Jyoti Bhatt comments : I like Thai food a lot. was the food in Thailand same as we get here or is it like Chinese food that they say is very different in China :) I look forward to reading other details of that country in your next articles.
Elizabeth Dubrow comments : Thanks, Jyoti. I have to say that I don't know much about Thai food other than what tastes good and what doesn't. But I did notice that the food we ate there seemed somewhat different from the Thai food here. First of all, it seems to be less hot over there! Actually, over there they usually give you a tray with hot sauce and dried chilies so you can add as much hot spice as you want. But what they serve is not at all hot.
In addition, whenever we go to Thai restaurants here, they always have dishes with tofu. But we almost never saw tofu in Thailand.
While we ate pretty much the same types of food there that we do here - curry and rice, stir fries and noodles(we weren't really adventurous eaters because we didn't want to risk getting sick)-there were some differences. There were lots of spices and herbs and even foods that we couldn't identify. The flavors just seemed much more intense there. And I think the food was actually tastier there, for the most part. We did have one or two disappointing meals, though.
One thing that we ate for dessert all the time over there was banana pancakes. I have no idea if that is a dish of Thai origin, but we loved it! Unfortunately, we haven't found a Thai restaurant in Austin that serves them.
There came a point around the end of our trip when we got sick of Thai food. But fortunately we were in Bangkok, so we had lots of other choices. We love sushi, so we were happy to find really good and inexpensive sushi there. But two days after we got back to Austin, we were back in a Thai restaurant!
HELEN REHN comments : Help! My 79 year old father met a woman from Thailand over the internet. He booked a trip there at the end of the month. I'm desperate to deter him. Any advice???
Pikky comments : One more alternative way to view Bangkok by bike, the tour will take you to tiny laneways in Bangkok, then taking the local train to get to countryside (50 min.), continue cycling in countryside, the stops to talk to villagers are frequent, along the way we will visit local temple, market, farms, and participate in the classroom with schoolchildren (weekday), Thai lunch will be served at the head of the village's house. It’s an easy pace everyone can do. www.absoluteexplorer.com
Henry Nel comments : Hi. I'm planning a trip to thailand, on a budget, in February and found your advise and article very helpfull. I bought the Rough Guide to thailand, but there is so much to see and do. I'll be in Phuket for the first 10 days and then to Bankok and the rest of the country for another 20 days. I would appreciate it so much if you could share some must see and must do activities with me. I'll travel alone and don't want to miss any of the good stuff. Thank you.
Doug comments : I know you published your Thailand article awhile ago, but I'm finding it a good starting point for planning my first trip to Thailand. I also live in Austin, and the flight seems daunting. Did your trip encompass north and south Thailand? I only have 2 weeks there, but I want to see both north and south. How costly are the flight from the north to the south? This would save me going to Bankok several times. Any one or two items I must see??
