Iris P. Concepcion
The fed mouth underwent a tremendous dicovery of palate travels along with the effervescent glows of petals and flowers by the roadside.
Their version of dried ice-cream is a literal one. In the Philippines, the ice-cream is placed on a hot grill normally reserved for hamburgers.
In Thailand, they are wrapped in "ensaymada" type of bread called "pao" like lumpia and dipped in hot sizzling oil. It is astounding in that, the outer bread crust is ultra, hot crispy but upon biting deeper, the coldness of ice-cream is like an Alps experience as it is doubly sweetened. It is a magical route to desserts and it does not only look like paradise, it tastes like one.
We (meaning, my hosts and I) scouted another roadside where slacks are sold. Some call it second hand, I call it first hunt. We found treasures of brands fit for Sak's Avenue. No wonder everyone loves to return to this place. When one is hardworking enough, the economic structure fills in its share to make living a worthwhile feast. This is not exactly nirvana but the Thai king has something to teach the world a thing or two about the exact implementation of social democracy. Their rice produce does not go beyond 20 baht/kilo and they smell wonderful. Jasmine. They are packaged in small, beautiful sacks that are camera magnets. That winsome.
I also tasted another version of curry that is eaten with leaves to take the chili off from the food. It tastes like mango. That is where I cracked a joke that we probably look like goats eating our lunch with various kinds of leaves.
It inspired my entry title for today.
I already befriended a Thai who learns English from me (as I learn Thai from her). Yesterday, we walked along Yala roads bouncing off the language barriers that sometimes cripple our line of communication. The learning is fun though. Semantics can be baby walk steps at the park. Interestingly, we still understood each other.
It is like a Genesis sojourn as we dicover Nature: names of flowers, food and animals. She owns a wonderful book on Thai flowers and animals cutely titled 4,000 words about Thailand. With matching pictures just like in first grade. This comes in handy to non-locals like myself.
Earlier, I tasted a sugar cane juice and a dish we just picked from a vending place. We put these directly to our mouths. We do not know the dish's name but it tastes like blended bananas and other mixtures of fruity flavors. I found a coffee bun here, very much like the Japanese-themed staple I heavily rely on during my Sunday mass worship back in the Philippines.
There are churches here as well as temples.
Today is Sunday and unlike Bono's famous song, it is not a bloody one.
I already found an aesthetic alternative to electrical posts that anger me with their ugly cables in the Philippines. We could pattern the innovation from here; it is light, it looks like an arch and it surely makes funny sense.
You could not steal the flowers from gardens here. CCTV cameras are plentiful and they force the locals and non-locals to behave according to law.
Again, this is simply sensible.