Kap.......

Sawadeekaa..... the sweet traditional Thai welcome, was gaily and nasally uttered as we made our way to the lush and beautiful land of Haadyai, Thailand. It was to be a memorable holidays for my family and family friends that had travelled together with us.

Indeed, the last time, I stepped into this land was sometime in 2008. Some things have not changed like the slipping of the ringgit note into our passports at the checkpoint while the atmospheric aromatics of lard smell permeates the surroundings. Ahhh! Smell of good food in store for a food lunatic like me! Fifteen of us lined-up and trudged through throngs of sweaty bodies before we could get our passports stamped for a holiday at our destination.

As it maneuvered towards the side road near a makeshift stall [ which later turned out to be a mobile petrol station ! ], I could see the driver paying some Bahts to the proprietor and then a long hose with an open nozzle at the end was put into the van petrol tank.

Two upright clear canisters with measurements mounted on the table were then filled up with petrol as they were pumped using a electrically controlled hydraulic.For those of us who were in the van, it was a great adventure as we catch on with some sleep and one of the most curious thing that happened was when the van stopped for re-fuelling. When filled at the right amount, the petrol was then released to the hose and finally into the petrol tank with the use of a special force dispelled. The proprietor would then lift up the hose to dispel all the petrol and then, the job was done. Now, that's what I call, capitalism and ingenuity at its best!

Along the way, the King's poster portrait together national flags and the palatial flags adorned every street corner of our journey. Countless number of beautifully erected temples had sprung up while the road safety aspect was still at it's low ebb.

I guess, road safety is not the priority of the Thais. Anyway, excitement fills our hearts as we arrived at Asian Hotel, Haadyai, our "home" for the next 3 days.

The hotel had been renovated, spruced up and service was definitely much better. We had our assigned rooms and after cleaning up, we were off to get some grub to fill up the rumblings in our stomach. We got ourselves, after some directional chaos, to a restaurant called Ah Ha Restaurant for some pork leg and pork specials! Yup, Haadyai is known for their braised pork leg and pork based products which we sampled thoroughly over our 3 days stay.

Tom Yam Khun was the next meal which we would soon discover that the sometimes the red orangery clear looking broth can give you quite a "kick" and quite a potent fire to your gastronomical palate and while you are at the bathroom too!

The next fun was our food fare at street food. With greater wisdom and much bravery, we tried out every possible street food we could get from our hands to our mouths. How interesting it is to see that every part of the lovely pig had been made into culinary goodness in every way. Yeah, I just love pork and turning them into balls, sausages, broth, chunks of goodness - fried, saute, boiled or even BBQ were just fantastic! The one thing we have not tried was the pig head skin and the snout. Other than that, every imaginable part including the spare parts of the pig had been consumed by all 15 of us!

This time around our food fare had been widened as we got ourselves to a new place to sample some fine Thai food which were reasonably priced too.Fares like Paku Salad adorned with fresh big prawns and quartered boiled eggs,Thai Mango Salad, Tom Yam Khun with assorted fresh seafood, Fried Pork Leg, BBQ Honey laced spare ribs, Black & White Pulut Specials, Green Curry, Celophane kueh teow with pork meat and spare parts soup, BBQ home made sausages , Bee Hoon Rojak specials, Pad Thai, Mango Pulut with coconut milk, wan tan mee, porridge with spare parts soup [ midnight snack! ], cold desserts with assorted goodies, teh tarik special near the back section of Lee Garden Hotel, Fried Grasshoppers and Fried Silkworms with spicy sprinkle are dishes to die for!With the amount and quantity of food we consumed together with the amount of walking we did for the days, [ Thanks to SLing regimented walking to all the available supermarkets and joints available in Haadyai town! ] it all balanced out nicely for meal.

I gained no weight nor lost any weight either. Yup! I am one happy dude and as happy as a bumblebee could be! The other craze was the buying of Zebra stainless steel products which is actually a good thing. The prices here in our hometown are 50% more than the prices in Haadyai and that's a fact! So, it is really worthwhile to get the Zebra stuff from Haadyai provided you have got the hands and legs to carry it! Hahahahahhahaaaaaa.........

It was fun travelling with these friends who were just game for every adventure of place and culinary taste. It was also nice to raise your palm together and say, " Kapkunkaa " after a sale had been made or simply as a sign of thank you. Truly, the Thai are really hospitable people and it is joy to see it being expressed in their own way.

The other observation I made while I was in Haadyai was that the pedestrians are actually the king of the roads second only to the Tuk-tuk. I guess, I was really impressed to see cars and motorcycles stopping dead in their tracks whenever pedestrians like us cross the busy street. I must say, these are mean streets with loud engine roaring tuk-tuk, cars, motorcycles and lorries,man.Talking about Tuk-Tuk, well, these drivers are experts at maneuvering the busy streets together with their focused will to send their customers to the respective places.

Each ride is 20Baht per person per journey to anywhere in town of Haadyai including the outskirts, I am told. We took plenty of photos as we board our Tuk-Tuk to the various destinations like the Night Market and the restaurant at the fringe of Haadyai town. The rest of the journey were made with our most trusted mobile transportation - the S.O.P.W.D. No.11 a.k.a. our feet!

All in all, it was good fun, good times and good food indeed. Would I do it all over again someday?

Yes, I would, most definitely! BTW, to family friends who made it all possible with your great understanding, your palatable love and great finesse in dealing with situations, I say to you " Kap kunkaa, everyone"!