So, what you need as ingredient for Khai Jiaw are only a couple of eggs, fish sauce and cooking oil. First use a fork to stir the eggs in a bowl until the egg white and yolk is well mixed and the whole thing becomes foamy. Add a few drops of fish sauce or soy sauce to the eggs and mix them well. Next place a fly pan on the stove and add cooking oil. Wait until the oil is very hot then pour the eggs from the bowl into the pan. Shake the pan gently so the eggs are well distributed over the pan. When the upper side of the eggs start turning solid, it’s time to flip the eggs over. When the other side which is now on the upper becomes gold or a little brown in color, your Khai Jiaw is ready.

Of course you can make Khai Jiaw more sophisticated by mixing the eggs with minced pork or shrimp. I like to put some crushed garlic in the hot oil before entering the eggs. Some may put pickled garlic to add the sweet and sour taste.

Khai Jiaw can be served with just rice and it tastes fabulous. It often accompanies other dishes such as “Phat Krapao” or “Kaeng Kiaw Wan”.  

I always wonder why eggs are not prepared in this simple way in other culinary.

Durian is an excellent fruit, but offensive to some people’s noses, for it smells very like human excrement, but when once tasted, the smell vanishes.”

Taste
The fruit’s taste is delicate, sweet-acid, and the pulp seems to melt in the mouth. But it leaves the same sort of aftertaste as chewing on a whole clove-of garlic. English novelist Anthony Burgess, in fact, has said that dining on durian is a lot like eating vanilla custard in a latrine.

Smell
The smell of the inside of the durian is so strong that some hotels bar guests from bringing it into their hotel room. It can be smelled from yards away. Apparently this fruit is notorious for it’s bad smell, to the point where it is actually banned in some public places. But durian lovers � and there are many, at least in Asia � are convinced that like fine French cheeses, the worse the smell, the better the taste.

Nutritional Value
The durian is high in fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins. The durian is also said to have heating qualities, which keep its eaters warm at night. Durian is not recommended for consuming with alcoholic beverages, as the combination of natural substances is a powerful producer of internal gas. Durian is probably one of the most nutritious fresh fruit. It’s also rumored that durian is a tonic to the lungs and digestive system.

Varieties
Although durian is grown all over Southeast Asia, many durian fans will agree that Thai durians are the best in the world. The Thai variety of cultivated durian is very large, as big as an American football. The most popular variety is called “Mon Thong”, literally “Golden Pillow”. A slightly stronger tasting and less fleshy Thai variety of durian is Chanee. The most delicate in taste, less smell, rare and more expensive variety is Garn Yao.

In Thailand, durian is one of the fruits with the highest export value. Besides consumption as a fresh fruit, durian is also processed into various products such as chips, French fries, sugary cakes, candies and a flavoring powder in ice cream, biscuits, and others including a main ingredient of Thai cuisine recipes. The thrill of the Thai durian is a different pleasure than wild Indiana blackberries, an annual rite of summer.

So why are Thai brides so popular among Westerners?

I asked that question to a Dutch guy, a friend of mind, the other day. “Is is because Thai women are more obedient and service-minded?”, I suggested to my Dutch friend. His answer was that is only part of the reasons. The more important reason, he opined, was that Westerners found Thai ladies to be more beautiful, more precisely, to have higher sex appeal. I was a little stunned with the answer.

The types of looks of the Thai women well liked by Westerners do not necessarily conform to our norm of pretty women among Thai men. But other Western men seem to confirm my Dutch friend’s observation.

Some opinions of Western men:

“Thai ladies are the most beautiful women in the world, and Thai women are the most beautiful in Asia. For many decades Western men have been captivated by the sheer beauty and femininity of the Asian Women.”

“I find Thai women in general to be less self-centered and family-oriented than I find in Western women.”

The Westerner’s feeling is well reciprocated by Thai women. Many Thai girls are disappointed by Thai men who are famous for womanizing, drinking and gambling. Thai women believe Caucasian men are more responsible and sincere.

This trend is likely to continue for some time.

A post at website www.luchtzak.be is complaining: “The airport exists 93years and its name was always spelled Don Muang. So it was, so it will remain, for us.”

Actually, the spelling of the name of the new internal airport of Bangkok “Suvarnabhumi” is also a little too strangely elaborated. They probably try to reflect the old Indian Pali origin of the name but it may have been “Suwannapoom” if the closest Thai pronunciation were given priority.

The bottom line is Thai writing and pronunciation is a little tricky to have a unified rule for romanization. So, I guess we will have to live with this little annoyance for sometime.

Latest Addition (June 10, 2007)
I can confirm now that there is actually a set of official rules for romanizing Thai language established by the Royal Institute. The latest version dated January 11, 1999 replaces the former version which was announced 60 years earlier. One of the changes was actually the introduction of “uea” sound to differentiate from the “ua” sound. So, the Airport Authority of Thailand just followed the rules by using “Don Mueang” instead of the more common “Don Muang.” You may check out an English summary of the rules in Wikipedia.

Well, few Thais know or care about the official Thai romanizing rules and there is no attempt to enforce them so far.

Samui also has many sister islands; Koh Tao, (one of the top diving islands in Asia) Koh Phangan, Angthong National Marine Park, Koh Tan and beautiful Koh Nang Yuan.

SIDEBAR
Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan - There are about 10,000-20,000 people every full moon night at this Koh Phangan beach party. It is of course known as the Full Moon Party. International and Thai DJ’s are making the crowd go wild. Paint yourself in UV colors and let your body lose control. Come with your friends or meet new ones from all parts of the globe.

Nampla wan is then served with sour, green, crispy mango sliced into small thin pieces. This makes up this dish of “mamuang nampla wan”. Dip mango slices into the sauce, eat and enjoy the three main tastes of sweet, sour and salty make a delicate fight in your mouth. Many Thais, especially female, will be salivating only to hear someone mentions “mamuang nampla wan”. It is usually enjoyed as a kind of snack among friends.

You are not likely to find this dish in any Thai restaurant outside Thailand. So, on your next trip to Thailand, don’t forget to try it out. It will be a pretty strong and memorable experience.

With a cosmopolitan air and a significant expat population, it’s much greener and quieter than Bangkok, factors which have led many Thais from other part of the country to settle permanently in Chiang Mai.

Well, we Thais are flexible “saby saby” people, aren’t we?

SIDEBAR
Put off by media coverage depicting the area as a disaster zone, many have cancelled their plans to visit Phuket. Two years after the tsunami, all damage has basically been cleared or repaired and both ethically and financially, now is the best time to go. Many have taken the opportunity to refurbish or re-build completely, adding even more comfort and even better facilities. To celebrate their rebirth, a number of hotels are offering special deals with lots of value added extras to add an extra sparkle to your holiday