Thai food tour and transportation

Throughout our 4 hour food tour we tried 17 different dishes and had so many new and delicious foods. We had 9 of us on the tour including our guide Tree. We went place to place together in a red truck with a cover over the two long benches in the bed called a Songthaew.

The favorite through all of our family was the crispy pork restaurant. The guy who runs the place does a phenomenal job cooking it by hanging it inside a giant water jar (barrel) filled with charcoal for several hours, making the outer layer of fat extra crispy. When you finally eat it, it is one of the most delightful tastes you will ever have. Our guide, Tree, taught us that when eating it, to give it the best taste possible you put young green peppers and basil to go along with your bite to maximize the taste to 110% deliciousness. After trying it the first time without Sofia, Charlie, Rube, and Ellen we knew we had to go back. So we went another two times afterwards.

The third place we stopped at was the talapia fish restaurant. The fish was super delicious and like the pork place, you could add things to your bite to make it even more delicious. At this place you would eat the fish with lettuce, basil, and this super yummy, super spicy hot sauce. One unique part about Thai cuisine is that only one person can have the cheek of the fish and that is... THE YOUNGEST BOY!!! I tried the cheek and it tasted pretty much like the rest of the fish, the only thing was that the texture was a lot tougher. The other part of the fish that I tried was the eyeball that didn't taste like much but the consistency was the same as an expired gummy bear. - Grayson

As Grayson mentioned, our food tour had us try 17 different foods. This took us to 6 different restaurants and/or food stands and a visit to a local night market where we were shown the fresh veggie, fruit, and meat stands, prepared foods, made to order foods, and local Thai goods from t-shirts to cooking utensils. Some food highlights that we had at the market were the fresh mangosteen, steamed rice cooked in bamboo stalks, and a rice flour dumpling dessert called Khanom Tom. We were tested though as Tree opened up two containers, one containing mealworms and the other crickets of all sizes. Grayson seemed unfazed and just continued to eat anything and everything put in front of him. At this point he had eaten fish cheek, eyeball, and raw pork, so why not just throw some mealworms and crickets in your mouth like they're peanuts. The rest of us needed some internal self talk and a power pose, but we all tried it. Below is the video of Poppy eating a cricket and doing her best to keep a poker face. I would say that neither really tasted like chicken. It didn't really have much of a taste. I decided to just agree to disagree with the bubbly Portuguese"teenager" as Poppy called her (I think she was around 27) when she stated that the meal worms were delicious and "creamy". By the end of the 4 hours, we were absolutely stuffed but all equally loved the experience. - Trae

On our way to the crispy pork place (our second time) we needed to grab a tuk-tuk to get there. A tuk-tuk is a scooter with a trailer like thing hooked onto the back.

When my Dad waved a scooter over the driver asked, "How many people?" and dad responded with a doubtful look on his face, "7" and surprisingly he took all of us even though he said usually he takes only 2-3 people! With Dad in the front, Poppy on the floor, Charlie on Ellen's lap, and everyone else scooched as close together as possible, we were off! It was quite a fun ride even if the weight slowed us down a lot and it was a memory we will never forget. - Grayson