Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
The only thing worse than the Thai interpretation of American food is the American interpretation of Thai food — THAT SHIT IS NOT PAD THAI, YO! (but it is so fucking metal!)
In other news, Satan’s kitchen helper needs a goddamn spell checker, like chaotic badly.
Last night, I was driving alone down the highway into a headwind and a small gecko suddenly appeared on the outside of the windshield, probably blown up through the bodywork from wherever he was chilling down below.
Geckos are good to have in your car because they eat bugs and are just cool to watch, but it sucks when they die inside because they stink for ages. Anyway, I have always been fascinated by their sticky feet. I decided to test just how much grip they have by flooring it. I got to about 170 km/h when he suddenly crouched down low in a spiderman pose and leaped off the side of the windshield. The thing is, I have a feeling that the wind carried him into the open window. If so, I hope the little guy eats his share of the mosquitoes that torture Mina in the back… and eventually dies peacefully outside.
I can listen to this non-stop for hours (of course, I can watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse non-stop for hours when one of the babies is sick, so…)
A great alternative title for this track would be, “You’ve come a long way, Pillow”
.. (via) ..
This was taken last week at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham, my university, at a welcoming ceremony for freshmen (aka “freshies” in Thailand). In the foreground, English program students are praying during a traditional bai sri ceremony around a Christmas tree-shaped arrangement of folded banana leaves, as other students play takraew on the courts in the background and molam blasts from the unseen stage to the left.
This was waiting for an engine swap at my mechanic’s shop yesterday. I vote for a supercharged V8 diesel for a balance between economy and kicking ass.
April, May, and June are mango season here. Everybody who grows them at home brings them into the office or to their friends before the fruit gets too ripe. The coolest thing is that there are over a hundred different species grown and sold here in Thailand. I’ve probably tried about a third of them. To date, the best kind I’ve had are small ones that people grow in their backyards and sell at weekend fresh markets, known generically as mamuang noi (small mango). They have the perfect blend of sweet, tart, and wild flavors, and are at once slightly chewy yet soft.
And I thought Max’s coining of the term, “unko hot dog” was genius… This takes it to a whole new level.
“The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the somtam.”
