Eating in Thailand; Chopsticks, Spoons, & Fingers
Word Count:
467
Summary:
Just because you are in an Asian country doesn’t mean you will always be required to use chopsticks. You may be surprised to find out which eating utensils you will use most in Thailand.
Keywords:
thailand, pattaya, thai, spoon, thailand, food, soup, different, meals, vegetables, isaan
Article Body:
When in Rome, do as the Romans. When in Thailand, do as the Thaïs do. Nothing will endear you more to the local people in Thailand is knowing how to eat like they do.
This is something very simple but goes a long way in making friends in a foreign country. And since eating is the national sport of Thailand, doing it the right way will help you in fitting right in.
Most Thai meals consist of meat, rice and vegetables. I know this is a generalization but I am talking about most of the meals. For meals like this you will only be given two utensils, a spoon and a fork. There are also fried noodle dishes that are also eaten with spoon and fork.
The spoon is used to eat with and the fork is basically a shovel used to push food on the spoon. The meat will cut in bite size pieces so there is no need for a knife. Once you get used to it, it is a very easy way of eating.
A knife is only needed if you order something like a steak or have some bread that needs buttering. But, this is not Thai food.
Chopsticks are primarily used when eating soup. One of the Thai staples is noodle soup called gwet-ee-ow (your phonetics may differ from mine). This soup can be found on almost every corner in Thailand. It comes with a variety of vegetables, different sized noodles, and different meats. There will be different condiments that can be added; hot chili peppers, crushed peanuts, sugar, vinegar and more. The best thing to do is to add a little and give it a taste and see what else needs to be added. Of course, a spoon is also used to sample the broth.
You can also get back to basics and enjoy some Thai food with no utensils at all. You can call it Thai finger food. Sticky rice, fruits, and vegetables are sometimes easier to eat just by using your fingers. Your girl may peel, break, or share a bite with you and all she will use are her fingers and her teeth. It may not be the most sanitary, but it is delicious and a lot of fun.
And, if you are really brave, you can sample some of the Isaan, or northeast, snacks. You will see many bug carts in Bangkok and Pattaya displaying crickets, ants, beetles, silkworms and other delicacies. If you can down these, you will endear yourself to your Isaan friends forever.
So, as you can see, there are just a few things to learn to eat like the Thaïs do. Eat the local food and do it in the proper way and you will enjoy your holiday all the more.
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Coastal Latinos Club de Vacaciones y Negocio Paquetes de Vacaciones Ganar Dinero en Internet
Showing posts with label pattaya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pattaya. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Celebrate Songkran in Thailand
Celebrate Songkran in Thailand
Word Count:
534
Summary:
Sawasdee Pii Mai & Happy Thai New Year! Although it is a few months away, it is never too late to plan for a trip to Thailand to celebrate Thai New Year.
Keywords:
songkran, year, water, new, new year, tourists, people, thailand, pattaya, bangkok, wet, tourist, festival, bangkok pattaya
Article Body:
Songkran will be celebrated from 13 – 15 April in 2008 (or 2551 on the Thai calendar) and usually runs for about a week unofficially in parts of Bangkok and Pattaya. Thai people know how to party and celebrate their own New Year, Chinese New Year and the Western New Year. Of the three, Songkran is the wildest.
Depending on who you ask, Songkran is the best or the worst time of year to be on vacation. The main reason – water. Traditionally, Songkran is a water festival and celebrated by ‘sprinkling” water on other people. In tourist areas of Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket, the sprinkling has escalated to fire hoses, water tube blasters, and super-soakers.
Drunken tourists and locals in Pattaya and on Khaosan Road in Bangkok take this festival as a time to get absolutely crazy and drench each other in water. Additionally, a white paste made from flour or talcum powder is smeared on unwitting people’s faces.
If you are in a tourist area or even in an upcountry village during Songkran, you can expect to get wet. The more touristy the area, the wetter you will get. Being soaked and then going into an air conditioned bar or restaurant can be very uncomfortable and could lead to a nasty cold. There is also the possibility of infection as the water is not always clean.
I am not trying to throw a damper on a New Year celebration; I am just trying to let people know that they can expect to see a lot of drunken tourists getting soaking wet during this festival. You can have a lot of fun, but you can see tourists at their absolute worst.
Getting back to the real meaning of Songkran, it is a time to go to the temple to pray and give food to the monks. It is also a time to cleanse the Buddha images at their household shrines and at the monasteries with water and a pleasant fragrance.
This is also a traditional time to make resolutions to do good deeds and refrain from evil and even a time to clean the house. Out with the old and in with the new.
Sadly, it is also the worst time of year for road accidents and deaths on the highway. Wet roads, alcohol, and helmetless motorcycle drivers are a deadly combination. Despite the government’s best efforts, the number of revelers who don’t get to the New Year is way too high each year. The annual Songkran don’t drink and drive campaign usually falls on deaf ears.
Many expats who live in Thailand leave the country or head north to quieter Songkran celebrations and leave the tourist areas to the tourists. Personally, I schedule my trips so that I am nowhere near Thailand during New Years.
As are most other things in Thailand, it is “up to you” whether you want to experience Songkran. I would recommend seeing it at least once and then you can determine for yourself if you want to go back to do it again.
If you go, be careful or the slick roads and drunk drivers, and make sure you bring plenty of zip-lock bags to keep your valuables dry.
Word Count:
534
Summary:
Sawasdee Pii Mai & Happy Thai New Year! Although it is a few months away, it is never too late to plan for a trip to Thailand to celebrate Thai New Year.
Keywords:
songkran, year, water, new, new year, tourists, people, thailand, pattaya, bangkok, wet, tourist, festival, bangkok pattaya
Article Body:
Songkran will be celebrated from 13 – 15 April in 2008 (or 2551 on the Thai calendar) and usually runs for about a week unofficially in parts of Bangkok and Pattaya. Thai people know how to party and celebrate their own New Year, Chinese New Year and the Western New Year. Of the three, Songkran is the wildest.
Depending on who you ask, Songkran is the best or the worst time of year to be on vacation. The main reason – water. Traditionally, Songkran is a water festival and celebrated by ‘sprinkling” water on other people. In tourist areas of Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket, the sprinkling has escalated to fire hoses, water tube blasters, and super-soakers.
Drunken tourists and locals in Pattaya and on Khaosan Road in Bangkok take this festival as a time to get absolutely crazy and drench each other in water. Additionally, a white paste made from flour or talcum powder is smeared on unwitting people’s faces.
If you are in a tourist area or even in an upcountry village during Songkran, you can expect to get wet. The more touristy the area, the wetter you will get. Being soaked and then going into an air conditioned bar or restaurant can be very uncomfortable and could lead to a nasty cold. There is also the possibility of infection as the water is not always clean.
I am not trying to throw a damper on a New Year celebration; I am just trying to let people know that they can expect to see a lot of drunken tourists getting soaking wet during this festival. You can have a lot of fun, but you can see tourists at their absolute worst.
Getting back to the real meaning of Songkran, it is a time to go to the temple to pray and give food to the monks. It is also a time to cleanse the Buddha images at their household shrines and at the monasteries with water and a pleasant fragrance.
This is also a traditional time to make resolutions to do good deeds and refrain from evil and even a time to clean the house. Out with the old and in with the new.
Sadly, it is also the worst time of year for road accidents and deaths on the highway. Wet roads, alcohol, and helmetless motorcycle drivers are a deadly combination. Despite the government’s best efforts, the number of revelers who don’t get to the New Year is way too high each year. The annual Songkran don’t drink and drive campaign usually falls on deaf ears.
Many expats who live in Thailand leave the country or head north to quieter Songkran celebrations and leave the tourist areas to the tourists. Personally, I schedule my trips so that I am nowhere near Thailand during New Years.
As are most other things in Thailand, it is “up to you” whether you want to experience Songkran. I would recommend seeing it at least once and then you can determine for yourself if you want to go back to do it again.
If you go, be careful or the slick roads and drunk drivers, and make sure you bring plenty of zip-lock bags to keep your valuables dry.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Are You A Newbie Going To Pattaya Thailand?
Are You A Newbie Going To Pattaya Thailand?
Word Count:
474
Summary:
If you are going to Pattaya, Thailand for the first time, you should learn from someone else's experience so you don’t make newbie mistakes.
Keywords:
pattaya, go, save, bars, save money, information, taxi, book, restaurants, money, questions, go pattaya-crazy, newbie, thailand
Article Body:
You have heard about Thailand for many, many years. And your friends have gone to Pattaya and have told you stories that you just cannot imagine (even though they are true). You have finally bolstered up the courage to travel half-way around the world to see if fantasy can be a reality.
Hopefully you have done your homework. With the availability of the Internet, getting information is readily available. But you have to hunt all over the place to find it.
You have to read the Bangkok Post and the Pattaya City News. You have to hang out in the forums reading and asking questions. You have to take the abuse from the old timers for the stupid newbie questions. You read so many things that you head spins and you are trying to sort out what is true and what is BS.
You have enough to do with getting the plane ticket, passport, packing, and trying to remember everything.
What you need is a Newbie's Guide. This book written specifically for you: the guy going to Pattaya for the very first time. Even if you have been there before, you will still find some good info and save some money.
You can find out where to go and, more importantly, where not to go. You will get recommendations on bars, go-go's, restaurants and hotels.
Find out how to get through Suvarnabhumi International Airport and to you waiting taxi with ease. You even get a map of the airport.
You will also get trip reports. These update the basic book with current information and day-by-day experiences of the author.
Think about it. What would you rather do; fight through a mob of people and only to be ripped off by the taxi mafia, or have a driver waiting for you at half the price?
Do you want to waste time going to bars and restaurants that are the pits? Do you know that you can get a hotel room for under $20 per night? Have you decided where in Pattaya you will stay – north, central or south?
Why spend hours, days, or weeks searching all over the Internet when you can get all the information you need in one downloadable eBook.
The eBook will set you back $20 and you will save that much when you book your taxi with the email address I provide in the book.
You will save time and money knowing which bars to frequent and which restaurants to eat at. You will save money booking your hotel online.
So, quit wasting your time surfing the 'net and pick up the eBook. It will make your Pattaya vacation so much better. Go crazy. Go Pattaya Crazy. Get the newbie's guie and save time and money. Have a great holiday.
Be warned. Once you go to Pattaya, you will be addicted for life.
Word Count:
474
Summary:
If you are going to Pattaya, Thailand for the first time, you should learn from someone else's experience so you don’t make newbie mistakes.
Keywords:
pattaya, go, save, bars, save money, information, taxi, book, restaurants, money, questions, go pattaya-crazy, newbie, thailand
Article Body:
You have heard about Thailand for many, many years. And your friends have gone to Pattaya and have told you stories that you just cannot imagine (even though they are true). You have finally bolstered up the courage to travel half-way around the world to see if fantasy can be a reality.
Hopefully you have done your homework. With the availability of the Internet, getting information is readily available. But you have to hunt all over the place to find it.
You have to read the Bangkok Post and the Pattaya City News. You have to hang out in the forums reading and asking questions. You have to take the abuse from the old timers for the stupid newbie questions. You read so many things that you head spins and you are trying to sort out what is true and what is BS.
You have enough to do with getting the plane ticket, passport, packing, and trying to remember everything.
What you need is a Newbie's Guide. This book written specifically for you: the guy going to Pattaya for the very first time. Even if you have been there before, you will still find some good info and save some money.
You can find out where to go and, more importantly, where not to go. You will get recommendations on bars, go-go's, restaurants and hotels.
Find out how to get through Suvarnabhumi International Airport and to you waiting taxi with ease. You even get a map of the airport.
You will also get trip reports. These update the basic book with current information and day-by-day experiences of the author.
Think about it. What would you rather do; fight through a mob of people and only to be ripped off by the taxi mafia, or have a driver waiting for you at half the price?
Do you want to waste time going to bars and restaurants that are the pits? Do you know that you can get a hotel room for under $20 per night? Have you decided where in Pattaya you will stay – north, central or south?
Why spend hours, days, or weeks searching all over the Internet when you can get all the information you need in one downloadable eBook.
The eBook will set you back $20 and you will save that much when you book your taxi with the email address I provide in the book.
You will save time and money knowing which bars to frequent and which restaurants to eat at. You will save money booking your hotel online.
So, quit wasting your time surfing the 'net and pick up the eBook. It will make your Pattaya vacation so much better. Go crazy. Go Pattaya Crazy. Get the newbie's guie and save time and money. Have a great holiday.
Be warned. Once you go to Pattaya, you will be addicted for life.
Monday, December 6, 2010
A Day At Koh Larn
A Day At Koh Larn
Word Count:
530
Summary:
A short boat ride from Pattaya is the Coral Island – Koh Larn.
Keywords:
boat, trip, small, koh, ride, bigger boat, small boat, koh larn, pattaya, thailand
Article Body:
Visiting Koh Larn, or the coral island is a great change of pace from Pattaya.
My first trip to Koh Larn was a spur of the moment mini-adventure. I was talking with a young lady in a bar and she asked me where I had visited in Thailand. I rattled off a bunch of cities from north to south and then she asked if I had ever been to Koh Larn. I told her no and she said she had never been either.
It was decided then and there that we would take the short trip the next day. We spent the night together and made arrangements for the boat ride and tour at one of the many street vendor tour ladies.
We booked for a 10 AM boat ride and we were told we would be back at about 4 PM. The price was a whopping 10 US dollars each and this included lunch.
We walked down from Second Road to Beach Road and met out small, longboat that would take us out to the bigger boat for the trip to Koh Larn.
But first, we stopped at a square dock and were offered a kite-flying ride for an additional ten dollars. We declined but watched a couple of the others from our boat get the short round the dock ride.
We then boarded a bigger boat and chugged on out to the island. The ride took about 45 minutes and we were met by another small, long boat to get us to shore. This boat had a glass bottom to observe the coral, but the water was too murky to see anything.
We got ashore and since this was a spur of the moment trip, I bought my girl a swimsuit. We staked out a patch of beach and got 2 lounge chairs for about one dollar for the day for both and just kicked back and relaxed.
The water was clean and refreshing and we just splashed about and lay around on the chairs. We were offered a variety of sea activities from underwater walking to banana boat rides. We declined and just took it easy.
We were served lunch with the rest of the group and it was OK but nothing special. Rice, pork, French fries and a cold drink.
There were a handful of vendors trying to sell their wares but they were not pests. They came by once and left with a smile when I declined.
At about 3 PM it was time to head back. We took the small boat to the bigger boat and relaxed and listened to some music on the way back. The boat moved at a snail's pace and there was just enough of a breeze to keep things cool.
We met the small boat and were taken back to Pattaya Beach. I dropped my smart card off at the photo processing place and showered, changed, picked up the photos and went back to her bar.
I gave her a set of the pictures to show her friends and to keep for herself. All in all a very nice day that set me back $20 for the trip and another $10 to get her a bathing suit.
Word Count:
530
Summary:
A short boat ride from Pattaya is the Coral Island – Koh Larn.
Keywords:
boat, trip, small, koh, ride, bigger boat, small boat, koh larn, pattaya, thailand
Article Body:
Visiting Koh Larn, or the coral island is a great change of pace from Pattaya.
My first trip to Koh Larn was a spur of the moment mini-adventure. I was talking with a young lady in a bar and she asked me where I had visited in Thailand. I rattled off a bunch of cities from north to south and then she asked if I had ever been to Koh Larn. I told her no and she said she had never been either.
It was decided then and there that we would take the short trip the next day. We spent the night together and made arrangements for the boat ride and tour at one of the many street vendor tour ladies.
We booked for a 10 AM boat ride and we were told we would be back at about 4 PM. The price was a whopping 10 US dollars each and this included lunch.
We walked down from Second Road to Beach Road and met out small, longboat that would take us out to the bigger boat for the trip to Koh Larn.
But first, we stopped at a square dock and were offered a kite-flying ride for an additional ten dollars. We declined but watched a couple of the others from our boat get the short round the dock ride.
We then boarded a bigger boat and chugged on out to the island. The ride took about 45 minutes and we were met by another small, long boat to get us to shore. This boat had a glass bottom to observe the coral, but the water was too murky to see anything.
We got ashore and since this was a spur of the moment trip, I bought my girl a swimsuit. We staked out a patch of beach and got 2 lounge chairs for about one dollar for the day for both and just kicked back and relaxed.
The water was clean and refreshing and we just splashed about and lay around on the chairs. We were offered a variety of sea activities from underwater walking to banana boat rides. We declined and just took it easy.
We were served lunch with the rest of the group and it was OK but nothing special. Rice, pork, French fries and a cold drink.
There were a handful of vendors trying to sell their wares but they were not pests. They came by once and left with a smile when I declined.
At about 3 PM it was time to head back. We took the small boat to the bigger boat and relaxed and listened to some music on the way back. The boat moved at a snail's pace and there was just enough of a breeze to keep things cool.
We met the small boat and were taken back to Pattaya Beach. I dropped my smart card off at the photo processing place and showered, changed, picked up the photos and went back to her bar.
I gave her a set of the pictures to show her friends and to keep for herself. All in all a very nice day that set me back $20 for the trip and another $10 to get her a bathing suit.
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