I'm in love with Tom Sam.... No seriously, I am. But before you go off thinking "Marie, how could you?! Brandon is amazing!" Let me assure you I am not having feelings for another human. Tom Sam, or spicy Thai papaya salad is the BOMBAY OF THE DAY! It is honestly one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten and I just can't get enough!
I've tried papaya many different places and have never cared for it. But before going on this trip, I did my food research and time and time again, Tom Sam popped up as a "must eat", that charming devil. So I decided to give it a try, because "when in Thailand", right?? No? That's not a saying? Whatever. It is now.
It's made with thinly shredded papaya, garlic, ginger, lime juice, tomatoes, chilies, fish sauce and topped with peanuts. And it is seriously to die for!! But don't make the mistake like I did and think you can handle Thai spicy levels just because you put sriracha on everything back home....your face will melt and your nose will cry. And the Thai woman serving you will laugh at you like she just played a big practical joke on you... Silly white girl...Trust me on this one.
Ko Samui was absolutely amazing. Touristy in some parts, but you can definitely find local too. We spent 4 days there and rented a motorbike for two of the days so Brandon could drive the insane Thai roads (but actually, they're some of the most dangerous in the world and there are multiple accidents daily - mostly silly white people who don't know how to drive bikes) Good thing my honey is an experienced motorcyclist (I know, he's so dreamy) and we safely road through the chaos and I was able to take it all in without being scared for my life (ok, except when this psycho dog leapt at us while we were waiting to turn and I had to kick it off...sorry mom, if you're reading this). But no bite and no rabies, yay!!!
We went to beaches like this (ps - check out my wicked tank top burn):
And explored waterfalls like this:
And I got to pet a kind mama elephant's trunk (we didn't ride them though, the animal cruelty is terrible):
And ate food like this:
Pad Thai - but ordered it by showing my restaurant celiac card (printable from the Internet) and asking for only fish sauce and chili sauce. It was sooo good.
Tom Yum Seafood Soup: seriously so spicy. Do not eat the peppers or your tongue will leave your body and won't want to be a part of your shenanigans anymore. It is a hot and sour soup with seafood, chilies, ginger, chives and the broth is to die for! Get with a side of rice if you don't like spice.
ALL the curried vegetables!!!! Don't ask questions, just do it. Especially my celiac friends, the curries are usually totally safe! They make them with coconut milk and that's it! Always double check, but so far this has been one of my staples! And if I want protein I simply ask them to add chicken or shrimp for an extra 30-50Baht.
Fresh fruit smoothies every day. OMG. They do add liquid sugar to the fruit and ice, but just say "no sugar" if you want. The mango banana smoothie is my favourite so far! But they're also really good about blending my Shakeology packet in with it, and I just chuck them an extra 20Baht for the appreciation.
ALL of the fresh coconuts. They are SO delicious and SO hydrating!! I think I tried one in Mexico one year and it was definitely not the same. If you go to Thailand, drink and eat the coconuts. You'll be so glad you did.
Brandon is in love with fresh street meat (FYI you can usually tell which stalls to avoid and which to try. If there are 6 different colours of hot dog, maybe we avoid that one?? Anyways, this BBQ chicken was fab and I even had a few bites and didn't get sick! Yay! Still wary of street meat for sauce purposes though. But there is no shortage of things I can eat.
We're off to Ko Phi Phi for a week and are so excited to see the amazing beach views and finally go snorkelling!! Wishing everyone back home a wonderful week and I'm sure I'll write in a couple days!
Xo Marie