Thailand

Gladys and I would have signed up for Chef Jet Tila’s Thai Town tour in Los Angeles, but it was not running during COVID, so we read reviews and tried to put together our own tour based on the places mentioned. We ate dessert first at Bhan Kanom Thai, including Kanom bueng, a crispy crepe with cream; kanom Tokyo, tiny crepes with pandan filling; and soft rolls with more pandan filling. We still managed to have room for chicken wontons and pad see ew at Pa Ord Noodle next door. Then we went on a scavenger hunt for the perfect plantains at nearby Asian markets and learned a lot about Thai Town and the surrounding neighborhoods. The official tour is available again and we would love to see everything with a knowledgeable guide: https://meltingpottours.com/melting-pot-tours/chef-tila-thai-town-tour/

Before the pandemic, Gladys, Bea, Phyllis and I enjoyed Thai musicians and street food at the weekend food fair at the Thai Wat (temple) in North Hollywood. We limited ourselves to pad se eu, drunken noodles, pho, bamboo salad, sticky rice, mango, and coconut ice cream, but there was so much more! They are still open and it is such a fun way to experience Thai food: https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2022-06-13/wat-thai-temple-food-court-thai-food-sun-valley

Of course, you don’t have to travel to Los Angeles to have great Thai food. Culinary diplomacy, a purposeful effort by the Thai government since 2002, has made it easy for many of us to find a Thai restaurant. Those restaurants get help in importing Thai food and tableware, obtaining work visas for Thai cooks, and getting loans which help them succeed in a difficult industry. Here are two of my favorite Thai restaurants and a few more I want to try:

· I’ve been to Benjarong in Redlands many times, most recently with Chris and Steve for Chris' birthday in February. We had tom yum soup, spring rolls, pad thai, sweet and sour fish, and ube ice cream.

· Bua Thai Cuisine in Claremont is also a fun place for a birthday meal, this time Leina’s, where a large group of us had salmon rad prik (deep fried and topped with spicy herb sauce), tom kar (coconut milk soup with vegetables), green curry with chicken and vegetables, pineapple fried rice, and phad woon sen (glass noodles with tofu, egg, vegetables, & tomato).

· If I understand correctly, most of the Thai food we get in the United States is from central Thailand. I would like to try Chaba Thai Kitchen in San Diego to experience the northern and southern Thai cuisine. Other Thai restaurants in the same San Diego neighborhood are Koon Thai Kitchen, Mekong Lao and Thai Cuisine, The Pad Thai Stand, and Bing Haus. This last one is for dessert including Thai-style rolled ice cream.

For one more Thai food experience, see Anthony Bourdain’s Thai episode of A Cook's Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLCDuF7M2z4

Considering how many experiences I have had with Thai food, I was shocked to realize I have no previous experience with Thai authors. Fortunately, the Los Angeles County Library has Four Reigns by Kukrit Pramoj. It is very long – I’ll admit that to get through it in a week, I read the first and last parts and appreciated what I did read. The Thai issue of Words Without Borders with both an overview of Thai literature and some linked examples is more manageable: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2016-11/november-2016-thailand-issue-introduction-mui-poopoksakul/

It's not by a Thai author, but probably the most famous book about Thailand is The English Governess at the Siamese Court by Anna Harriette Leonowens https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8678. This is the source book for the movies The King and I and Anna and the King.

Both DisneyPlus and Netflix have well done programs on the rescue of twelve boys and their coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand in 2018. For the CNN summary of the more than two weeks inside the cave and the rescue by an international team of divers, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7uhm_OlXj4

To experience a little Thai music and art, I enjoyed:

· Traditional Thai instruments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXXK4P2Ogs0

· A song with Jintara Poonlarp and Tao Ngoi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oppMTue4gRE

· The series on Thai art starting here: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/southeast-asia/thailand/a/ban-chiang-a-prehistoric-archaeological-site

If you are looking for Thai events in Los Angeles, the annual Thai New Year’s Day Songkran Festival is on the first Sunday of April, there is a Thai Cultural Day every September, and the Hye-Thai Festival on the second Saturday in December. At anytime, you can experience Thai massage – it’s such a great stretch!

There are amazing places to visit in Thailand. The elephant sanctuary that Kaitlin and Andrea went to didn’t even make it on this top 25 list: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/top-25-things-to-do-in-thailand/. I would love to go! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Thailand and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Mathew Schwartz https://unsplash.com/photos/gsllxmVO4HQ