Wedding Reception
Still 2004 and I'm off for my second trip to Thailand. I'm now a world traveler and I'm armed with experience and wisdom...as you will soon learn.
My brother-in-law is marrying his sweetheart. My wife has been in Thailand for at least a week ahead of me attending the actual ceremony…which lasts for a few days. She spends at least three weeks when she goes home and that is just way too long for me. I'm a homebody and honestly, I don't want to be gone from my girl Mandi too long. Mandi is our golden retriever and we love her dearly. So with Mandi safely in the care of my father, I fly out to spend a couple of weeks and be a part of the happy couple’s wedding reception.
My brother-in-law is marrying his sweetheart. My wife has been in Thailand for at least a week ahead of me attending the actual ceremony…which lasts for a few days. She spends at least three weeks when she goes home and that is just way too long for me. I'm a homebody and honestly, I don't want to be gone from my girl Mandi too long. Mandi is our golden retriever and we love her dearly. So with Mandi safely in the care of my father, I fly out to spend a couple of weeks and be a part of the happy couple’s wedding reception.
Koi and Binn. My brother-in-law and his wife. Aren’t they lovely? His wife is a sweetheart for sure and is one of the most giving people I know.
Armed with the experience of my trip to Thailand two years ago, there was no way in hell I was flying out again in economy seating. No, I did not fly first class or even business, although either would have been exquisite. I chose EVA Air and their deluxe class. The deluxe compared to normal economy was night and day…and several hundred dollars more. But it was worth every penny! There was much more leg room, wider seats, the seats reclined more and even had a foot rest that raised up some to take pressure off of your lower back. It was sort of like a smaller version of a Lazy Boy.
It was enough to make a person almost cry. Yes, the flight was still a miserable S.O.B., but at least I was more comfortable and didn’t have one of the guys from the Steeler’s Steel Curtain sitting behind me this time. And even if he was? He would have had plenty of room to stretch out as well. A much better experience than my first flight over. So I am a little wiser. Thought I would also mention the following: my wife flew out economy!
Armed with the experience of my trip to Thailand two years ago, there was no way in hell I was flying out again in economy seating. No, I did not fly first class or even business, although either would have been exquisite. I chose EVA Air and their deluxe class. The deluxe compared to normal economy was night and day…and several hundred dollars more. But it was worth every penny! There was much more leg room, wider seats, the seats reclined more and even had a foot rest that raised up some to take pressure off of your lower back. It was sort of like a smaller version of a Lazy Boy.
It was enough to make a person almost cry. Yes, the flight was still a miserable S.O.B., but at least I was more comfortable and didn’t have one of the guys from the Steeler’s Steel Curtain sitting behind me this time. And even if he was? He would have had plenty of room to stretch out as well. A much better experience than my first flight over. So I am a little wiser. Thought I would also mention the following: my wife flew out economy!
Another shot with the parents. A very happy day for all. I'm told there was quite a feast prepared as well.
Asking for the blessing of the parents.
The day after my arrival. The tropical fruit beast within me has already been awakened. Here I am cutting my very first jackfruit from a tree. This trip would open my eyes to a whole new world of fruit. Apples and oranges? Move the hell over! There’s mangosteen! But I digress. I’m here for a reception…and some good food.
That's my wife beside me and I have no idea who the others are. There were a bunch of people in and out and I didn't know one from another. We're finishing up a home cooked meal. But more importantly, you can see some rambutan on a plate in front of me. I have had rambutan once before. I actually ordered a box from Hawaii one time. Being one of my wife's favorite fruits, I thought it was a nice gesture on my part. Turns out I enjoyed them more. While still pretty good after being shipped in the cold, you just can't beat the taste when recently picked off the tree.
Here is the main ballroom of a very very nice hotel in Bangkok where the reception will be held. Not too shabby eh? There were to be over 500 people attending!
That’s my wife and I with the bride and groom prior to the festivities being kicked off then a shot with the whole family. That was about the last I saw of anyone I knew well. I was at least put at a table where everyone could speak English. The meal? I lost count of the number of servings but honestly, I didn’t care for many of them. Shark fin soup? I don’t like dishes with cartilage. That kind of texture is a huge turn off for me. Lots of gelatinous and fatty types are out the door for me too. So the meal for me was a bust. Thank the stars for Singha beer.
Ayutthaya - A History Lesson
I enjoy war history. I recall watching all sorts of programs and movies with my dad. My wife would occasionally rent movies from a local Thai grocery store. One of the movies she brought home was The Legend of Suriyothai. I really liked this movie. Based upon the true accounts of the life of Suriyothai. She became queen of Siam(Thailand) during the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat in the early part of the 16th century. This was a very bloody time and it certainly didn’t pay to be a family member of a rival for the throne. So this movie was right up my alley.
Thailand and Burma(Myanmar), have a long history of war with each other and this movie was a small part of the overall history of the wars, but made a long lasting impression upon the Thai people.
In 1548 A.D., Tabinshwehti was king of the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma, and sent his armies to invade Siam with the intention of sacking the capital, Ayutthaya. He split his army into 3 columns and began advancing towards Ayutthaya, capturing cities along the way and meeting little resistance. They soon were camped outside of the capital.
King Chakkraphat led his army out of the city to test the strength of the Burmese army. The king was upon his war elephant accompanied by Queen Suriyothai and their daughter upon a smaller war elephant. Both were dressed for war in full military attire.
They met one of the three columns commanded by the Viceroy of Prome and engaged in battle. The custom is for the commanders to engage in single elephant combat. However, the king’s elephant panicked at the start and fled the battlefield. The Burmese commander gave chase but met with the Queen instead, who, fearing for her husband’s life, put her war elephant in between her husband’s fleeing elephant and that of the Burmese commander and engaged him in combat herself. The Queen received a fatal wound from the Viceroy’s sword. The Princess was also wounded during the battle and both mother and daughter died upon the same elephant. The two princes, who were also on the battlefield, gave chase driving the Burmese force from the field. They returned to carry their mother and sister back to Ayutthaya.
Thailand and Burma(Myanmar), have a long history of war with each other and this movie was a small part of the overall history of the wars, but made a long lasting impression upon the Thai people.
In 1548 A.D., Tabinshwehti was king of the Toungoo Dynasty of Burma, and sent his armies to invade Siam with the intention of sacking the capital, Ayutthaya. He split his army into 3 columns and began advancing towards Ayutthaya, capturing cities along the way and meeting little resistance. They soon were camped outside of the capital.
King Chakkraphat led his army out of the city to test the strength of the Burmese army. The king was upon his war elephant accompanied by Queen Suriyothai and their daughter upon a smaller war elephant. Both were dressed for war in full military attire.
They met one of the three columns commanded by the Viceroy of Prome and engaged in battle. The custom is for the commanders to engage in single elephant combat. However, the king’s elephant panicked at the start and fled the battlefield. The Burmese commander gave chase but met with the Queen instead, who, fearing for her husband’s life, put her war elephant in between her husband’s fleeing elephant and that of the Burmese commander and engaged him in combat herself. The Queen received a fatal wound from the Viceroy’s sword. The Princess was also wounded during the battle and both mother and daughter died upon the same elephant. The two princes, who were also on the battlefield, gave chase driving the Burmese force from the field. They returned to carry their mother and sister back to Ayutthaya.
The movie was a great tale of bravery and sacrifice. The Thais hold her in very high honor. This is the monument in a memorial park outside of Ayutthaya. That’s her sitting behind the elephant’s head holding the wicked looking weapon.
The other pic is me standing at the entrance to the gardens and shrine to Suriyothai. Certainly looks like I belong eh?! It was a very beautiful place. One could only imagine the terrible, yet heroic battles that took place
The other pic is me standing at the entrance to the gardens and shrine to Suriyothai. Certainly looks like I belong eh?! It was a very beautiful place. One could only imagine the terrible, yet heroic battles that took place
Here are some temples destroyed in the many wars with Burma.
And of course we rode in style! NOT! It may look all comfy and stable sitting where we are, but let me tell you it is an altogether different story! That is a terrible place to sit. You rolled and jolted back and forth to the movement of those giant hips. The guy in red? That’s where you want to be. I felt like every vertebrae in my spine had been pulled apart. I’ll walk next time!
While a very neat place to visit…especially after seeing the movie, it was a very humbling scene when you thought about the number of wars that took place in this area.
While a very neat place to visit…especially after seeing the movie, it was a very humbling scene when you thought about the number of wars that took place in this area.
River Kwai Bridge...More History
My dad was a bigtime WWII history buff and would watch any program and movie concerning this genre. I remember as a kid going to the home town theater to watch The Battle of Britain, Patton, and others. It all sort of rubbed off. So the folks figured I would enjoy a trip to the war museum in Kanjanaburi.
Here’s a view over the river where the bridges were. I use the plural because there were two bridges built during that time. A temporary wooden bridge and a steel bridge. Both were destroyed a couple years later by the Allies. The steel bridge was rebuilt and is still in use today. Many of you may remember the 1957 film Bridge Over the River Kwai. The movie was sort of accurate for many things, but the actual conditions of the prisoners at the time were much more brutal than what was depicted in the movie.
We actually stopped at the old war museum prior to stopping here. The old museum was not as elaborate as the new one. However, it did have replicas of the huts the prisoners were kept in. There were actual pictures as well as art work done by the prisoners themselves. We got to see actual medical and dental equipment the prisoners fashioned themselves since they were not given any real ones by the Japanese. There was no medicine for the prisoners either. It was pretty creepy seeing the conditions these people to live in. I could feel a sadness overwhelm me.
We actually stopped at the old war museum prior to stopping here. The old museum was not as elaborate as the new one. However, it did have replicas of the huts the prisoners were kept in. There were actual pictures as well as art work done by the prisoners themselves. We got to see actual medical and dental equipment the prisoners fashioned themselves since they were not given any real ones by the Japanese. There was no medicine for the prisoners either. It was pretty creepy seeing the conditions these people to live in. I could feel a sadness overwhelm me.
Back to the new museum. The picture above depicts prisoners lying in a stream. They would do this to allow tiny fish to eat at their many wounds…helping to clean out infection, diseased and decaying flesh. Not a pretty sight or thought knowing that many would die from wounds, starvation and/or disease.
Above is just one of the cemeteries for the Allied soldiers. A very sobering portion of the trip really. But it makes one think of the sacrifices folks like these made in order for us to have the freedoms we enjoy today. So please don’t take them for granted. We may not all like what our governments do. Face it, they are run by self-serving a-holes. But the very least we all can do is respect and honor those in the military that continue to keep us safe and free.
You Gonna Eat That?
I’m a world traveler now. I’ve got me some experience under the belt. Thanks to my wife, my pallet has also been expanded to include more diverse foods. I would have never probably tried any type of dish with coconut. I certainly would not be frying and eating fish with the head still attached. But as I mentioned before, certain textures are never going to win me over no matter how they taste.
Rad Na is a wide, rice noodle dish with Chinese broccoli that has a very thick sauce...done up normally with pork. I love it and have my wife make this dish often. There was a small, outdoor restaurant that is well known for this dish not too far from the folk’s home. Knowing how I loved this dish, the folks wanted to take everyone out and I was certainly stoked for this meal. It came out hot and steamy and looked and smelled wonderful. I immediately dug in. Now I’m not some wuss…generally. I’ve tried some questionable foods before and have enjoyed many of them. But right away I knew something was terribly wrong in my world. The dish may have been pork but it was not the parts of pork I normally eat nor was expecting.
The piece I plopped in was nothing but gelatinous fat and gristle. The only way for me to accurately describe this mouth/throat feeling was for everyone to think back to one of the worst flu's you ever had. You know…that time where you were so congested and hacking crap up? Think of the biggest and worst loogie you ever coughed up. THAT is what that piece of pork felt like in my mouth. It took every ounce of concentration and restraint not to puke all over the table. I was down and out folks. The Thais do not seem to mind these cuts of pork and tell me that this brings out more flavor. I was offered something else but no type of food could have crossed my lips after that. I still gag thinking of it.
Thankfully, not all of our meals sank to such a low for me. Street food is diverse and often times the best you can get…and the cheapest. While in Ayuttaya, we stopped at this little restaurant by the river. They were supposed to be famous for their fresh water prawns.
Rad Na is a wide, rice noodle dish with Chinese broccoli that has a very thick sauce...done up normally with pork. I love it and have my wife make this dish often. There was a small, outdoor restaurant that is well known for this dish not too far from the folk’s home. Knowing how I loved this dish, the folks wanted to take everyone out and I was certainly stoked for this meal. It came out hot and steamy and looked and smelled wonderful. I immediately dug in. Now I’m not some wuss…generally. I’ve tried some questionable foods before and have enjoyed many of them. But right away I knew something was terribly wrong in my world. The dish may have been pork but it was not the parts of pork I normally eat nor was expecting.
The piece I plopped in was nothing but gelatinous fat and gristle. The only way for me to accurately describe this mouth/throat feeling was for everyone to think back to one of the worst flu's you ever had. You know…that time where you were so congested and hacking crap up? Think of the biggest and worst loogie you ever coughed up. THAT is what that piece of pork felt like in my mouth. It took every ounce of concentration and restraint not to puke all over the table. I was down and out folks. The Thais do not seem to mind these cuts of pork and tell me that this brings out more flavor. I was offered something else but no type of food could have crossed my lips after that. I still gag thinking of it.
Thankfully, not all of our meals sank to such a low for me. Street food is diverse and often times the best you can get…and the cheapest. While in Ayuttaya, we stopped at this little restaurant by the river. They were supposed to be famous for their fresh water prawns.
I have to apologize. I am far from what you could call a food blogger and most of the time it didn't occur to me to take a picture until after the meal. What you see on the table is all that is left of these monsters. They were enormous, spicy as hell, and delicious. These exceeded all expectations I had for this meal.
Feeling cocky? On the way back, there were small stands all along the highway. People selling everything from fruit and veggies…to…….rat. Yes, rat. Not your dirty, disgusting, city sewer rat, but field rats that feed only on the stalks of sugar cane. Yeah…still rat eh? Would you like a little tail with that? Paws and nails?
Feeling cocky? On the way back, there were small stands all along the highway. People selling everything from fruit and veggies…to…….rat. Yes, rat. Not your dirty, disgusting, city sewer rat, but field rats that feed only on the stalks of sugar cane. Yeah…still rat eh? Would you like a little tail with that? Paws and nails?
Now I truly had every intention in the world to try one of these delicacies. Would probably taste like chicken right? But…these things had been grilled who knows how long ago and have been sitting in the sun all day. My bravado soon flagged and I passed it up...especially when everyone in the car was giving me the "hell no" signal. If they had been grilling them fresh, I probably would have tried one. Don't those tails look delish?!!
Eyes Wide Open
So while my second trip to Thailand was far from being a fruit hunting trip, it did open my eyes to a whole new world of fruit. There were jewels such as mangosteen and longkong, sugar apples, jackfruit, lychee, mangos, and more. Mangosteen and longkong fueled what soon became my rare tropical fruit obsession. It was enough that I was bitten by the tropical fruit bug hoping to grow these wonderful fruits. Oh no, I had it in my mind that I would grow the rare ones. The ones truly difficult to obtain and as I would learn, truly difficult to grow.
I collected seeds obviously…not that I would illegally send or carry them back to the USA. And of course, all I heard was “you cannot grow these trees in Ohio”…over and over. It was the equivalent to throwing down the gauntlets. Can’t grow these in Ohio? Well, I’ll show them all.
Even back then when I planted nearly every seed I came across, I knew deep in my heart that planting seeds sucked. Takes too damned long to grow and fruit. I needed to find more mature plants. Grafted plants. Yeah! I will admit that when I obsess over something, I tend to go balls out with it, and obtaining these plants became a mission.
So this trip became quite a milestone for my new found hobby. I’ve got to hand it to my wife though, she endures it and doesn’t give me crap about any of it…well…not too much anyway! I couldn’t wait to get back home and start tracking down all these plants. After all, just how difficult could it be to find all these rare, tropical fruit trees?
Stayed tuned for lots of disappointment! LOL!
I collected seeds obviously…not that I would illegally send or carry them back to the USA. And of course, all I heard was “you cannot grow these trees in Ohio”…over and over. It was the equivalent to throwing down the gauntlets. Can’t grow these in Ohio? Well, I’ll show them all.
Even back then when I planted nearly every seed I came across, I knew deep in my heart that planting seeds sucked. Takes too damned long to grow and fruit. I needed to find more mature plants. Grafted plants. Yeah! I will admit that when I obsess over something, I tend to go balls out with it, and obtaining these plants became a mission.
So this trip became quite a milestone for my new found hobby. I’ve got to hand it to my wife though, she endures it and doesn’t give me crap about any of it…well…not too much anyway! I couldn’t wait to get back home and start tracking down all these plants. After all, just how difficult could it be to find all these rare, tropical fruit trees?
Stayed tuned for lots of disappointment! LOL!
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