Deja – vu Asia 2010

Posted under Deja vu Asia 2010

Have you ever opened your eyes and thought “ I’ve seen this before”? Well I had that deja vu experience, but hey, here we are, back in Thailand, and I have seen this before. Fortunately, strong winds and horizontal rains that were on the verge of sleet, prompted her own self into booking some tickets, and here we are. I, of course put up a valiant struggle to stay at home and enjoy the rain — or perhaps I was mistaken that I did that, and if I had, I should be beaten with a stick. Ah yes, — it is good to be back. There is an abundance of sun, and Thailand is still filled with warm and friendly people.

We were fortunate in our flight arrangements to procure our tickets with Cathay Pacific. As we were flying “baggage”, and in the air for some seventeen hours it is nice to have the bit of extra leg room that they seem to provide. All they need to do now, is figure out a way to abolish jet-lag and travel will be a breeze. Had a bit of a time turning day into night and vice versa — hey, maybe I am morphing back into a teenager? Falling into the swing of things now. It is amazing what one can do when they force themselves.

Don’t know just how frequent the blogs will be this trip. The difficulty in us repeatedly returning to these same areas which we enjoy so much, is finding new things to write about, but I’ll try. I believe that I have previously mentioned a time or three, just how great is the variety of fresh fruit, and how much we enjoy having it so readily available. I have not included “Durian” , (see above photo) in that list, as I had not savored its flesh. Now for those of you not in the know, durian is a fruit which hides in a sort of shell, about the size of a basketball. It is covered with little pyramid shaped spikey lumps, and is definitely not the type of fruit which you would like to be dropped in your lap. In addition, most hotels here, have warnings posted in the rooms stating that durian is not allowed, and if the rule is broken, eviction may result. This bad rap for the poor durian appears to be the result of a some what distinctive odor, likened to that of rotting flesh, or possibly rotten eggs. However, faint heart never kissed a pig, and as we found a fruit vendor who was willing to sell us a small amount of just the flesh, we added it to our purchase. Now, in order to offset the distinctive odor and ugly appearance, supposedly, the flesh has the texture of a pudding and an incredible amount of healthy benefits. Methinks that this last bit of PR was devised by those who wished to sell said durian, as when I opened the package, I was definitely aware of a distinctive odor. It was not that of a rose garden! Now not having a great deal of experience with rotting flesh, trying my best to eat all meat products in the fridge in a timely fashion. I am not quite as responsive to the condition of vegetables, for I surmise that they could get stuck in ones throat and become a health hazard. Anyway, back to my durian, I would guess that the smell would be somewhere in a mix of possibly rotted flesh and diaper poo. The “pudding – like” flesh, was more like that of partially cooked artichokes, but what the heck, I had gotten this far, and the truth was in the taste. Well, my guess is, some of scent of the “diaper poo” spilled over into the flavor, so on a scale of one to ten, I would be hard pressed to give it a two. Maybe it is like a single malt, an acquired taste. I shall never find out — the durian, not the single malt.

Decided yesterday to dine at one of our favorite restaurants in this area, “The Red Chair Restaurant”. This is a small place , off the beaten track, and mostly frequented by locals — very good food and very cheap. The one small setback is that we are staying in Karon, and the restaurant is in Kata, which I believe must be about a hundred miles apart, — well maybe 3 ½ miles apart, but it feels like a hundred in the hot sun. On our return walk, Bonnie appeared to get tired of my whining and snivelling about my “poor me” and my sore feet, so she suggested — no, insisted, that I experience a fish foot massage. This also gave her some time to stroll through some shops while I was otherwise occupied. Now this fish thing was a long aquarium set on the floor, and next to a bench, upon which you could sit. First a young lady washed your feet, not that my feet would require such treatment after three hours of walking in the afternoon sun, and then you plunked your feet into the fish bowl. You are immediately beset upon by cannibalistic hoards of these fish, who commence to eat you alive. Now, in fact, these fish are only two or three inches long, and are only dining upon the old dead pieces of skin particles on your feet. It is a different experience to say the least. Would I take it over the traditional Thai foot massage?, probably not, but it is like comparing apples and oranges — same, same, but different. By the time we made it back to our hotel in Karon, I am certain that we had consumed more calories than we had gained, and I suspect that this is a good thing.

We will be changing accommodation today so I will get back to blogging once we are settled. Take care and have fun!

T