Street food

I have eaten quite a bit of street food since I have been here so how would you like a street tour? Just down the lane is an outdoor market. I have passed it almost everyday. These guys have a tank of live fish which are taken out and whacked on the head with a mallet, I think, skewered, then cooked whole on the grill to the right. You can ride up on your bike and select your dinner. Pretty simple operation. Not sure if the man there is the one who catches the fish. I have not been tempted to try this particular delicacy.


I have, however, bought fruit from the vendors next door.


To go food involves just pulling your scooter up and it's grab and go from there!


Here's a new fruit I tried called dragon fruit. I liked it just fine!



Kind of like a kiwi fruit inside.


Most of the fruits I do not recognize. I had no idea there were so many fruits I was unfamiliar with. Everything you see here is a fruit. The only ones I know are the grapes and coconuts. I have learned that the red ones are lychees.



This spiny brown fruit below is called a durian. See those yellow lumps in the picture above on the left? That is the flesh of the durian which, though it is known as the "king of fruits" and very popular, has a revolting smell and is banned from hotel rooms and public transportation. Sorry, I have not tried this either.





Why are some eggs brown, tan, and even pink? I think the tan ones are duck eggs and the brown ones from chickens. Now the pink ones seem to have their own story! I had to look this up on the internet, but it appears the pink ones are specially preserved by being packed in clay, ash, salt and quicklime. It think they are called century eggs and can be preserved for up to three months. But watch out! They are black on the inside! Yet another thing I did not eat. Andrew Zimmerman I am not.



Another interesting egg treatment I saw is called tea eggs. There are boiled eggs which have been gently cracked after boiling but not peeled, then boiled again in different types of tea. Then the egg is peeled it reveals a marbled surface with a spicy flavor, depending on the kind of tea. Interesting, huh?



Now if you don't have time for a fresh fish, there is a huge assortment of dried and salted fish and other critters available. See below.


Now you may be wondering, is this the stall where they sold the recycled poo? It sure looks like it. Our companion, who is from Chaing Mai, said it was tea (left) and hash (right). Really? Sorry! Not sure what they were selling here.


This particular market was huge and had lots more than just food.


Three stories tall!


After a hard day shopping we stopped in a little hole in the wall restaurant street side. All these little places use toilet tissue for napkins. They just set it on the table and everybody just pulls off what they need. Don't expect any TP in the restroom though.



This is an omelet stuffed with pad Thai. It was pretty good and was cheap to boot! In case you are wondering, I have not gotten sick yet. I just knocked on wood, FYI.


A lovely view as we ate. Monastery and temple across the street. There are over 300 temples in Chaing Mai. A church on every corner as we used to say in Abilene!


Boys spend time in monasteries as monk trainees as it is sometimes the only way to get an education. This kid looks like he is doing some studying.


They even had supplies for the temples at the market. Sorry so fuzzy!


Walking home we always pass people's laundry hanging out to dry by the street. They say you can get somebody to do your laundry for just a dollar but I would rather not have my underwear on display on the street. Backpackers are not so picky.



So, now you know about the streets around here!

Location:Chiang Mai