Som Tum Yum Yum

(Apologies for any confusion, due to technical difficulties this entry precedes the last)

After 1 taxi, an overnight train, a bus, 2 boats, and a jeep we have arrived in Thong Nai Pan Noi, a small beach on the Northeast side of Ko Pha Ngan. And since my last meal was over 17 hours ago, I have an appetite. We have lunch at Baan Panburi, too expensive for us to stay there but certainly affordable to eat in their restaurant. A terraced restaurant on the beach, with a choice of seating – recline on a sala, take a table on the beach or sit on the terrace.

The menu seems to be like all other menus along the beachfront – it caters for tourists. Five pages of Western food and then finally two pages of Thai dishes. It bothers me seeing tourists not eating Thai food. I could rant and rave for hours on this subject but I won't. So I choose the Som tum salad, which also is the name for a papaya salad, I have yet to find out if there is another name for the carrot salad.

A mound of freshly grated carrot, a few raw slightly pounded crisp long green beans, a few slivers of orange tomatoes, a couple of wedges of lime skin, roughly chopped cashews and peanuts, all tossed in a tangy, garlic, spicy dressing. I have awoken, my mouth is bursting with flavours, I could scare not only vampires but any beast away.