I Lost Weight from Thailand...

...and I didn't like it.  

Ok, sure I like how the top looks a little better on me now or that I don't have that muffin top popping out of my jeans but I went to Bangkok expecting, at best, to get fat and happy!  Or at worst, to get sick from gorging on good (but sanitarily-wary) grub!  Though neither happened, I did enjoy a couple of Thai delectables.  Some still don't beat the homely comforts of Banana Bay in Rowland Heights, California, (I mean, I grew up on the "Bay" for chrissakes.  It's where we spent after-dances and birthday parties, late night snacks or group meetings.  As they say, an important aspect of food is the memories they conjure up.) but they'll do.

Tom Yum Vermicelli noodles.  I wanted the red soup-based one and I even pointed to the picture but the lady at the airport employee's food court didn't understand and provided me with this instead.  OOh how it hit the spot! Spicy but tangy and vibrant with flavor.  This was a good start to our food adventures.

Shaved ice must be an Asian thing because there are variations of this in at least four different countries.  

But I think it may be only in Thailand where you can select from such colorful toppings as potatoes or corn.

This is a famous Thai dessert: sweet purple rice with coconut gelatin on top wrapped in banana leaves.  I engulfed it for breakfast one morning.

Fried bananas! Don't let my delectable picture fool you. The actual snack was placed on an open grill in the middle of the day, where tons of flies were gnawing away on it.  I was really fearful of ordering it but I thought, "heck, what's the worst that can happen to me? I live in the bathroom for a couple of days? Bring it on!"  I didn't have to live in the bathroom but the thought that flies got to my food before I did kind of affect my liking for the snack.

Seafood Tom Yum noodle soup.  This was ordered at a very touristy restaurant in Khao Sun area but it nonetheless was a delicious meal.  The soup really hits the spot with all its spiciness and flavoring!  I can see why it is the most craved Thai dish of all. It truly deserves that title!

What's Thailand without a little Thai iced tea?  Ordered at the Platinum mall, I suspect Thai iced tea may just be a concoction to lure tourists but it's still cold and refreshing nonetheless.

Fried everything!  I love my grease and crunchy chip-munching as much as the next girl so it was quite a delight to be able to taste a bunch of more innovative ways to make chips.  My favorite was the fried taro slices though I went home with a bag of fried bananas.  I'm sorry, I didn't know where my loyalty lies.

In what I didn't know would be my last Thai meal on the trip, (the next day, we woke up late and had to rush to the airport so no yummy Thai lunch for us) I ordered a supremely spicy papaya sliced shrimp salad.  It was really really good but I couldn't get halfway into it because I was dying!  I went through two glasses of water and two glasses of iced coffee but I still couldn't take on the chili-monster.  I've failed but there will be a next time. I'll practice my spicy-resistance and come back for you!

I suppose I really should be glad that my waistline didn't expand on this trip.  I have a goal to lose a couple of pounds by the end of this year and this trip was supposed to have been a setback (a setback I gladly would have taken, mind you). But this is good because now I can continue on my healthy streak and hopefully, have a slimmer, svelter body to look at by the new year!