The Great Loves Of Emily’s Life

For Emily, Bangkok has been about one thing, and one thing alone: sushi. My wife has a sushi addiction – no two ways about it. After spending more than $80 to get a few thin slices of fish in Mumbai, she felt that she still hadn’t had any sushi since she was home in October. It may have been one of the most expensive sushi, but not-sushi meals ever.

When she saw a couple of Japanese restaurants in Delhi and started to get the itch, I told her to hang in there and assured her that Bangkok would deliver.

When it comes to food, the Thai people have never disappointed and this time was no exception. My friend Jay who I worked with when I lived here, assured me that Bangkok has exploded with sushi restaurants, particularly in Bangkok’s numerous malls. So we went to the mall near where I used to live – the mall that had my nearest supermarket – to seek sushi.

Thais love seafood and have a strong fishing industry, so it’s no surprise that sushi would work with Thai tastes. Anything they love, they do well. Like a heroine addict shooting up, I watched blissful contentment wash over Emily’s face as she consumed thick, good looking pieces of sashimi and sushi.

“This is everything I wanted it to be,” she said claiming it was as good or better than home. The prices certainly were better and put Mumbai to absolute and utter shame.

If Emily has another great love in her life besides sushi, Adley (our/her dog), Bailey (our niece), Hayden (our other niece) and me (notice I’m fifth) it’s massage. Again, Bangkok comes through like a champ. Our first night, we got one-hour massages and last night, two-hours of pushing, elbowing, bending and stepping that do the job of a masseuse and a chiropractor all in one.

If Emily has a great love of her life beyond all of these – and the truth is that she loves many things and people intensely and wholeheartedly – it’s spicy food. She takes endless enjoyment in painful, fire-breathing spice and can tolerate a tremendous amount.

One of her bedrock assumptions in life is that Indian and Nepali food are at the top of the spicy food pyramid. Region 2 was her culinary paradise.

But again my Thai friends are not to be outdone. The other night when we ordered som tam (grated green papaya salad), Emily asked me to order it extra spicy – probably thinking that when I make it at home, it’s not as hot as she can take it. I did as she asked and she had tears in her eyes as she tried to take the last few bites.

Today at lunch, Emily again wanted som tam – because there’s really no reason not to eat it every day – and again, I told the som tam lady to make it spicy. This som tam lady did exactly as she was asked.

“My head’s spinning!” Emily said 10 minutes later. “I can’t handle it! This is the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

She finished it, determined not to let the som tam take her out. But as we turned to leave the little food stall, Emily said, “I actually thought I might faint. I knew you were saying something, I didn’t know what it was because I was trying not to faint.”

It took her two bottles of water and a Thai iced tea to get back to normal.

My wife is happy.

Despite ending our time in India in one of the world’s major cities, we realized that having some time in a fun and highly accessible city like Bangkok is a nice treat. We’ve rearranged our plans to spend this weekend in the city and next weekend and a few days beyond on Koh Samet – my favorite Thai island. It works better with Emily’s workload and frankly, our list of things we want to do in Bangkok is getting longer by the day. Who knew?

No doubt our upcoming voyage to Bali where we will stay for eight weeks has something to do with our attitude. This is our last city stop until Singapore in mid-April. It’s fun to see a movie, go to a nice restaurant, get a few things around town, use a post office that makes sense and stop in for massages along the way.

Plus – and I never thought I would say this – the air in Bangkok feels fresh and clean. I think this is mostly in contrast to India and particularly Delhi. But I’m also looking around the streets noticing less congestion and fewer smoke billowing buses and tuk-tuks than I remember.

Perhaps the new subway and light rail lines are making an impact. There are also newer cars with lower emissions. All the old beater taxis have been replaced with much nicer, larger, quiet Toyota Corollas.

“This isn’t third world,” Emily kept saying last night. “Look at that mall and tell me this is third world…”

Technically, it is. Bangkok, of course, has more money flowing through it than many parts of Thailand. It also is much more developed than where we’ve been. Had we come directly from home, or even Istanbul, we might have seen it differently. At the moment, Bangkok is a breath of fresh air.

Even with my wife breathing som tam-induced fire, a wave of relaxation has washed over us.

Meanwhile, I’m amused and enchanted with the little things I see – the pieces of culture and life I had forgotten over time. The motorcycle taxi guys with their special vests waiting at the end of every alleyway to take you anywhere faster than any other form of transportation as they cut through traffic for a fraction of the cost of a regular taxi. Every neighborhoods has their set of them.

I find joy at how every supermarket has a food court. Not a food court like we have in malls. More of a food labyrinth where every kind of cooked food, street food and dessert is made in clean, sanitary stalls indoors – adjacent to the the check stands.

I passed an apartment building security guard who was talking to someone saying in Thai, “Look at that big foreigner….” so I greeted him as I passed. He asked, “Where are you going?” I forgot that “Where are you going?” is a common conversation starter along with, “Have you eaten rice yet?” They don’t actually care that much about what you answer – the way Americans are with “How are you?”

Last night as we got our massages, the massage ladies all had questions for me. I’ve experienced this before. I had forgotten exactly how it went, but it all came rushing back. A white guy speaking Thai is somewhat rare. A foreign guy with a foreign wife who speaks Thai is extremely rare. So came the barrage of questions which I spent the first and last 20 minutes of my massage answering.

“Why do you speak Thai? How come you know Issan dialect? Is that your girlfriend? Does she speak Thai? Do you have friends in Thailand? Do you think Issan (Northeastern) people are good looking? Do you like Issan food? Which foods do you like? How long are you in Thailand? Why are you here?”

For the first time, when I explained that we’re traveling for a year and working online along the way, no one thought it was interesting.

“That’s a long time,” was the most I got. The idea of the whole thing may have been more than they could imagine. It might also be that over the years, these ladies from the Issan provinces have massaged a lot of foreigners – in perhaps more ways than one during their heyday – and heard their fair share of stories. Foreigners come and go with the tides in Thailand, and most of them have stories that don’t matter to these ladies anyway. Discussing which foods we all liked was far more interesting to them.

I was happy to add my in-depth analysis of which ingredients make a great som tam. It was contentious, let me assure you.

Most importantly, it was fun. Thai culture is lighthearted and warm. They like convenience and ease – in their cities and their lives. For now, in our post-India decompression – lighthearted, fun and convenient sound great.

Sent from my iPad