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Isaan Spread: Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken), Fried Fish, Som Tom (Papaya Salad), Exploded Rice Ball (Nem Khao)

Chiang Khan, Thailand – Early one morning biking around the quiet, sunny streets of Chiang Khan, I passed a guesthouse that stood out from the Thai-style teak buildings around town. It was modern, airy and artsy with a few large paintings hanging on its white walls and a view of the Mekong through the open architecture. I stopped in to look around and found that it was owned by a Thai artist, Somboom Hormtientong, who had lived in Munich for 24 years before setting up in Chiang Khan. I sat in the breezy foyer looking at the artist’s exhibition books and then sat writing post cards and then stayed a bit longer writing some notes. It was too pleasant to leave.

As I sat there, some Thai NGO workers who had been meeting upstairs popped in to offer me coffee and later water. The group was there to interview fisherfolk along the Mekong to see how the new dam way upstream in China had affected their way of life, but now it was time to relax. “Please eat with us,” said a girl with a Muslim head scarf and shy smile.

I went to the back to see a spread – grilled fish and sticky rice, grilled chicken and fried rice balls mashed with pork skin, herbs and peanuts, plates of herbs and raw cabbage and several kinds of som tom (papaya salad, cucumber salad and a fermented rice noodle version) all blazing red with chile. They got me a bowl with spoon and fork, pointed out which dishes were spicy (basically everything) and tried to bring me in on the conversation with broken English, bursting into applause whenever I understood something.

Once they reverted into their group banter, I couldn’t understand what was being said and yet it was hard not to feel a part of this convivial atmosphere. One girl, Yui, had the group laughing so hard that people were spitting food out or leaving the table doubled over, and while I took it all in the girl next to me pulled pieces of grilled chicken (gai yang) off the bone and put them on my plate or nudged me to dip sour fruits into the chile dip (nahm prig). As lunch came to a close, Yui, soon to be my personal interpreter, asked me if I wanted to go on a boat ride with the group.

We loaded into a few cars and headed to Kaeng Khut Khu, the rapids I had visited the day prior, for a slow boat ride along the Mekong with Laos on one side and Thailand on the other. There were fishermen in the river, mango trees on the hills, mountains in the distance and very loud Thai music blasting from our boat.

Once back on shore, it was time to eat again. This time it was goong dten (dancing shrimp), beer and the juice and meat of young coconuts. After this, it was more food as the NGO workers loaded up with snacks from the stands – coconut candy, root chips, honey, local whiskey, candied tamarind and more. One girl took me by the arm and led me along the snack display telling me the Thai name for each. A fruitless effort since my brain is more like a block of wood than a sponge. Though like the rest of the day, even without retaining an understanding, I just appreciated being taken in.

Loogmai Guesthouse

Loogmai Guesthouse

Nahm Prig & Sour Fruit

Fisherman on the Mekong

Kaeng Khut Khu

Opening up the Coconut at Kaeng Khut Khu