Travel Stories | Expat Life
Familiarity.
I’m back from spending five weeks in Thailand and Laos. I must say, it was incredible.
As much as I loved my trip, I’m happy to be home. And by “home,” I mean, some place familiar with hot showers, a kitchen, and my laptop. I really missed my laptop.
xo, jill
A new in-home Thai restaurant.
A few weeks before leaving for Thailand I suddenly got a big idea. I should throw a fundraising Thai dinner for the Thai Child Development Foundation! That’s sort of a big undertaking when you have little experience cooking Thai food and don’t even have your own apartment to host it. Thankfully, Frances agreed to help. Not only does she have a beautiful apartment, she’s also taken Thai cooking lessons. Score!
After discussing the menu and budget with Frances, I set to work making it all happen. The timeline was short. It was about a week between conception and execution. Considering how anxious I started to get, that was probably a good thing.
When our guests arrived we kept them busy with drinks and a coloring contest. Who doesn’t love to color?
Frances was the head chef for the evening. I played the part of sous chef and waitress. We decided to call our venture Frilly Thai. (Frances + Jilly)
The meal consisted of Tom Yum soup, make your own spring rolls, pad thai, and bananas in coconut milk for dessert (not pictured).
We even played a little “Pin the Trunk on the Elephant.”
I suppose it’s a little weird to praise your own party, but I honestly thought it was pretty awesome. The food was delicious and the guests were generous. Frances’s apartment truly felt like a little Thai restaurant.
In the end, with the addition of donations from my family, I was able to raise $400 for the Thai Child Development Fun. Not too bad.
Thanks to everyone who attended, Frances for helping me host, and Molly for being our photographer!
xo, jill
Take two.
Well, tonight I am off! I have plans to spend the next month volunteering in Thailand and traveling through Laos. I’m a little nervous, but pretty excited!
For the first two weeks I’ll be volunteering with the Thai Child Development Foundation’s Eco & Kids project. Basically, volunteers get to stay for free at the lodge/guesthouse in exchange for work. Work consists of gardening projects, animal care, and special activities with kids once a week. All of this work and the profits of the lodge go to support TCDF. TCDF aimss to provide schooling for children with special needs, support for children with learning disabilities, workshops for parents and families, and medical and nutritional support for kids in need.
What’s not to like about that?
The second half of my trip will be spent traveling through Laos with Mike.
I’m looking forward to all of it!
I have plenty of posts lined up to keep this space entertaining. So don’t go away!
xo, jill
Not recommended to keep your girlish figure.
Here are the last few treats:
Novelty Snack: Rocco
Description: A cocoa filled wafer cookie
Tastes Like: Stale wafers with a trace of cocoa
Verdict: Thumbs neutral. I thought these might rival the famous Tutku… but no. Not at all.
Novelty Snack: Pretz
Description: Thin breadsticks in a variety of flavors, this package is a Thai dish we didn’t get the name of
Tastes Like: Didn’t sample this one
Verdict: Thumbs neutral
Novelty Snack: Lemon Juice and Vinegar Chips
Description: Potato chips flavored with lemon juice and vinegar… I think.
Tastes Like: Tangy chips
Verdict: Thumbs neutral… but I still ate them quickly.
Novelty Snack: Chocolate cookies
Description: A completely chocolate version of Rocco (see above) but a different brand
Tastes Like: Stale chocolate breakfast cereal
Verdict: Thumbs neutral.
Phew! That’s it for Thailand!
xo, jill
We took our role as snacking scouts quite seriously.
More delicious (and not so delicious) snacks to report.
Novelty Snack: Salted broad beans
Description: Dried and salted beans
Tastes Like: Nothing special… an uninteresting texture with an aftertaste of salt
Verdict: Thumbs neutral.
xo, jill
Oh, delicious.
Thailand is a lush country full of sandy beaches, smiling people, and best of all… novelty snacks! Molly and I were eager to test out as many new treats as possible. Here are our findings:
Market Snacks
Novelty Snack: Chocolate Milkshake… of sorts.
Description: A milky and slightly grainy milkshake.
Tastes Like: A milkshake heavier on the milk than the shake, chocolatey enough
Verdict: Thumbs up!
Novelty Snack: Spiral Potato on a Stick (don’t remember the proper name)
Description: A potato curled and stretched out on a stick, covered in a powder that’s supposed to taste like cheese
Tastes Like: Nothing much… bland potato and tasteless powder
Verdict: Thumbs up! (I’ll eat anything with potatoes!)
xo, jill
