Quote:
Originally Posted by kindlekitten
That was great! Thank you so MUCH for doing that! I love markets like that! I'm blown away at the sheer volume of food! Are there problems with hunger there?
|
Depends on your definition of 'problem.' When one lives in a jungle environment, there is ALWAYS food available. A popular leaf green here is called Water Morning Glory, and it grows everywhere there is water... canals, drainage ditches, ponds, etc., etc. People gather it for free from the irrigation ditches around rice paddies! Also called Water Spinich, Swamp Cabbage, etc., it's as nutritious as spinach and great in stir-frys. Mango trees, papaya trees, jackfruit trees... all through the jungles. And bugs! Thais love to eat bugs. Maybe you and I would starve, but the Thais won't. Rats are hunted with rustic crossbows, and you see whole families wandering through empty lots armed with crossbows. Fish are everywhere too. So, even with no money, everyone eats. With just a little money, you buy rice and strong-flavored curries so a little bit of curry seasons a lot of rice. A common lunch might be one BBQ's chicken wing, rice, and a few teaspoons of curry. Everyone eats. But perhaps the most important thing... Thais don't have problems. If they don't eat today, 'mai pen rai!' (No problem.) They will eat tomorrow. It's perhaps the most commonly heard Thai phrase... Mai Pen Rai!
That's why they call Thailand 'The Land of Smiles.'
Stitchawl