Getting (Unsettled) In

I'm staying at a hotel on campus - same place I stayed last time. Kwanmor is functional - clean and convenient, on the bus route, and offers breakfast. Most importantly, the room has AC. :) Not exactly a 5-star accommodation, but plenty good enough considering I'll only be here for a month. Check it out for yourself. http://home.kku.ac.th/kwanmor/index.php It didn't take long to unpack my stuff.

I had no intentions for dinner to become a small misadventure. The place I ate was familiar, behind the student center. Imagine a partially-enclosed flea market with many food stalls, all of which are privately owned and operated. There's an eating area in the back with lot's of tables and chairs. The food selection is enormous and all written in Thai. You can just point and pay - all the food is in plain sight. This is one of the reasons I like it. No need to worry about any menus here.

After checking out the food stalls, I decided to get some freshly-cooked vegetables. You get what you want and put it in a small plastic bag. They weigh it and you pay it. The conversion rate is 35 Baht to 1 USD. A bag of vegetables, about 20 Baht. Good start. Next, I went for the main course. If you are reading this blog then you already know how much I like fish. Seafood in Thailand is a no-brainer. It turned out to be a fish soup, and I watched them make it. Water, vegetables, and fresh fish. 50 Baht, yikes I actually spent over 1 USD!

They put this boiling mixture into a plastic bag and tied a rubber band around it very tightly. I don't see how they do it. I got a bowl, spoon and chopsticks - ready to go, or so I thought. What could possibly go wrong? I sat down at a table meant for four and started eating my vegetables. Then I was ready for the fish soup. I finally got the rubber band untied (keep in mind the bag was still very hot) and dumped the contents into the bowl, carefully holding the bag by both edges. Everything worked perfectly until I realized that the bowl was too small and the hot broth gushed across the table and partly into my lap. I didn't know what to do. It's a good thing others weren't eating with me.

Much to my surprise, a couple of the cooks (but not the ones I had ordered from) came over and started wiping the table with napkins that I had failed to get. One brought over a bigger bowl and I successfully made the transfer. Afterwards, they checked on me a couple of times to make sure I was doing okay. Not sure if this made me feel better or worse. But it just goes to show that people can have mercy on strangers, especially dumb Americans. Whew, glad that meal was over!