Alex's Kabobs (Krabi, Thailand)

I had never had a Thai kabob before until I met Alex. I didn't even know his name the first time I ate at his food stall. It was around 10 AM on our second day in Krabi, Thailand and I had ventured off of our resort in search of the only thing that could displace me from my chair in the sun - cold beer (don't judge, I'm on vacation :) ). I could easily have had one delivered to my seat, but I love exploring and I knew I'd pay four times less by not being lazy. To set the backdrop, I was surrounded on all sides by dense, green, jungle; sparkling, clear, green-tinted water and towering limestone cliffs. 

As I made my way down the white sands of Railay beach, I noticed a small alley opening in the wall of resorts to my right. There was a walkway that led inland away from the water. I passed a restaurant, several food stalls and a few places for tourists to buy souvenirs. I wasn't overly hungry at the time and wasn't in need of a "I Love Krabi" t-shirt, so I walked until I found a small convenience store with a beer fridge. I could pick my poison - Singha, Chang, Leo and some imported Heineken. I grabbed a 22 oz Singha for 130 baht (roughly $3.50 at the time), popped my top with the opener on the counter, and wandered back out into the alleyway. 

As I started towards the beach, I paused briefly outside of a food stall and heard "hey buddy, what'r ya thinking? Breakfast or lunch?" in almost perfect, but slightly Thai accented English. I smiled and said "I'm thinking lunch". To which he smiled back and motioned to my beer "yes, I see you already have breakfast". Ha, I liked this guy already. As I read down the menu, he could see I didn't know what to order, so he told me to try the kabob. That's when I noticed a spinning tower of chicken being slow cooked directly to my left. I decided, ah what the hell, let's give it a shot. He recommended the mild chili and thousand island sauces, with all the veggies. I paid him the 100 baht ($2.80), thanked him and continued my barefoot trek to the sand. 

It took one bite to realize that this wouldn't be the last time I gave my money to Alex. It was the best combination of tender chicken, crisp vegetables and delicious sweet and tangy dressing that I had ever had. Sometimes it's the people that make the food. Sometimes its the food that makes the people. In Alex's case it is both. In future visits to get kabob wraps I would learn his name, that he spent 28 years in Hawaii after attending the University of Hawaii (hence his English) and was born in Thailand. He is an extremely talented and smart man, who chose to move back here because of his love for the ocean. He could probably do anything, but he chooses to cook amazing food and be happy.

I love these experiences. They provide authenticity by helping us meet new people and also learn more about the local culture that we are visiting. If you are traveling abroad, take a chance to strike up a conversation - it may broaden your perspective.  

Thailand here we come!

It's official. Kailah and I just booked our flights to Thailand in mid-March. It doesn't seem real that we're going to travel to the other side of the world. I can remember growing up, my parents would tell me that if I dug a hole deep enough, I'd end up in Asia. Now I'm going to have the opportunity to experience the world from their perspective...no digging required.

We booked round trip tickets out of Boston, connecting in Dubai, UAE and landing in Bangkok. The first leg is 12 hours on a Boeing 777 to Dubai where we have 3 hour layover before getting on a double decker jumbo jet A380-800 to cruise another 6 hours down to Thailand. We ended up paying an extra $40 a seat right after booking through Emirates website to secure exit row seats between Boston and Dubai (as well as the return journey). This is money well spent for me, as my 6' 5" frame doesn't enjoy any flight crammed into a standard economy seat - I can't fathom 12-14 hours. We basically have the same flights coming back, but the reverse order and a shorter layover. We actually considered choosing a longer layover in Dubai on the return, so that we could step out and see the city. While this sounds appealing now, I'm guessing the combination of long flights and time zone changes would cause me to be swearing at myself in March (Lets just get home!). 

As for our plan when we get there...well we don't really have one yet. This trip idea came pretty suddenly. We've done some primitive research on where we want to go, but the flights were the first step (always are). At a high level, we want to spend a few days in Bangkok and the rest in a tropical location on a beach. We want to interact with monkeys, visit an elephant sanctuary, take a Thai cooking class and go zip lining. Most of all, we want to experience Thailand and learn about its culture. Nevertheless, we are super excited to put this trip together - after all, it is right around the corner.

Kyle