"Do you remember when we used to run errands and buy groceries?"
"Yeah….and…."
"No, that was it…. You remember how we used to do those things?" I said.
Emily bust up laughing.
We haven't cooked a meal since at least July, if not June. Emily once made some very nice eggs in Patmos when she was bent on trying out the hot plate in our little studio. We don't really count that, though.
We still have some errands – there are things we need to buy and do here and there. But on days like yesterday, the list read "Get visas from Indonesian Embassy. Eat lunch. Pick up laundry. Go to Post Office. Get haircut/shave." This was a busy errand day for me. I used to do more than that on the way home from work. Los Angeles is all about running errands.
The amazing thing about our year of travel is that our overall standard of living is very good – if not better than home. Someone else always does the grocery shopping and cooks – every single meal. We also have daily maid service and someone else does our laundry – ironing every last piece down to the underwear.
In some places, eating out every meal took its toll. In Greece, it hurt so good. Every meal was fantastic and at the same time, terribly bad for us. Almost everything was heavy. They're a culture that believes in having carbs with your carbs – because why would you ever eat potatoes without rice? God bless them.
In India I actually hit my limits now and again. In Mumbai I would occasionally dread dinner because I just couldn't take another portion of heavy, rich sauces. By the time we were in Northern India, I was eating a lot of Tandoori just because it didn't have so much sauce, or "gravy" as they like to call it. For me, the gravy boat had sailed.
Thailand is an explosion of light, fresh and flavorful. It's also extremely varied. There are so many kinds of Thai foods you just don't have in Thai restaurants at home – like the grilled chicken sausages or bualloy – a hot, sweet coconut soupy dessert.
While I could go on about the food all day, the thing that's just as amazing is that Thailand has – in my experience – the best access to cheap, quick meals that are also healthy. On street carts and in local neighborhood restaurants, people are buying grilled chicken, fried noodles, veggies, soups, spicy Issan salads – all ready in no more than five minutes.
Food carts are so ubiquitous that once when I was at a remote, pristine beach of an island – which you can't get to by car or even motorcycle – I said to my friend, "This may be the one place in Thailand where there's not a food cart." A minute later we rounded a bend and there was a food cart.
Thailand, in a sense, is the ultimate fast food nation. Everywhere, anywhere, any meal, any time of day for 35 Baht ($1.07) or less. Snack items are even cheaper. Fruit carts will sell you an entire pineapple, cut up and ready to eat for 20 Baht. I eat more fruit in Thailand than anywhere else.
Almost everyone has a real cooked meal with fresh ingredients the way mom (Thai mom) makes it.
The only ones who don't, are the people attracted to the American fast food chains that have invaded Bangkok and other major cities. The funny thing is that McDonald's and Pizza Hut can't match the prices on the street.
Instead, our cheap fast-food is a premium product in Thailand admired by the upper and upper-middle classes. The top malls in Bangkok are filled with Dunkin' Donuts, A&W, Burger King and KFC. Most of Thailand can't afford to shop in those malls, so the Krispy Kreme in the Paragon Shopping Mall remains a delight of the elite.
Thailand's middle class and poor actually eat healthier meals than the rich. Exactly the opposite of America where canned and processed food is the cheapest and dollar value meals are a low-income family's lifesaver.
Of course, those who cook at home save most. The price of fresh produce at an outdoor market in Thailand is even cheaper than the cooked food. You can buy a kilo of ripe mangoes on the street for 60 cents which is affordable to the average family.
At home, Emily and I once calculated what we spent on groceries when we had two friends over for dinner. It was more than $60. We could have gone to a restaurant for that price. There was no cost advantage to staying home. If you want fresh produce, good meat and spices, you pay big in America.
The other night, over spicy seafood soup and Pad Thai, Emily and I were talking about how difficult it will be to go back to a life where quick, affordable, delicious and healthy are antithetical to one another. It seems absurd to not only put in the work to make a nice healthy meal, but to pay so much to do it.
For now, we're just going to enjoy the delights of being in the kingdom of fresh, healthy, delicious fast food. We'll marvel at people who have refined their craft into an art operating their carts that specialize in one or two kinds of food. We'll continue to watch in awe as people go from fresh ingredients to steaming, fresh noodles and crisp, spicy green papaya salad in less than the time it takes to gather a Big Mac, fries and a Coke on a plastic tray.
**Because we are heading to an island, there will be no photos displayed on today's page. Inconveniece regretted.
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