Thursday, July 27, 2006

I'm starting to be able to explore my surroundings a little bit more. Last night we went out in search of food which was quite an adventure. We decided to walk down the long residential road so I could see everything close up. People don't walk much around here. Instead they all take motorcycle taxis or ride bikes around so we kind of stood out. They don't have sidewalks here and the motorcycles and cars are fearless. I don't think they have the saying that pedestrians have the right of way. I'm glad we walked down the road because it was interesting to see how people have businesses right out of their homes in their driveways and front yards. Restaurants are often hard to discover because it may just be in someone's house and the only way you would know it was there is if you were a local and were familiar with the area.

We walked down the main road hoping to find some food that I would consider edible. I realized once I came here what a picky eater I am. I think I am going to get very skinny here because I am very sensitive to smells and funky tastes and I would rather not eat than to eat something questionnable. For example, they have lots of street vendors that cook right there on the street in little carts. Most of the stuff is sitting there under heaters. Lots of fried stuff and lots of sausage and soup and noodles are sold in little baggies. Unfortunately, the area can get very smelly so I don't want to take a chance on getting food poisoining by eating at any of these stalls. The locals seem to not have a problem with it but I'm not that daring yet.

We were about to give up when we saw what looked like a little restaurant. The sign was in English and as we were walking I was excited to read "Coffee"...."Tea"... and "German Sausages"! You have to imagine us eagerly reading the sign out loud, trying to see what the next word was and hysterically laughing when we figured out that the last word was German Sausages. It seemed a very unlikely combination. If you know me, you'll know that in any normal circumstances the mention of sausage would make me run the other way but in this case I was never so excited to see sausages in my life.

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On our way back we decided to take the motorcycle taxi. I was terrified to get on because I have been trained to think that motorcycles are very dangerous, especially without a helmet. In the picture, you can see a motorcycle taxi with the driver wearing a helmet. I have to say that out of 100s of motorcycle taxis I have seen, this was the only one that I have seen wearing a helmet. You basically just hop on the motorcycle and hold onto the back. Some women ride side saddle but I would be too terrified to ride sideways. They act so nonchalant; some of them don't even hold on! You even see them with 2 people riding on the back. Once I got on and he started going it was not as terrifying as I had thought. It was actually very exhilirating, especially when he went over the speed bumps! I have a feeling that every day in Thailand will be a new experience!

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3 comments:

Morris said...

Glad to see you made it safely!

StePHen said...

hahaha. coffee, tea, and sausages!?!? that is too much. that whole taxi business is kinda crazy too, i have to admit i'd be a little freaked.

Rakesh said...

really nice and beautiful blog. Thanks for sharing.

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