Emma struggled to sleep again last night so we ended up arising very late (for us)…about 11 am. We went on a coffee hunt thinking our guests were still in bed (turned out they were in the room next to us waiting for us to get up!). Stepped outside and pow the heat hit me with that surprise shock….again. We walked down the road to a place called ‘no name cafe’ which seemed to be a coffee truck in someone’s front garden and it turned out that someone made good coffee which put a smile on Ems face. I had an iced green lemon tea which was new and nice, if a little sweet for me (sugar syrup seems to go in everything here, I think the thais have a sweet tooth and I haven’t seen a lot of candy this this must be how they get their hit, along with putting sugar on and in their food). We sat for a while amongst long stands of wispy beard like air plants and free roaming chickens (maybe anti snake tools?) watching some asian doves softly pick through the dust.
Emma decided this was a two coffee morning so we strolled off to find cafe number two. Which also turned out to be a coffee truck this time parked on the side of the road. It was an iced coconut americano for Emma which she really enjoyed and we think was dairy free?!
At this point we had a call from her Dad who was looking for us as they had booked a Thai massage for us all. They soon pulled up alongside the coffee truck and we jumped in and headed down the two lane road further into town, it was good to see a cycle track here running parallel to the road but this seemed to be used mainly by mopeds, which are everywhere, going in every direction. This was to be my first Thai massage and I had heard many stories of how rough they can be (including during the short journey there – trying to figure out how much this was a gentle warning or a wind up) so I was a little nervous…..much like when I was a boy moving up to comprehensive school and I was told I would be getting beaten up and having my head flushed down the loo on my first day…..which of course never actually happened. But the Thai massage did happen.
All of us were led to a large room where we had our feet washed and slippers……slipped on. We changed into the baggy clothes they provided and settled down on the mat for a pummelling. I was assured that Joy had instructed my lady to go easy on me and in truth mostly she did. There were however a few times when I had to stifle a scream (to save the family honour) notibly when an elbow was inserted with considerable force into a tender nook of my shoulder blade (repeatably as the lady had decided this area needed close elbow attention) and when a foot was pushing hard on my thigh with a hand pulling hard on my ankle with I think an elbow working with force into my IT band, in my blindfolded state I imagined I was being tied up like in a cartoon and forcefully prodded with a burning stick. It went on forever and we seemed to balance on the edge of pleasure and pain in a way that you know sometimes you will go over the edge but at the end there will generally be a positive balance. I had a level one massage, Joy on the other hand, as a Thai had an exponentially higher level AND fell asleep!
It was an amazing experience and thankfully I didn’t have to suffer any of the legendary cracking or popping (the thought of which has always made me shudder) other than my toes and fingers which I could just about handle. Everybody else seemed to enjoy there’s too. For me this was much preferable to the relaxing oil massage. We then headed to the local food market and me and Emma shared some pad Thai, spicy mushroom salad (not too hot), vegetable and tofu soup and a selection of Korean tofu and seaweed dumplings (deep fried) with some tasty dipping sauces.
After lunch was the main event for me, as we went to the local fruit and vegetable market which was amazing. The variety, price and freshness was through the roof! I could’ve honestly spent all day there learning about the different vegetables and exploring the sights, tastes and smells. There was a lot going on with smells of cooking varieties of fish meat crabs and prawns wafting through the stalls amongst the background smell of the charcoal that was fueling the endless woks. You could buy anything you like, skewered and cooked right in front of you. There were rows and rows of all sorts of green vegetables so many it made me dizzy, this was market shopping, grab what looks good and work out what to do with it later. I cannot put into words how much I enjoyed this experience and it was a privellage to have Joy show us around and guide and translate us as I think I would have been too shy and uptight to fully experience it if we were alone. A very memorable afternoon and I shall try and recall what we bought –
Carrots, bok choy, coriander, coconut palm, bean sprouts, fermented vegetable, cashews, jack fruit, kale, lettuce, cucumber, water lilly shoots, purple sweet potato, tofu, grapes, watermelon, something like lychee and much much more that I’ve forgotten the names of.
It was then down to me to ready steady cook it while the others did some gardening chores so we ended up with a salad, coriander lime and chili dressing, pureed purple sweet potato with coconut, crispy shitake mushrooms, enoki and bamboo shoot stir fry, jackfruit curry and crispy tofu and some of that lovely black rice (cooked by Joy). It seemed to go down well, it was fun to cook and really fun to shop for the ingredients, I had watched countless travel cookery shows in the he past with the likes of Keith Floyd and Rick Stein and now I felt I was in my own episode, minus the wine but still smiling. After dinner we cleaned up and I cooled off in the pool, one eye on the cocounts clinging precariously to the palm directly above my floating head.
Honestly…..that market……will be in my dreams tonight!
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