Kat’s Window

People who hawk food in Thailand, otherwise known as street vendors, can be found in the quietest and sleepiest of neighbourhoods as well blocking the busiest of sidewalks. Their stalls can let off aromas that will make your stomach smile in anticipation or cause you to gag. Most any visitor to Thailand has survived the unforgettable experience of having the fumes from freshly cooked chili rising from a hawker stall causing profuse eye watering. Hawker stalls are basically transportable restaurants that range in size. Hawker food and all of the apparatus and the vendors that go with it represent one of the most colourful and inventive sides of Thailand.

Rows of aluminum pots, frying pans and woks on top of charcoal or gas stoves, mortars and pestles, glass showcases displaying pre-cooked food or raw ingredients, clay pots, and bamboo containers are but a few ways food may be presented and stored for potential customers. From a five-baht snack to a forty-baht main meal, hawkers ensure that everyone manages to find something for most any craving and most any budget. With relatively unsophisticated equipment, Thai hawker stalls do a spectacular job turning out food, and lots of it.

Some street stalls offer small tables and plastic chairs for customers to dine at while others just hand off the food in plastic bags and leave it to the diners to find a place to eat it at. The major areas of hawker food include main meals served with rice, noodles of every shape and size, snacks and more snacks, deserts and refreshments.

Sit for five minutes on a busy street corner and see what kind of food is for sale or passing you by. Roasted eggs, flour pancakes, papaya salad, barbequed chicken, fish balls, dried squid, fried crab in curry, dumplings, roasted potatoes, boiled bananas in coconut syrup, fried rice, grilled meatballs, palm cakes, and fresh fruit might be just a few things that you’ll spot. And that is not including the refreshment options also readily available. Coke, fruit juice, herbal ice tea, sugar cane juice, not to mention beer and whisky, are but some. An often-overlooked aspect of the hawker food service is the very small and frequently mobile bar set up near a group of hawker stalls. Small pick-up trucks, tuk tuks and pushcarts are cleverly converted into watering holes and offer the cheapest drinks in town.

Although some may be skeptical to try hawker food due to the sometimes unsanitary conditions associated with it, the best idea is to give the hawker stall a look over. Truth said, some of the food preparation areas in well-known restaurants could be even more disastrous even though (and perhaps due to the fact that) they are usually out of view.

Street eating generally includes having to ask for your meal from the person who is going to cook it and paying for it on the spot if it is busy. If there is a table available, take it. It is typical to wipe off your dining utensils and plate with a tissue before you start eating. Condiments including soy sauce, dried chili, chilies in vinegar, sugar, and fish sauce are usually provided. When you are finished, someone will come around and clear the table, so no need to worry. You can bring your own drinks along with you if you wish.

There is no cheaper or easier way to sample the amazingly wide variety of food that Thailand has to offer. Another benefit is that if you don’t speak Thai, you can simply point at what you wish to try, an option obviously not available at formal sit down restaurants with no English menu. It is also a good idea to ask around and find out where the best hawker stall(s) in the area are located. It is not at all uncommon to find people going five, ten or twenty blocks out of their way in order to enjoy a meal at one.

Eating is perhaps Thailand’s number one pastime. This is obviously a well-known fact to those in the hawker business. It is not uncommon while you are already eating at a hawker stall to have another hawker come up on foot and offer you even more food. Hawkers also make their ways through public parks, traffic jams, office buildings, factories and sporting events. There is just so much food passing by all the time and it all manages to get eaten!

Hawker food helps guarantee that no matter what time of day or night, the chance of you having to walk around hungry in Thailand is small and makes a hot dog stand look quite boring indeed.

Muay Thai, otherwise known as Thai boxing, is the beloved national sport of Thailand. Although it is similar to western-style boxing, the posture, stance and rules of Muay Thai are quite different. Perhaps the most well-known Muay Thai moves are the powerful sweeping kicks delivered by boxers who have desensitised their shins by repeatedly smashing them against banana trees or punching bags. Elbows and knees play the most important part in a match and are used to deliver devastating blows to the opponent’s head and body. Pretty much anything goes during a match; only the head cannot be used to deliver blows to an opponent. Attending a Muay Thai fight is not for the weak of heart. It is ultra-violent, bloody and explosive.

Some Muay Thai matches are put on just for show to entertain tourists while giving them an overview of the sport. But real Muay Thai matches are happening all over the country on any given day and can take place either in a large stadium or in a make shift ring out in the middle of nowhere. When the fighters choose to really go at it, the spine-tingling sounds of well-delivered and fierce blows can be heard over the roaring crowd and the wild and chaotic-sounding musical accompaniment that goes with it.

The earliest accounts of Muay Thai originate from the 15th and 16th centuries when Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) were waging war on one another. Over time, the combat style evolved and improved. Muay Thai is a vicious form of unarmed combat even today and is considered one of the ultimate styles when it comes to hand to hand fighting. No one trained in another martial art has been capable of defeating an expert Muay Thai fighter.

Muay Thai was not only used in times of war but also as a form of exercise and a way to test the strength and skill of men. King Rama V, who took the throne in 1868, organised the art of Muay Thai into a sport. He built a Royal Boxing Camp within the palace, organised Muay Thai contests throughout the Kingdom and organised Muay Thai training camps and curricula. Muay Thai fights, which used to take place in a ring drawn on the ground, were soon taking place in the proper rings of today. During the reign of King Rama V the popularity of Muay Thai skyrocketed and its popularity is still evident today.

Thai television stations telecast fights at the weekend. The better seats for an important title fight cost good money. The more important the fight, the more gambling that will take place on its behalf. A Muay Thai champion is a Michael Schumacher or David Beckham of sorts and little kids dream of growing up one day to be just like them. Some boxers fight for a title. Others fight for money. Many males participate in a Muay Thai fight as a rite-of-passage into manhood.

There are 16 weight divisions in Muay Thai and, similar to western-style boxing, fights take place in rings covered by canvas with four posts that support the ropes. Five three-minute rounds separated by two-minute breaks leave the fighters exhausted and the crowds cheering for more.

There is much ritual surrounding the art of Muay Thai. A Thai boxer usually adopts the name of his training camp as his own last name and his relationship with his trainer is a close one filled with respect. Before a boxer begins a fight, he will dance the ‘ram muay’ (boxing dance) as a way to honour both his trainer and the boxing spirits as ringside musicians manage to make a heck of a lot of noise with only a few instruments. Every fighter wears a headband and armbands, and both are sacred objects. The headband will be removed before the fight begins but the armbands will be worn throughout the event and hold small Buddha amulets inside that offer protection to the fighter.

Lumpini and Ratchadmnoen Stadiums are the two best-known venues for Muay Thai fights in Bangkok but fights can be found in the smallest of towns. Another aspect worth investigating is one of the thousands of Muay Thai training camps throughout the country. The number of foreigners attending these camps is steadily on the rise but be warned. Trainees must follow a strict daily routine similar to that of a military boot camp. Another interesting feature of Thailand’s Muay Thai scene: transexual Muay Thai boxer Parinya Kiatbusaba who left the sport after a successful career (17 knockouts in 22 fights) at age 18 using his winnings to have sex reassignment surgery.

Many love it. Some loathe it. More than a few have sworn never to drink it again upon waking with an aching head after a long evening enjoying its company. Beer plays an important part in daily social engagements and also is an important aspect of global travel.

Among Thais, beer consumption has increased seven-fold over the last ten years and there certainly is no shortage of visitors to the country quaffing them down, too. Beer drinking is much like the Thai concept of having fun: there is no specific time frame or place assigned to it. Beer vending machines can be found outside some major supermarkets. Drinking beer goes hand in hand with hanging out in the park, fishing, swimming, singing, taking a stroll or enjoying breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Beer is accepted in Thailand. No policeman is going to walk up and fine you for having an open container. Forget being asked for ID when you head into a club. Many visitors revel in the ‘freedom’ of lax alcohol consumption laws and can be found drinking inside the airport, outside the airport, in the taxi on the way to town, while strolling through marketplaces - well, pretty much anywhere, actually. Although laws require drinking venues to close at 2 a.m., that doesn’t stop herds of people heading to the store after last call, buying more beer and continuing the party on the sidewalk. Thai passersby greet all of this anarchistic beer behaviour with outward acceptance and sometimes a bit of inward scorn.

One of my favourite Thailand beer scenes involved a Heineken delivery truck going about its business in the afternoon with all the Thai beer deliverymen sitting on top of it drinking Heineken as they went about their day’s work. Another beer and alcohol related phenomenon in Thailand: when traffic jams get out of hand, doors open, beer and whisky bottles come out, and spontaneous parties with neighbouring cars begin.

With all the beer-drinking going on, you might wonder just what it is people are drinking. There actually aren’t that many choices out there. The beers most readily available all over Thailand are Singha, Leo, Carlsberg, Chang and Heineken. Singha beer is the best-known and most popular Thai beer out there and has been around the longest. Leo beer is produced by the same company, is cheaper and has a higher alcohol percentage (7%). Heineken and Carlsberg came on the scene in the 1990s. Carlsberg also produces Chang beer, similar in price and alcohol percentage to Leo. These beers are brewed under license within Thailand along with Black Tiger, Amstel, Kloster and Mittweida beer, all of which are a bit more tricky to find. It is possible to find imported beer such as Guinness on tap, but you’ll pay 285 baht (US$6.50) for a pint.

Thailand is well known for its cheap food, accommodation and wares and it is not uncommon to find people traveling on a budget of less than US$20 a day. Truth said, you could live quite well on this low figure - unless you drink a lot of beer. Beer prices are more reasonable in Thailand than in Western countries but when you can eat a decent meal of Thai food for 20 baht (US$0.50), one beer can end up costing you twice as much as your entire meal. And let’s be honest, many people tend to drink more than one beer a night, especially when they are on vacation.

Beer prices vary a staggering amount within Thailand. You can spend up to 300 baht (US$6.90) on a domestic beer in a hotel lobby or choose to drink one at a roadside venue for 40 or so baht instead. Even when sold at the lowest of prices, beer drinking is very often too expensive for many Thais. A large bottle of beer can represent more than half a day’s wage for many, so drinking whisky becomes the more obvious and economical choice.

One of the first things most any visitor to Thailand learns to do is how to order a beer in Thai. It’s quite easy too. Beer is simply pronounced ‘bia.’ Add the brand you want after the word ‘bia’ and you are good to go. You can barely turn a corner without running into an establishment ready to fulfill your need of some cold amber liquid.

Outside beer gardens hosting concerts, bamboo huts haphazardly constructed on the side of road, pushcarts, pick-up trucks converted to full bars, restaurants of every shape, size and price structure, market vendors with wobbly tables, your local grocery store and hundreds of pubs with every kind of theme imaginable are all ready to serve you up a beer. If it’s not cold, just add ice.

Beaches, traditional Thai dancing, elephants and kickboxing are some things that often spring to mind when people think of Thailand. Khao San Road could very well be another. If you walk out the door of Don Muang International Airport, Bangkok carrying a backpack or even pulling a suitcase, every taxi driver will assume Khao San Road is your destination and for good reason: its main purpose is to feed and accommodate the thousands of people passing through the ‘City of Angels.’ It’s also one of the top destinations in Bangkok for the Thai celebration of ‘Songkran’ every April which involves throwing water at one another for three days.

Khao San Road is a backpacker paradise and the perfect spot to swap information with other travellers and plan the next leg of your journey while enjoying a cool beer and vast international menu selections. Khao San offers every convenience. Express laundry services, Western Union offices, travel agencies by the hundreds, pubs showing Western movies, translation services, low cost accommodation, international phone call opportunities, medical clinics, book stores with travel guides in dozens of languages, a plethora of Internet cafes, locals with near perfect English skills and loads of pool tables, dart boards, beer taps, and shopping options. With a minimum of social effort, one can quickly find him- or herself surrounded by a circle of temporary friends all sharing the same experience: the Khao San Road phenomenon.

Khao San Road is designed to collect and then distribute tourists and it does its job well. But it is an anomaly of sorts. You can be strolling along in the Banglampu area of Bangkok (near the river and relatively close to the Grand Palace), turn the corner and suddenly find yourself in a different world. Thailand has vanished and all kinds of strange things (and sometimes, people) have popped up to take its place.

Generic fashion accessories with 1960’s flair clog the streets. Thai food plays second fiddle to fish and chips, goulash, falafel, pizza, bratwurst and baguette. Shoes and clothing in large sizes are readily obtainable. Fake university degrees, press passes, driving and diving licenses are for sale. Body piercing, tattoo and hair beading stalls are a dime a dozen. Travel agencies can disappear overnight after having taken your deposit and a higher concentration of scam artists can be found working the streets in the Khao San Road area than elsewhere. Most passersby are just passing through and most Thai faces are busily trying to sell them something.

Now for the darker news: Khao San Road is as loathed as it is loved. Thais associate it with stingy, non-tipping, drug using, unwashed and impolite tourists. In fact, when British owned Boots Pharmacy first opened on Khao San Road, tuk-tuks advertising for the event sported signs that declared, “Hey Hippie, Get A Wash!” And hopefully I am not revealing any big secret when I say that most expatriates view Khao San Road down their noses and tend to think that the tourists there ‘make the rest of us look bad,’ sneer a bit armed with the secret knowledge that things can be found for much cheaper elsewhere, but are grateful for the existence of Khao San Road because it ‘keeps all of those people away from us.’

Most who choose to stay on Khao San Road are travelling between the Indian subcontinent and Australasia and use Bangkok as the convenient and cheap stopover point that it is. Some end up having too much of a good time, running out of money and finding themselves either selling most of their worldly possessions as a way to scrape up the fare home or ringing up one of the phone numbers listed on the hundreds of ‘Teach English in Thailand’ signs in an attempt to earn some much needed cash.

I have spent three or four nights hanging out on Khao San Road and found it bizarre but enjoyable. I also acquired a special kind of status while there for actually living in Thailand and had the chance to give out some ‘inside scoops’ to some very pleasant and interesting people. It was also on Khao San Road that I saw my very first Thai fire truck outside of the fire station. It was at least 55 years old and all the firemen were hard at work drinking whisky while sitting on the back of it. So yes, bits of Thailand do seep through the cracks and into the artificial bubble of Khao San Road.

If you have stopped over in Bangkok and only spent a few days on Khao San Road before flying to your next destination, in many ways you actually haven’t been in Thailand at all but rather experienced a country all of its own. It is definitely worth strolling through.