Sugarland

Dawn on Ko Chang (translation: Elephant Island) showed me an island of lush jungle, gently swaying palm trees, quiet blue ocean and …. hordes of tourists. I had an indication last night when I went down to the beach to await the turn of the new year, and found two throbbing discos on either side of my hotel and lots of tottering drunks milling about, waiting for the fireworks. Like most of Thailand’s islands and beaches, there is a lot of development, catering to the demands of tourists, both foreign and Thai. It makes me appreciate Burma just a bit more, where foreigners were such a novelty that I really felt that I was seeing the real culture, untainted by the tourist trade.

Luckily, we have Ed and his friend Kim (also Thai) to guide us towards the local aspects of this leg of the trip. And today, Ed’s friend Toon (Thai), and his wife Tat (Cambodian) joined us, for a total group of 9. We have been eating really well, and really cheap, avoiding the restaurants catering to foreigners, where the food is twice the price and watered down. At each new place after we eat I quiz Ed as to whether the food was “real Thai.” The meals are rowdy affairs, with Ed telling endless stories of his fishing adventures, which all take place in the middle of the night (that’s when the fishing is best here). I say “rowdy” but it is all good natured, and no alcohol is involved. The only one to have an occasional beer is Paul, Birgit’s husband. I am so glad to have Ed and his friends along to teach us about Thai culture and food. I fell I would be so clueless without them, and would be just another typical farang (foreigner).

The sugar immersion continues. Tonight we had banana roti (a kind of fried bread/pancake thing), something you get at a street stall. We were actually on the hunt for mango sticky rice – my new favorite food, but got distracted by this new dessert we had to try. Sugar sugar everywhere… in the soup, the curry, the sauces, the many sticky rice and coconut concoctions we get at street stalls (Ed is making sure we try everything!). Then there is ice cream, iced coffee (which comes with sweetened condensed milk), and shave ice. Diabetics would have a hard time here!