Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) (4)
about Kasma Loha-unchit's Thailand Trips
FAQ's: General questions | Travel Concerns | Accommodations | Meals | Medical Concerns | Miscellaneous || 1-page FAQs (for printing)
Meals
What are meals like?
In Thailand, and on the trip, meals are meant to be a social occasion where the taste buds are delighted and a variety of textures and foods are enjoyed. We will eat Thai food for breakfast, lunch and dinner through the entire trip. Thai food in Thailand can be quite different from the Thai food you may have become accustomed to in many American Thai restaurants, which has usually been changed to suit American tastes. In some U.S. Thai restaurants the food is more Chinese in flavor balance than Thai!
Be prepared for the food to be more highly flavored and liberally dressed with the fresh flavors of aromatic herbs and pungent spices. There is also astonishing variety – it is not unusual for a restaurant to have 200 to 300 items on the menu. You will sample the best food that Thailand has to offer, the same food that Thais eat. Many previous trip members have said it is the best food they have ever eaten. Many of the favorite dishes cannot be found in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand, although they constitute the core of Thai cuisine in Thailand.
In general, Thai food is spicy and the Thai diet consists primarily of rice, fish and a wide assortment of vegetables, herbs and edible leaves of trees. As such, it is a very healthy diet. We will eat a lot of fish and seafood of all varieties (including crustaceans, such as shrimp and crab, and mollusks, such as clams and squid) as we travel through the country and especially in the southern region. (Fish dishes in Thailand do not taste fishy because they are very fresh and are prepared in a multitude of different ways with many different kinds of herbs and spices; some preparation techniques make their tastes and textures more like meat.) Of course, there will also be plenty of chicken and pork dishes, though beef is less common. In the North the main meat is pork, so you must be able to eat pork. Shrimp, in the form of shrimp paste, may be in many dishes that do not seem to include seafood. So, if you love seafood and rice and hot, spicy flavors, you are in for a real treat! If you do not like spicy foods, it is not recommended that you join any of Kasma's trips.
Most meals are served "family style." Kasma does all the ordering at mealtimes. Most meals are served family-style with five or six shared dishes served with rice – except for breakfast and occasional lunches where you will be served your own one-dish meal such as rice soup, noodles or fried rice. For these one-dish meals there is not always a choice because we order as a group. One big advantage of traveling with Kasma is that you get to eat many more dishes than if you traveled on your own. Many small-town restaurants do not have written menus and it takes someone who knows the language as well as the region's food offerings to bring to the dinner table the delicious specialties of the house usually missed by foreign travelers. Kasma frequently talks to the cook to find out what is good and fresh that day and orders accordingly. In many places Kasma is ordering specialties that may not be available elsewhere so she is unable to take requests for certain dishes that you may have enjoyed back in the States.
In some parts of the country there is not much choice of meats: thus, up North, on occasion, every dish served at a meal (except, perhaps, the vegetable) may include pork (and the vegetable may have been cooked in lard). One memorable meal in the heart of the country consists entirely of dishes with seafood, both fish and shellfish. On other occasions there is more variety.
Most tours do not eat this well – they are served a more westernized version of Thai food that is blander and much less interesting. In addition to authentic Thai food during meals, you will also get to sample a wide range of Thai snacks and "nibble foods" in-between meals.
Will all our food be Thai food?
Yes.
What if I don't like Thai food?
Because this is such an important part of Kasma's trips, it is recommended that you seek out other trips offered by travel agents and tour companies. We cannot accept you on this trip.
What if I don't eat spicy (hot) food?
Because Thai food is spicy, It is important that you be able to eat a modicum of spicy (hot) food to enjoy Kasma's trips. Because we eat family-style as a group, it does not work to order different sets of food for different people. On a scale of 1 to 10 for spiciness (heat) you should be able to tolerate at least a level of 5. A Thai "5" is somewhat more spicy than a "5" outside of Thailand. Although there is often a range of spiciness at a meal, there will be occasions when everything (except, perhaps, the vegetable) will be spicy.
I've heard that Thailand is a Buddhist country so will I be able to come if I'm a vegetarian?
There really is no vegetarian tradition in Thailand. After rice, seafood is the most consumed food. Following the rules for monks that were set up by the Buddha, Thai monks go out every morning to be given food and they eat whatever they are given, usually including meat and seafood dishes of all kinds. All meals are family style and the Thai diet does emphasize fish. This trip can not accept vegetarians or people with special dietary needs (see below).
What if I have special dietary needs?
We cannot accept anyone who has any special dietary needs – including food allergies, strong food preferences or not eating a specific food be it animal (pork, chicken, fish, shellfish), vegetable (such as onions or peanuts) or grain (such as wheat).
Here are some "special dietary needs" that may come up: food allergies to a particular food (including shellfish, pork, chicken, or even a vegetable (such as onions or peanuts) or grain (such as wheat); not eating fish, shellfish, chicken, pork or beef; strong dietary preferences such that you avoid a particular food, be it fish, shellfish, chicken, pork or beef.
The short answer is that tour members should be adventurous eaters, omnivores who are willing to eat, or at least try and hopefully enjoy just about anything and everything.
Be assured, Kasma does not order food items such as innards or bugs, although you may have a chance to sample them on the trip, if you wish. As we say, "Insects and innards are optional."
I like to drink beer with dinner. Is this included in the package trip price?
No. You will need to pay for special beverages such as beer or soft drinks by yourself.
What if I get tired of Thai food or don't want to eat with the group?
If this is a concern for you before the trip, this probably is not the trip for you. We want people to sign up for Kasma' trips because they love Thai food and are excited about the prospect of traveling around Thailand with a Thai cooking teacher and master chef and immersing themselves in Thai cuisine. Although a trip member or two might occasionally go off on their own for one of the meals, the trips echo Thai culture, where meal times are an important social occasion when taste buds are delighted by the extraordinary varieties of Thai dishes. Meals shared together are one of the highlights and most important parts of the trips and at any given meal you would sample an intriguing number of Thai dishes that could include any kind of meat, seafood and exotic vegetables. Kasma does all the ordering and selects the best that each region, town and restaurant has to offer.
If you anticipate that the food might be a problem for you, you are better off going on other organized trips where not all meals are provided and you have the flexibility to eat what you want more often. There are plenty of package tours offered by travel agencies that cater to western tourists' wishes by providing foods that they think these tourists like to eat (such as cashew chicken, which actually is a Chinese dish and nothing Thai about it, American breakfasts and bland, watered-down versions of Thai, Chinese and other Asian foods). This is where Kasma's trips differ from other tours, as you will be eating REAL Thai food that locals eat in the different regions throughout her trips – foods that are filled with robust flavors, unusual textures, an abundance of exotic herbs and vegetables, a wide variety of meats and seafoods and exquisite blendings of the hot, sour, sweet and salty flavors that Thais love. Food is an important and inseparable part of Thai culture, so you will be given the opportunity to immerse yourself in an undiluted experience of true Thai culture, from an insider's perspective. Simply put, it is important that you are an adventurous eater to get maximum enjoyment from Kasma's trips.
Is the street food ok to eat?
Thailand is actually a very clean country. When Kasma orders street food, it is always from a stall that is clean and whose food handlers are clean. In addition the food is always cooked on the spot and served piping hot. (Check out Kasma's article on street food.)
Will I be able to get my morning cup of coffee?
This will be an opportunity to exercise your flexibility. In most places we are able to get coffee in the morning but it is by no means guaranteed every morning. It may not be American coffee but it will be coffee. In some instances it will be Thai coffee, which is made from a mix of coffee roasted with grains and seeds; this is sometimes be available only iced and sweetened with condensed milk. In other instances it will be Nescafe, which is, at least, better than the instant coffee found in the states. Coffee is becoming more available throughout Thailand and we will also encounter coffee stands, where the coffee is often made to order, at some gas stations.
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