The Food: Better than you thought (and you thought it was the best this side of Paris)

Okay, so let me start by saying two things:
1) Yes, of course I had diarrhoea. Massive, soul shattering shits that felt like I was loosing my spine and lasted days. If that's too graphic, that's too bad because you're reading what my anus and I experienced.

2)I only had pad/phad thai once; it was "meh"

Now that those two are out of the way: There's a lot of food in Thailand. More than in America, and that includes the adopted foreign dishes like pizza, spaghetti, the taco, etc. The dishes come by the hundreds and variations by the street corner as everyone makes it their own way (chain restaurants only found in the big malls). I've had pretty much everything from kao phad gai (rice with chicken, and main staple of quite a few expats here as it's easy to say, not spicey and easy on the stomach), to random curries to tom yum a wicked spicey and totally native soup of which only about 20% of the actual ingredients in the soup (aside from the broth) are actually edible.

The portions here are what is best described as "stomach size"; hard to get used to at first but becomes a blessing as the "stuffing yourself silly" and feeling like crap after going to a restaurant are now totally nonexistant. It should also be said that I have not made any food since arrival (not even a pot of hot water) since meals are (even by local standards) ridiculously cheap: $30 baht ($1) per meal is the norm and on my street there is a place about every 30 feet selling something different. Oh, yeah, and it's as fresh as your wildest dreams can think of, especially the seafood (which is Surat's claim to fame along with coconuts and rambutan <-- lookit up).

Now, eating out for breakfast lunch and dinner and with all this good food (that I eat whenever the Hell I feel like and as much as I want) you'd think "But Terry, what about your already dangerously high weight/cholesterol/blood pressure?". That's the best part! I can eat literally as much as I want and I am loosing pounds. This is in part due to: the heat, it's frakking hot here and I sweat in air-conditioned rooms; the previously mentioned portion sizes; and all the food here is just a bit healthier than a Five Guy's Burger with Spicey Fries and Shake ;)

Well, I bet you were hoping for more of a step-by-step replay of my favourite meals a la Food Channel with descriptions to make your mouth water and wish you were here. Ha! I don't need to do that to know you already want to be here so tough cookies (oh, the cookies here are exotic and amazing). 'Sides, I ain't no Bourdain and if you want that kinda stuff a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words so instead of reading my prose, go watch the Travel Channel a bit ;)

Next Post: More work, and a trip to monkey-lake-dam-place!