So I returned to good ol' Baan Rub Aroon, my home away from home, and awaited the return of my travel partner, Ben. I had a day or so to myself, so I took advantage of the me time and wandered aimlessly through the food market and the streets that branched out around the hotel.
My, oh my, the food market...I don't really know how to deftly describe the food market to you so that you can get the full essence of the place. It's just so....wonderful. Now, I'm totally not a foodie, that is, I don't really care about food, unless it is at a nice restaurant. My general feeling towards food has always been that it is a source of energy, nothing more. As many of you know, I am not a cook. I mean, really, I could steam a whole head of cauliflower and call it dinner and me making a gourmet meal was simply me warming up a huge wheel of brie, grabbing some bread or crackers and opening a bottle of wine.
But I must say, that has changed a bit since I've been here. Maybe it's because I have too much time on my hands and eating has become a way of filling the time, who knows? But the food market is a wonderful place...did I mention that?
Let me paint a picture for you...Imagine a large farmers market that stretches around three blocks. But instead of just vendors selling large, beautiful, ripe fruits and veggies, you have stalls with local baked goods, and people cooking curbside. There are people frying chicken, pork, fish and spring rolls. Vendors selling every Thai dish imaginable. With every step through the market, one gets wafts of something delectable...coconut bread, belgian waffles, Thai donuts, curry, and chicken satays. Not to mention, it's incredibly inexpensive. You can buy a bag of sliced pineapple, a curry dish with rice, a piece of chicken, and two corn on the cobs for less than $4 US and that is probably enough food to feed two people!
Another discovery of mine has been the crepe thingy that you can get on the side of the road. It is to die for. The vendor has this griddle on which he/she places a thin coating of batter. When the batter starts to harden, he/she then adds a flavor of your choice to the thin crepe (I prefer blueberry), folds it up and then hands it to you. It tastes like a large, though slightly softer and chewer version of a fortune cookie. It costs 30 cents US and is just a little slice of heaven. There is also another thing called "roti" that is made on a similar griddle with or without a scrambled egg or fruit and topped with condensed milk and sugar.
OMG, I got to get out of this joint before I get as large as a house! I expect Ben back tomorrow so hopefully we can get a move on.
