How is the food in Thailand? Hubby has informed me you don't want to ask for anything "extra hot" as they have a tiny chile that will kill you with heat.
The buildings and architecture are unique. Do you travel around the country and site-see?
What's the most sought after item in Thailand to purchase?
When my husband traveled there years ago, it wasn't uncommon for women to work as prostitutes to raise $$ for their dowry. Has the culture changed since then?
Are you able to travel to surrounding countries? Is it cheap to do so?
How's the exchange rate?
Is there ethnic music/dance DVDs in Thailand that you would recommend and could be puchased on-line?
How long are you staying there??
(three more days to go)
[Edited 3/19/07 9:00am]

xplnyrslf said:

The food's wonderful - spicy salads, sour and spicy soups, fried rice, barbecued meats, lots of noodles, and great curries. There are some killer little green chillies too, that's true.

We don't travel around and sightsee as much as we used to. Aside from visa runs and going to the border for entry stamps I've hardly been anywhere outside Bangkok for a year or two. We do have a plan to do some family road trips to places within a few hours of here though, to Ayuthuya, Sukothai, Chon Buri, Hua Hin...

The most sought after item? Well, the stuff hawked in Khao San Road (which comes via the awesome Chatuchak outdoor market) is often bought by tourists. Stuff like sarongs, takaw balls, fake Adidas and Diesel sneakers, gemstones, lots of silver, and pirated CDs and DVDs. The most beautiful things that wealthy folks take back home from Thailand though would have to be Buddha statues and spirit houses, gorgeous musical instruments, like dulcimers, and amazing carved wood furniture that takes months and months to make.

The man in the relationship would pay the dowry. This would involve an amount of money plus gold items for the mother and father in law, or can even involve something like payments for a new pick-up truck. Or a house. Depends on the family and their wealth and expectations. Those in-laws may reciprocate in kind or end up giving more by buying the couple a house or something though. A woman may well work as a prostitute, but that's something altogether different.

It's easy to travel to nearly all the surrounding countries. The borders with Myanmar are frequently closed though, so you have to check beforehand. With budget airlines it's now really easy to get around S.E. Asia, and cheap enough now that it's not really worth getting a bus or train anywhere unless you're just traveling a few hours to somewhere else in Thailand. Plus there's the trouble down south which means flying is a much better option.

The exchange rate sucks right now. Well, the baht is actually stronger against the pound, dollar and OZ dollar than it was when the previous government was overthrown. You can see the old dollar to baht exchange rate in the baht master's signature (if you're familiar with that orger). About 37 baht to the dollar. Now it's around 32 or 33. Tourists aren't quite getting as much for their money as they were a year or two ago. It's 64 baht to the pound right now, where once it was around 75. Makes quite a difference in the end.

I don't know of any particular ethic music/dance DVDs, but there are lots of Thai country music karaoke DVDs sold here and probably online too. Some of the music is an acquired taste, but I have a tape of Thai music we might call oldies (50s, 60s) that's very slow and the female singers have incredible voices. The style of singing, not just the language, is very different. Of course, they often use a different scale system too.

How long am I staying here? Not sure right now. There's a lot going on visa-wise and I'm still trying to find out what my options are long term. After xmas when we returned here we figured we'd be here for the next 2 years though, at least.

Why do you forsake my cheeks?

CortestheKiller said:

Who says I forsake them? Just because I don't make mention of them to you every day? How do you know I don't have a shrine to them here that I pray to every single day?

Think on.

Fauxie said:

Of course it's because you don't make mention of them every day. They thrive on your praise.

CortestheKiller said:

If by 'thrive' you mean get bigger, then I've been very remiss indeed.

Fauxie said:

I love you.

CortestheKiller said:

NO humouring.

Fauxie said:

I was doing the humouring for both of us.

Post your favorite recipe!! I love to cook and am interested in new and authentic ethnic food. The Thai resturants in town aren't that great. We have a good source for Thai ingredients, though.

One more day.

xplnyrslf said:

Ok, so it's more of a Laos/North East Thailand dish, but here ya go - Som tam, or spicy papaya salad:

Recipe:

1 medium dark green papaya
4 garlic cloves
sliced green Thai chilies (as many or few depending on how spicy you want it, say 1 to 6)
2 or 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1/2 to 1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon palm sugar
1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) lime juice
unsalted peanuts
optional: dried shrimp, shredded carrot, crab meat... it's pretty open to interpretation

How to make:

1. Peel the papaya and rinse with running water to remove the acid. Remove the seeds and shred the papaya with a grater. Set aside.
2. Place the garlic cloves and the chilies in a mortar and mash with a pestle until crushed into chunks. Place the papaya and the remaining ingredients in the mortar and gently combine all ingredients by mixing with the pestle and a spoon. Serve cold.

Yeah!!! MORE, MORE, MORE.....
a few hours left and more recipes to follow.....hopefully...

xplnyrslf said:

I just eat the food.

I don't know how to make it. Looking on the internet it's hard to find definitive recipes for Thai food as they're all different in different parts of the country and for peoples' tastes. I'll gladly post pics of nice Thai food though.

Fauxie said:

You mean you don't attempt to cook Thai at home???
When I travel, I keep notes of food combinations and try to duplicate the flavor. I always ask "what's in this??"
One of my most popular meals is fish tacos which I learned from fishing in Mexico. Freshly caught fish fried on the boat and folded in a corn tortilla. Served with a mayonaise/chile sauce.....Yum.

Fauxie said:

I'm making this today. I may have to substitute mango for papaya. I have one more store where I can look. I'm going to use a jalepeno instead of a Thai chili.
May have to run to the Asian store....

That recipe is to die for!! I did a fondue with fried tomatoes on the side and made this salad. I added a handful of chopped mint and used a red jalapeno with the salad(super hot) Delicious.....Thank you.....it's on my recipe board of future tastes to be revisited. Got any more????? (Maybe I put too much emphasis on taste buds. )

xplnyrslf said:

Cool! I'm glad you liked it. Sounds like the way you did it would be goooood too.

How about sour and spicy soup? Tom yam gung? Do you eat shrimp? If not, squid?

The week is over. Bring on your jokes!

ItsOnlyMe said:

Um.

Never mind.

Fauxie said:

I'm allergic to squid. My only food allergy. I like shrimp and get a steady supply from Mexico. Any recipes you can post would be great. I have a Thai lcook book and that salad isn't in it.
Nothing beats authentic recipes from the source. Right now, it's YOU!