Culture Shock :: Thailand :: Part 2

Warning :: We must apologize to the Living Spree addicts out there because we will be away from the internet for a while on a meditation retreat and won’t be able to update the site. During our leave feel free to revisit some of your favorite blog entries to get super pumped for our return post to find out how we managed the meditation boot camp.

:: Flavor Combinations ::

Salt and Pepper sitting alone on the dinner table is now considered amateur in my mind, because the Thai people seem to have perfected the art of spicing a meal. With most real Thai dishes we’ve noticed a standard set of spices that accompany a meal and can be combined to create all sorts of interesting flavor combinations. They have fish sauce (bitter), vinegar sauce (sour, usually a little spicy), crushed red pepper (full spicy), and sugar (sweet). With these four spices, it seems you can fit just about any personal taste preference, though the real fun comes from foods you eat/drink where you don’t personally control the flavors.

Chiang Mine

Chiang Mai, Thailand

We have arrived! So back when we had this crazy idea to run off across the ocean, the original goal was to shack up in Chiang Mai, Thailand and ride out the good life there. Of course two months after we put this plan into action, Thailand changed their visa laws so that you can only be in the country for 90 out of 180 days. So yeah, the plan changed just a tad, however we still had the goal of enjoying Chiang Mai. So now we’re here and the city is everything I thought it would be and more. Mainly, it’s very different from the rest of Thailand. First of all, it’s Thailand’s most diverse city, filled with both Eastern and Western races of every shape and kind. While it’s still Thailand (i.e. dizzyingly different) Chiang Mai is different because of all the Western business owners who strive to bring a little chunk of their home country to the city. Basically it’s like walking through NYC and going through all of the ethnic neighborhoods within 20 blocks. What this also means is that we get many of the comforts of home that we’ve missed like burritos, nachos, pizza, Tabasco, bagels, cookies, etc. In other words, it’s an oasis for those expats who need a little break from reality, but aren’t ready to go home.

Nachos from El Diablo