Eating Eveything in Chaiyaphum

This post has to be about the INSANE amount of eating that was done when I took a trip with some Thai teachers from school.  There’s no other action that could better sum up the weekend.  I know Thais love food… but this…  This was bordering on ridiculous.

There were ten of us – including eight old women.  Only a few of them could speak a smattering of English, which was fine because I began the trip sleep-deprived and needed some extra Zs in the van, so I tuned out to the Thai conversation quite easily.  I got plenty of opportunity: our destinations were Korat and Chaiyaphum Provinces, which are over 300km from Ubon.

That cheeky boy at the back will reappear later...

The pattern went something like this: leave at 4am.  Have a preliminary breakfast 6.  Have a proper breakfast at 9.  Stop at a floating market and grab some snacks at 10.  Snack continuously until 12.  Have a massive lunch at 12.  Explode.  Resume snacking.

Merchant-less floating market

The floating market was fine, except that there was no market there.  It was just a floating… nothing.  There were some shops around the outside though, one of which was selling frozen-soft-drink-on-a-stick, which one of my “Thai mothers” went and bought for me.

 I swear, sometimes they really do think of me as their kid…

 A famous model doing a commercial shoot gives me the thumbs-up

We (they) stocked up on snacks and we continued our journey.

A deep-fried sweet potato and sesame milk

One of the ladies had brought along her four-year-old grandson Norngmon.  I decided I would befriend him, and by the time we got to Palio he wanted to hold my hand everywhere.  He was a sweet kid but got a bit over-excited at times and punched me in the groin three times.  I escaped major damage and some embarrassment… but still…  Anyway, looking after him gave me something else to do.  He showed a real keenness to pick up some English, too.  By the end of the weekend he was responding to certain phrases which helped make my job a lot easier, since my Thai ability is still quite poor.  Not bad for a few hours of casual learning.

 Superhero!

 Palio

We spent an hour or two at our lodgings to recharge (thankfully) before heading out to a night market and buying a heap more food.  I wasn’t even hungry in the slightest, but I ate.  I guess it was a combination of social pressure (Thais get offended if they offer you food and you refuse… especially if they bought it for you) and curiosity about the different foods before me.  I tend not to know the names of most food I eat, or if I’m told I tend to forget quickly, but the food is no less delicious because of that.  Pad thai, tom yum, Isaan sausage, pig intestines, rice in soup, sticky-sweet balls of gooeyness… you can see why I had to eat even with a full stomach.

 

 Some of our delicious feast

 A typical Thai restaurant

And there was something really special in that moment at dinner.  I was only with two of my “Thai mothers”; amidst the tasty food, warm company, and fascinating surrounds, I felt a certain magic.  It was one of those moments where it really hit me that I’m in Thailand.  In a wondrous, crazy world that I could only have imagined a year ago.  It took me a while to find Thailand’s true magic after getting here, but I’m onto it now, and suddenly it’s thrown my plans into disarray.  Whereas previously I was half set on leaving at the end of the year, now I don’t know what I want to decide.  To stay or to go?

 Buddhist altar at sunrise

It was another early start on Sunday morning, and now that our bodies had had some hours to recover after the bombardment of food, it was time to resume eating.  After only a few minutes on the road we came to a stop at a roadside fruit stall.

I love how excited Thais get over food

 Dragon fruit trees opposite the fruit stall

I guess it was pretty cheap, because I was the only one who climbed back into the van without at least one giant bag filled with fruit (though I ended up receiving some anyway).  I mean, it was incredible, the quantities they bought!  But that’s Thais – they love buying in bulk, they love eating fruit, and they love giving things away – so why not?  Everyone was so content as they ripped into their fruit supplies, and it didn’t lessen their appetite for breakfast at all.  Not.  At.  All.

Finally we reached our main destination: Chaiyaphum’s Dok Krachiao Flower Blooming Festival.

The lookout on the hill

 Flowers spreading the mountain

Admittedly, they were quite stunning

It was so nice to be out of Thailand’s usual noise and up in the hills, surrounded by nature.  Thailand is such a green country.

Still King of Rocks!

Some of the rock formations were likened to real things, such as this “giant penis” rock.  Aside from a few giggles and the fact that THE ROCK WAS A GIANT PENIS, everyone was being very well behaved.  Well, this is no good, I decided.

 There was even a sign...!

After a few poses which equally horrified and fascinated the gathering crowd, I proceeded to kick the giant penis (to the shock of the crowd) and make a quick getaway.

.....Look!  That man is emerging out of that penis!

At the bottom of the hill, some of the teachers bought more snacks – one bought me a whole cob of grilled corn.  Somehow, some way, I managed to chomp it all down.  As we got in the van, I was so relieved when the driver made a statement about how much food the van was carrying.  I think he didn’t want to make any big stops on the long road home, even for dinner.  In any case, he was out-numbered, and after a few hours, sure enough, we stopped at one of the highway rest stops for dinner.

 Food court at the highway rest stop

No.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  I refused to eat.  Someone bought me a bowl of noodles, even after I had adamantly refused, and she was forced to eat it herself.  She ate in offended silence, but I would not yield.  My stomach and I had had enough bullying for one weekend.