The Reluctant Gourmet: Thailand, tourists and tales

When abroad step away from the usual tourist haunts to get a real taste of the country

May 10, 2012 06:35 pm | Updated July 06, 2016 12:51 am IST

11mp_Pancake

11mp_Pancake

We break down mid-safari. Since this isn't Masai Mara, we're ridiculously laid back. Besides, it's stifling in the bus. So we saunter out, watched by astonished deer. And Japanese tourists. They drive past in meticulously sealed vans. We wave cockily. Till a pair of stocky wildebeest charge at us. Unfortunately our response is more Britney Spears than David Attenborough. Though to be fair, Spears probably wouldn't have squealed like a little girl.

A passing ranger shoos them away like they're goats, and the wildebeest obediently take their high jinks elsewhere. Hopefully not too close to the lions. Oh, yes. Did I mention there were lions? And tigers. Lying side by side in a detached stupor barely 200 metres away. (Bangkok's Safari World is a strange and troubling place.) Apparently it's a ‘picturesque African wilderness setting'. I've seen more realistic African vistas on Dora the Explorer.

It begins to thunder in the distance. Just as the scene gets a little too “Jurassic Park” for our liking, a replacement bus arrives. And a good thing too. Otherwise this column would not have been about having lunch. It would have been about being lunch.

Lunch by the way is as mystifying as our safari. We're proudly told it's an ‘International buffet' set in a tropical forest. We end up eating fried rice under plastic trees. Why is tourism always so bad for a country's cuisine? Logically, it should be a great impetus to showcase the best you have to offer. However, it's a universally accepted fact that ‘touristy' places generally have bad food, sullen service and ludicrously high prices.

Plan your holiday

Fortunately, it's just as easy to avoid a tourist trap as it is to trip into one. Google makes planning a foodie-holiday really easy. Read articles, food blogs and follow local websites to decide where to eat. If there's a restaurant you want to try, you can find the website, check the menu and even make a booking before you travel.

When you're travelling, keep away from the tourists. Tourists tend to have a herd mentality, and very few of them move beyond the areas they are bussed to. They do all their shopping, eating and drinking around the key ‘sights' of the city. Walk for ten minutes away from the discounted souvenirs and ticket counters, and you'll find yourself amid the locals. Then just stop someone and ask for a recommendation.

We take a train into the heart of the city looking for dinner. Walking down Sukhumvit, we're channelling Mike Tyson's version of ‘One Night in Bangkok'. That's how we find Nancy, a wise-cracking, Panama-wearing, cocktail-juggling roadside bartender, who fixes us icy margaritas. We sip them regally, seated besides a main road watching traffic whiz past. It's unexpectedly relaxing.

Following her directions, we end on a bustling neon street, where vendors sell sizzling satay under bright pink lights. I'm a little wary of satay. I've learnt to make detailed enquiries about innocuous deep-fried objects served on sticks in South East Asia. Especially when they're served beside deep-fried bugs.

Yet, I slip up in Pattaya. We are at a night market, torn between candy coloured sunglasses and oversized hats, when we see the satay seller. It looks delicious, and she assures us its chicken. “Fair enough,” we shrug, ordering two. The first is chewy and tube like. “Intestines,” I squeal, going green. “Yum, Yum,” says my friend, chewing her way happily through them, and simultaneously trying a hat so big it looks like it's swallowing her head. I try the second stick. Deep fried chicken skin.

We ramble on, and make friends with the sweet corn lady. She shaves it off the cob and tosses it with pepper, salt and slices of coconut, ending with a generous squirt of lemon juice. There's a street band playing, and crafty entrepreneurs fill buckets with ice and cold beers to sell them to passers-by. It's 2 a.m., and we're in oversized hats accessorised with ridiculously pink bows. It seems like the perfect time to eat pancakes. The pancake lady doesn't bat an eyelash as we approach, looking like a pair of batty escapees from the sets of Pride and Prejudice . She swiftly pours out batter in a pool of golden butter, slices in ripe mangoes and tops it with a generous dollop of condensed milk.

We've lost the tourists. To be honest, we've also lost ourselves. “Ah well,” my friend The Hat shrugs. “Let's just get some more intestines.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.