Eat to fuel your body, not to feed your Emotions.
The first thing to do for the newcomer in Thailand is to find some foods! What I can say about Thailand’s food is… Cheap and Spicy! It’s very easy to find food in Thailand, but as you can see we must always be careful about what we eat and what we buy, especially if you are a Moslem person like me! This post will discuss FOODS and how you get it!
So, the first time i’ve got here, i am still eating some food from Indonesia such as bread, shredded-cow’s meat (Abon) and lovely noodle from Indonesia, Indomie! Remember to bring your food from Indonesia, there are many food in here but not all of it is “Halal”. For the newcomer, you can find halal food on Sevel / Seven Eleven, but remember to read the ingredients first. The food’s price in Sevel are not too expensive, it was about 20 – 40 baht / meal (Rp10-20k), but of course there are many cheaper food outside.
After orientation days, or after you have meet your “Buddies”, you can ask them to go out hunting for Foods! If you are neat enough, you can learn some thai words especially for :
– How much is this?
– Is this pork? Is this chicken?
– What is this?
This things will help you a lot for hunting foods in Thailand. Don’t forget to remember the number in Thailand, this thing will also help to buy foods or drinks!
For Moslem, don’t think the merchant will know the terms of Halal, but don’t be afraid because there is always Moslem community near the Mosque, they sell 100% Halal food. I will share with you the Moslem community later. After day by day, maybe you will know the differents between pork or not, between alcohol or drinks, you just need to explore some place to eat and of course always be careful what you eat!
SPICY, SALTY, AND SOUR FOOD IN THAILAND
Have you ever try Tomyam before? Nah, the food taste in Thailand (maybe just in Udon Thani) are just look like this. But don’t worry to for the anti-spicy-food person, you can order the sweet one. For me as Sundanese (Tribe in Indonesia) people, i don’t have a lot of trouble eating some food in Thailand. You can ask the merchant if the food is spicy or not, using your gesture seems like a efficent ways to ask is this food is spicy or not?
HUNTING FOOD BY YOURSELF!
After a while wandering in Thailand, you can go somewhere new and buy some foods by yourself. This is the interesting part, you will meet someone new, greet them, or buy something from them. Obviously we cannot depend on our roomates or our buddies as long we are in here, aren’t we?
DON’T BE AFRAID TO MEET NEW PEOPLE!
We are future generations which can use a lot of technology, this is the perfect opportunity to try how far the technology will help you. Instead of remembering all the thai words, you can use google translate to communicate with them. You just need to type what is your desire, your needs, and show it to the Thai people, or maybe you can use speak fiture in your app to translate bahasa/English to thai words.
Don’t be worry! There are many cheaper foods along street walk for about 5-10 baht for some rices, and 10-40 baht for delicious and cheap foods/ drinks. You just need to walk farther, speak more often, and try to buy some foods while broaden your knowledge and culture by speaking to the merchants.
What i love when i bought something from the Thai’s Merchant is they will think i am Thai people, i don’t know maybe because i have a slanting eyes with Asian Faces. Their expression when they know i am foreigner is priceless, i love it too when they try to speak English and greet me. Make me feels like at home!
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