Fresh fresh fresh

On just about every block around our guest house are any number of vendors of fresh fruit and other (often unidentifiable) food items. Rose apples, also called Jambu or Chom poo, are in season and readily available, as is watermelon, cantaloupe, papaya, coconut, pineapple, dragon fruit, mangosteen, the Thai orange, durian, pomelo, strawberry, mango and banana. It has been a delight to snack on fresh fruits as an alternative to drive-through and processed foods so ubiquitous in the US. Fortunately for us, there is a star fruit tree near our Thai massage school. The tree is loaded and every day there are newly ripened star fruit beckoning us to partake. They have been a delicious addition to our fruit consumption.

The majority of our meals (with the exception of one visit each to KFC and McDonalds) have all been loaded with an abundance of fresh vegetables. Even the one time we had pizza it had a vegetable topping combination which included fresh pineapple and whole kernel corn. What in the world? Corn on a pizza. Who would have guessed. And it was delicious.

It has been very rare to find desert items listed on any menu (that we can read, of course) so we've supplemented our meals with fresh fruit smoothies. Smoothie vendors also have a prominent presence in the city. Passion fruit and mango smoothies have become our favorites.

There is an elementary school close to where we are studying, and each afternoon as school is letting out we have noticed a vendor set up directly across from the school. His product of choice happens to be bags of freshly cooked 'fren frie potato', complete with ketchup and a skewer stick. He is conveniently accessible to the hungry children (and visiting Americans 'jonesing' for a fry fix). A single bag is only ten baht, or about 33¢. It isn't a large quantity, but just enough for a quick snack. Yum!

Another interesting thing to note is how portable and moveable the street food vendors are. Available electric plugs are located at nearly every light pole along the street so the vendors just pull up and plug in. Many of their carts are actually 'side cars' on motorcycles. When the business day is through, they just ride their 'shops' home and restock for the next day. What a concept.

(Notice the lady is sitting on her motorcycle seat)