Food

 To say Thai food is an upgrade compared to UK food is possibly the biggest understatement in the history of statements. As much as I loved teaching in Thailand, I do have to admit the thing that really brought me most joy was probably just being able to buy delicious, cheap food for every meal.

 

Dragonfruit from a street vendor

Thai food is generally a mix of 4 main flavours: sour, sweet, salty, and spicy, and most dishes will contain each of these flavours to some degree (one of my bosses even told me their friend puts sugar in their omelettes). As a Scot whose main source of spice is ALDI chilli flakes, the spicy part was a bit of a struggle for me to handle, but even so I loved all the dishes I tried.

Moo Krata, sort of the equivalent
of having a group BBQ

A big difference in Thai food culture, which I really enjoyed, is the amount of “informal” food places there are. Rather than all the places to eat being established cafes and restaurants, many people will just set up a stall on the pavement, put down some plastic chairs (optional), and start serving customers. There are even people who will just weld a frame round their scooter, attach their food stall on wheels, and drive around the city serving people. Additionally, there’s a ton of food markets which are just gatherings of all these individual food stalls. So rather than go to eat at a restaurant for a meal you can go to the market, grab a bunch of small dishes to try, and eat there instead.

Roadside restaurant

The other main difference is that in my experience Thai meals, especially at home, are a lot more communal. Rather than everyone having an individual plate prepared for them, each dish is placed in the centre of the table and you take servings of each to have for yourself. I really liked this aspect of the meals as it made them feel more familial and like a shared experience.

Family-style meal

 

In summary, Thai food 10/10 (even the frogs) and going back to British food made me sad.