Travels And Reflection A blog of my journeys and the lessons I've learned.

We spent March, 02 in Bangkok and one morning, we decided to go to the floating market to try spend the day experiencing a slice of traditional Thai life and culture. We hired a small outrigger paddled by a polite young man who knew a spattering of English, which was good enough just as long the message got through between him and us. That morning was a treat for the senses as we took in the richness of the colors and sounds of everyday Thai life.

Eventually, lunch time came around and we asked our paddler/guide if he could take us to some good Thai food in the market before we went back to the hotel. Actually, he did not understand the words "lunch" or "food;" so I had to do resort to the universal mode of communication: sign language. Once he understood our request, he paddled up beside another boat that sold steaming hot spicy Thai noodle soup with beef slices and all those fresh vegetables served in a big soup bowl. We could already actually smell the distinct aroma of Thai food from a distance and M and I were happy that we were, at last, going to sample some authentic Thai food and not something from a fancy restaurant. The dish was actually very tasty and we laughed at each other as we loudly slurped the noodles.

As Dulce and I left the lunch boat and headed for the shore, we sat back and leaned sleepily into each other, full of the gastronomic goodness we just had. Dulce then slowly glanced back at the lunch boat to take a farewell look and saw the lady smiling and waving back at her as she washed the bowls we used by immersing them in the murky river water.