish, pronounced saba, a deep sea fish. P'Phen said she picked this up at one of the local markets, organic kale, and the omelet.  The lighter sauce was for the kale - with a sweet, spicy, herby flavor. The other sauce was a chili pepper sauce for the fish, I'm thinking it had a fish sauce base. It was a good meal and I enjoyed my company.

My Thai homework, a fun little end note to many of my P'Phen encounters. 

I do enjoy a cool evening ride at the end of the day.

the rose

Just thought I'd fill you you in on a little of my Friday night. I was going to head to the market, because for whatever reason I wanted some grilled chicken, grilled sweet corn, and some fresh pineapple.  Usually when I go to the market I don't know if I will even buy anything. Most of the time, I just find it fun. Moving on, I set in to the market, meandered around.  I heard several 'hellos,' without looking I knew they were for me.  I looked up and there were several smiling faces aimed my way.

It was my market friends that I say hello to nearly every time I am there.  This time it was a mother, her "son" and her son's friend.  The mother sells fruit, the friend sells CDs, and the "son" helps out where needed. The mother motioned me to sit down with her in the center of the stall, so I did. We talked some. Not long after another friend of theirs stopped in.  She spoke English fairly well, good enough for basic conversation.  Soon the English speaking friends left and I sat there as the mother kept handing me pieces of jackfruit.  I offered to buy a bag of pineapple, but the mother refused to let me pay for it, "I give for free," with a lovely Thai smile on her face. Let me tell you, it, was delicious pineapple, so delicious.  From then on her "son," was weaving in and out of interaction with me, as he speaks little English.  "He" mostly just smiles at me and says a few lines here and there. I have met "him" several times, always a friendly and welcoming person. "He" always wants me to try new Thai foods.

I'll just cut to the chase, the "son" is clearly transgender, but pulls it off handsomely, well. That evening he shared his sweet corn with me, broke the cob in two right before my eyes. This should be a big clue as to where I am going with this written nonsense, as we all know this is how Iowan's propose to one another in the states.  He left for a while and came back with a flower for me, red rose. Everyone around us giggled. Yes, more than a friendly gesture perhaps.  I have told them several times about my fiance in the US, but I think he doesn't quite understand that with the language barrier, I don't know for sure. I could make out what he was saying to the Thai's walking by, people he knew, 'she's my friend. She's my friend and then would giggle.' He said other words that I didn't catch.  It actually wasn't awkward for me at all.  It's just weird. I think what it comes down to is.. these Thai's spend their entire day in a market. It's their life. So when something new comes along, such as a white person that wants to be a friend, it is exciting.  Most of my market conversations revolve around me telling them about myself and where I am from, me learning about Thai food and language, and me teaching them a few words of English.  About a half hour later, I said goodbye to my friends and they sent me home with a bag of rambutans and said to come say hello again when I am back at the market. I agreed and head for home.

On the way home I nearly made it to my house, when my neighbors called my name.  I could see a few of their heads in the darkness down the small driveway. When I got there I realized that none of these neighbors spoke much of any English, beyond hello. All of them were men, some of their wives made appearances and said hello. Whatever, I thought to myself. So I sat down.  They offered me whiskey, of course. I told them in Thai that I didn't care for whiskey.  They asked a few more times.  I knew that this would continue as 'everyone' needs to have a drink in their hand to enjoy the evening in Thailand, so it seems.  Soon enough a man pulled up on his bike with a bottle of Leo beer. "Oh dear, ok," I thought to myself. I did my best with a few sips, everyone wanting to cheers me, "chun," "chun," "chun..."  It ended up being an enjoyable evening. I learned some Thai and they learned some English. We were able to communicate with each other. I had to explain to them where I got my rose, as they all my Nick is back home. Several of them have told me they want to meet Nick, can't blame them :) I didn't know how to explain transgender and such, so I ended up changing my story without them knowing it, telling them it was from a Thai woman selling fruit in the market.

I really like these situations, I am forced to use and build from the Thai I know.  The interesting moments of the night, I learned most of my new Thai vocabulary from a partially mute man. The fascinating thing was that I didn't know he was mute until about a half hour in.  Let's just say if he was on my team during a game of charades, we would dominate. I now laugh at this because the whole time I was talking with him, as we were trying to kill the language barrier, he was using so many gestures.. and I just thought he was just really trying to be patient and expressive with me.

It was a nice evening, I'll take it. Oh ya, and I was apparently sipping my beer in the presence of an undercover monk..

papaya weekend

Lately the days seem to go by fast, both the work week and weekends. The rainy season is setting in.  It seems to rain around 4-4:30 pm daily.  It can make for a damp, splashy ride home from work. The rains are usually heavy with fairly strong winds.  The rain lasts around 15-50 minutes.  Softer rains often follow the initial bursts. I would say that we get precipitation 2-3 times per day.  The Andaman coast (west), sees more precip.  Once the rain slows, so dies the wind.  I find the storms to be refreshing, the air gets cooler and thunder just makes it fun.

Friday was the celebration of the birth and enlightenment of Buddha, 24 May, therefore a public holiday. It was a nice break to a busy work week. I was able to do some exploring around the city and also caught up with some friends and family.
Friday I did some cleaning, a market run, and a little catching up on projects, as it rained most of the afternoon and evening.  I bought some fresh fruit at the market to bring to a house warming party.  I decided on watermelon, guava, papaya, pomelo, mangos, and rose apples.  I also brought some monkey beans, which is similar to our peanuts in the US.  The only difference is that the legume is smaller in Thailand.  I bought them fresh off the coals from an elderly lady in the market, 20 baht per bag.

In the evening I met with my neighbor Prom (pictured on the far right) and his wife Ghuy for the evening for their house warming. They recently purchased a new house about 4 km from my place.  Ghuy picked me up and took me over.  It was an interesting location.  The road went from paved to clay/dirt to paved, dirt, etc. I was able to see that much more of the city.  I am amazed how little distance I need to go before I feel like I'm in the country. The scenery is so beautiful;  rivers, bridges, and lush green vegetation.


We arrived at the house, amidst the rain. The home was just built, and it is spectacular.  I was greeted by several of Prom's Thai friends, his mother and father, and his sister-in-law.  And it wouldn't be Thai-style without great Thai food and plenty of drinks. And, let's not forget on of the most important piece to any Thai get-together, karaoke! Yep, something about Asians and karaoke (every song sounds nearly the same as the one before it).  After my introductions I sat with Prom and some of his friends (who knew little to know English).  I was able to converse in broken phrases with them. As always I felt welcomed from the second I met them all.

As I sat, I noticed several plates already at the table, maybe 5 or so dishes, buckets of ice, and bottles of Johnny Walker (Thai's are all about Whisky, ice, and soda water for celebrations). I was told to help myself.  I tried a spoonful of a few of the dishes, I was told that more food was on the way.  I soon tried some new and amazing Thai food.  I got the impression that it made everyone around me happy and surprised that I was so willing to try the food.  Prom's friends kept spooning food on to my plate, as a new dish was presented to the table every five minutes.  So much food! This was the some really good and authentic Thai food.  One of my favorites was a fish dish, just behind the soup pot.  I was a large white fish with spices and lime on it.  It was a little tangy, spicy, and extremely tender - best of all no fishy taste. The soup in the center is tom yam, aka a tangy spicy soup with calamari. Two pictures above you will see white ball, know as fish balls, probably the only dish I didn't appreciate.  I would say the fish balls are a popular item here though, you see them everywhere, from street venders to the 7Eleven, to local restaurants.  In addition there were other great dishes with legumes, shrimp and cashews, or dishes with egg and leafy greens, and so many more.

Later in the evening I was officially introduced to Prom's parents. As Thai custom I wai'd them, as older individuals are highly respected.  Neither parent knew much English, I spoke what little Thai I could.
I learned later, in my conversation with Prom, that his dad served in Vietnam. Prom told me how his dad still has a hard time with the topic, but not all bad memories.  His dad also made a friend while serving, it just so happens that his friend was from Wisconsin. I guess they reunited years after their service, with the help of a translator.  Prom told me that his dad and other Thai soldiers would trade their guns and cigarettes to the American soldiers, for lighters. The night ended with karaoke and 3 out of 5 kegs of Leo beer (Thai beer) finished. My glass was never empty the entire night. I would take three sips and someone would see my glass as far from full.  I kept telling Prom that I was ok, but he said, "it's impolite in Thailand for guest to not have a full glass." So there you have it.  If you see the chair next to him with the pitcher, know that that pitcher was for me, so that he could see to it that my glass was always full.  As the night went on I could pick up a few words here and there.  I hear his friend say something about the farang and ice.  That's when I realized he was commenting on the fact that I didn't drink my beer with ice.  Thai's are well of the fact that us Westerners don't drink with ice in our beer.  Do you care to know the Thai rationale for ice in the beer? Prom has told me three times now, so I promise I wont lead you astray.  "In Thailand do you know that we have two seasons, not like in America." I just smiled at him. "In Thailand we have HOT and *@*&!^ HOT, so we drink our beer WITH ice."

On Saturday morning, I received a call from Chanphen (pronounced Shawn Penn, means full moon in Thai, as she was born on a full moon), wanted to see if I was still interested in a day in Chaiya.  I was all about this.  Chaiya is one of the oldest cities in Thailand, know for its temples and coastline, just north of Surat Thani.  I headed over to her places and we left in the late morning.  The drive was beautiful.  We took a scenic route, as Chanphen or P'Phen called it versus taking the main highway.  The winding roads took us along rice paddies, a shrimp farm, through rubber and palm plantations and over rivers. I enjoyed the drive, about 1 hour drive via car. Just 10 km from Chaiya, we stopped to see her nephews.  We ate ate a local restaurant, where her oldest nephew has his own furniture business.

The restaurant was perfect.  It was the typical roadside stop, great food included.   Roasters and a couple dogs ran around the restaurant.  There were a handful of locals there, also enjoying the food. P'Pen did the ordering for the 4 of us.  We sat and talked about travel, Thai and American stereotypes, and also about studying abroad.  The youngest nephew, with un-broken English asked me several questions about travel, as he plans to head to England for his PhD in Chinese history.  Soon enough the food made it our way.  We dined on a late afternoon lunch of fresh catfish, sticky rice, and som tam (green papaya salad). And let me tell you, it was very good.  I have never heard good things about catfish in the states, as far as it being a good eat.  However, in Thailand it is another story.  The fish had great flavor, included was an amazing sauce to dip it in.  There wasn't a lot of meat on the fish, but a little went far for me.  The papaya salad, is always a favorite of mine, spicy goodness.  And lets not forget the rice.  No Thai would dream of a day or meal without rice.










[Interesting tidbit: gin means to eat and kao means rice, the two words are inseparable in the Thai language. In phrasing it the two words are used to ask if you have eaten rice and to ask how you are. Clearly, any Thai that has gone without rice, can not be doing well.]

My thoughts on sticky rice, I like to dip my sticky rice in the som tam, like many Thais.  It's different that steamed white rice, it has a chewier taste and can be eaten with your hands, as the grains stick together, hence the name.  I do like it. This was a great meal to share among friends.

After eating we headed to Chiaya, to Wat Suan Mokkh, a temple.  The International Dharma Hermitage temple is known for it's 10 day Buddhist retreats.  P'Phen told me there were twp different places for people to go for meditation one side for Thai's and the other for foreigners.  I went her to the Thai side.  We mostly walked around and took in the setting.  The setting was beautiful, lots of trees, vegetation, and fresh air. We walked around the temples and saw some beautiful modern art, as the temple was built in the last 20 years.  As I walked around the temple, a monk sat on a ledge in the temple, talking with a dozen or so Thai's coming to hear his take.  He sat with in his gold garb, with a long thin branch across his lap.  The setting was peaceful, quiet and natural.  P'Phen sat and listened, all the preaching was obviously in Thai.  I sat some and also walked around taking in the setting and the paintings.

 

 Lotus, could fit family of 5

After the temple, we set out for some of the afternoon market. P'Phen got her afternoon coffee and I tried what I thought was going to be hot tea.  Along the way a Thai dessert caught my eye - though at the time I had no idea it was a dessert. The Kahnohm (dessert in Thai) looked much like a 50 lb bird nest, felt like the lining you put under your silverware tray so it doesn't slide around, and the taste was a rubber-like texture with a hint of sweet.  The lady behind the stall, offered me a piece to try.  Just let me know if any of you back home would like me to send you some edible cheese cloth, should ship well.  As for my tea, it was a sweetened hot tea.  The flavor was nice, but it was way too sweet in my opinion.  I believe condensed milk and raw sugar were among a few of the ingredients.  P'Phen and I sat there and visited, I sipped my red-brown color tea, still unsure of what kind of tea it was. 

As we sat and talked about Thai food and culture, Chanphen suggested I try some salapao, a steamed rice flour bun with either pork or custard in the center.  She told me that it came from Ranong, where they are known for some of best salapao in Thailand.  Ranong was were I stayed one night up in the mountains before I reached the jungle village.  Anyways, P'Phen tried the pork and egg and I had a sweetened one.  It wasn't bad, not sure I would go out of the way to get one, but it was nice.  I enjoyed it all.  

Around 5, we set out of Chaiya, after our short time there.  Along the highway I noticed a lot of roots and interesting wood just sitting out along a fence line.  I inquired about it, that was when P'Phen said, "oh would you like to stop?" I said sure. Soon I noticed beyond the fencing, was a large wooden building with lots of lumber and interesting trees along the driveway.  We stepped out and a man waved at P'Phen, "she said, I know him, we are good friends." I swear everyone knows her, a common occurance wherever she goes.  The man invited us in to what I thought was his business.  I couldn't stop looking around. The wood work I saw was like nothing I had ever seen before.  This was some of the largest whole-piece furniture I had ever seen.  I learned that all of the wood was native to Thailand, from all over the country.  Here I thought he was selling these large pieces, when actually he was collecting them.  These pieces were larger that King-size beds. Tables were about 20 feet in length, chairs were made from beautiful, giant stumps, and several giant dragon couches and benches that varied from 10-18 feet in length. The pictures I took don't do the art justice, just know that the pieces were amazing.  I cannot recall the name of the wood as it is a Thai name with interesting tones.  When I asked about the quality of wood, I was told that it is better than teak, and much firmer.  

As I sat and took in the several pieces, the three of us talked (P'Phen did the translating), the man repeated over and over that he wanted me to come again and that my family and friends are welcome.  The man smiled the whole time and asked me many questions about my education, my background, the types of wood in the US, and about how college education works in the US. He was really into the education questions, as his son is currently studying in Boston.  Let's just say that he is by far the wealthiest man I know in Thailand.  He has his own rubber plantation just down the road from his home and is paying for his child to get a good education.  He told me that he wanted me to come back so that I could visit with his son, as his son knows English very well.  I could tell that he was really proud of his son. Just before leaving, we toured what I would call a glorified shelter area.  It was cemented with center beams made of 1,000 year old trees.  You will see these in the pictures below.  The bark is removed from the perimeter of the tree, and the center is left to hold a building.  The man said he aspired to turn it into a restaurant. 

It's conversations, moments, and weekends like this that put many things into perspective. 

 House view from the road

 Beams made from 1000 year old trees