Quick Update - Thai Side

Sawasdee kids! I'm in Bangkok right now. I know, right?

After spending the last week on a tropical island, I feel like I've travelled into the future. I'll do some proper updates in a day or so and upload some pictures of white sands and blue sea.

For now, I just wanted to upload a pictographicular representationment of our journey so far because I'm very excited.

I wanted to get the lines all in red like Indiana Jones but, alas, only boringest black was available.

Mental.

Kerala - God's Own Country

I sit in the front lounge/dining room of Mathew's house, at Green Palms Homestay. The smell of fresh curry leaves in hot coconut oil wafts past my nose from the kitchen at the back of the house.
One side of the lounge is almost completely open. Two columns that stretch from floor to ceiling frame a generous entranceway. On either side are low walls, about knee height. The rest is fresh air, affording me a view of a garden filled with shrubs, flowers, mango and passion fruit trees.

Paratha

The king of Indian breads. I think these best accompany curry dishes - they're great at soaking up all the tasty gravy.

Some of the technique is hard to describe. I've done my best but words aren't really enough. Check back later for a video of me cocking it up, along with one of an expert showing you how it's really done.

Fish Fry

This is essentially a marinade that can be used with lots of different fish. On this occasion, we had sardines. I wept salty tears of joy.

Coconut Chutney

This stuff is awesome. No more to be said. Just make it and eat it.

Mezhukka

This is a Keralan way of cooking vegetables. The version we witnessed used long beans and coconut pieces. We were told that you can use many different kinds of veg, and substitute potato for the pieces of coconut. The previous day we ate a version cooked with gherkins.

Thoren

This is a coconut and veg based dish. We saw it cooked with shredded papaya but this can be substituted with cabbage and carrot, spinach or beetroot. Like most of the other dishes we saw, it was cooked in a deep, wok-like pan. The only difference being that the flat part at the very base was narrower than a wok, meaning that even a little oil pooled quite deeply.