sweet, sour, and a hint of the unexpected

Our favorite Thai dishes include the following characteristics: sweet, spicy, sour, a new or unexpected flavor, a variety of textures, and a hint of something that we're not quite sure of at first but grow to love the more we eat.  Take the dish som tam for example, a spicy Thai papaya salad, that contains the main tastes of Thai cuisine.  There is the tartness of the lime, the kick of the chili, the saltiness from the fish sauce, and the sweetness of the sugar.  Then there is the green papaya that acts as a vehicle to combine the ingredients into a perfectly balanced dish.

With our trip in the beginning stages, we couldn't help but notice the similarities between the popular Thai salad and the adventure that we are embarking on. After spending the first leg of our trip in Bangkok, today marked the first day of our organic farm internship.  We were lucky to find a wonderful entrepreneur in the city of Chiang Mai.  She has a bed and breakfast as well as a start-up organic farm (focusing on the production of organic mangoes) just outside the city.  Over the next month we will be splitting our time working on projects at the farm; which may include building a chicken coop (comedy scene sure to ensue) and having some free time at the bed and breakfast where we can explore the city of Chiang Mai.

Tomorrow we'll get our hands sticky making our first batch of mango jam.  Mangoes, ma muang as they are called here, are a staple fruit (or at least for us) in Thailand.  When they are ripe, they have a sugary sweetness which we also see reflected in the kindness and sweet nature of the Thai people that we have met so far on this journey.  Having only been at the bed and breakfast for a day, we have already been the beneficiaries of their hospitality through delicious homemade meals and tours of our temporary home.

After farming, we have a tentative travel route that will take us through Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and back to Thailand to explore the sport of muay thai as well as the southern beaches.  Through traffic jams in Bangkok, sweltering heat, and long days of travel, we know there will be some bumps in the road.  But, like som tam, we hope that the experiences will work together to become a trip that we will never forget.

One of our favorite Thai phrases is mai pen rai.  It embodies the Thai attitude of no worries or the importance of not letting the little things weigh you down.  With mai pen rai and mangoes setting the tone of our trip, we hope to have the perfect balance of lighthearted attitudes assuring sweet experiences.

As we eat our way through this region, we'll keep you posted on the foods we come back to time and time again, the uncomfortable (but safe...hi mom!) situations that we're bound to find ourselves in, and what's too hot for our Midwestern taste buds to handle.  Come along with us for the ride...

Happy Trails,
L & H