Thai One On!

It was Napoleon who said that an army travels on its stomach. Much the same can be said for the tourist. There’s also an old Thai proverb: “Adventure begins in the mouth.” That one’s not true. But it could be.

Don’t be fooled by the delicious Thai food you find at your local “Thai” restaurant. Sure, the folks who run the place might be Thai, but the food they set before you has been Americanized for our palates. I went to Thailand in search of the “real thing” and found it!

Our travels began in the seaside "resort" of Pattaya, just two hours drive from Bangkok. We were starving after our 16 hour flight and found a restaurant eager to serve us at 5 a.m. I don't know if it was because we were the only customers or we looked like rich farang (foreigners) with our native guide Sombat, but the service was topnotch. We just pointed at various noodles dishes on the menu, took the occasional suggestion from Sombat and had a delicious meal.

After two days of Thai food, we knew our friends we're looking for a brief repast from local victuals. We found a pub in Pattaya that catered to our decadent Western desire to have a burger. Sure, they have McDonald's in Thailand, but we wanted a half-pound gutbuster and we found it at the Sportsman.

In the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand there’s a back alley hole-in-the-wall that serves up a heaping plate of Chicken Pad Thai, and Pad Thai only, for 65 cents American. All the ingredients are fresh and locally grown, the bean sprouts crisp. Aromas hinted at spices that my tongue had never encountered.

“Adventure begins in the mouth.” I rode in a rickshaw through Sukothai, one of the former capitals of Thailand. While we waited for our party to gather at the end of ride, I perused a local cart full of insects, including piles of white worms, cockroaches as big as a man’s thumb, and black fierce looking scorpions. Just to show what a good sport I was, I grabbed the littlest worm I could find and popped it into my mouth. It tasted like a barbecued potato chip!

I have traveled to Thailand three times in the last five years on both business and pleasure and each time I find something new to delight my taste buds.