A typical day going to the market starts off with running downstairs, grabbing my helmet and jumping on the back of a motorbike. There are so many motorbikes in Thailand, it’s crazy. They invade the streets and I don’t think there is anywhere you can look without seeing a motorbike. As we pull up into the market,we are welcomed by the sound of car horns beeping motorbikes trying to creep by the narrow road into the parking area. The Thai markets are always packed full of cars and motorbikes. After we park the motorbike we push our way into the crowded aisles of the marketplace. Our eyes dart around the busy stalls looking for our beloved sticky rice and chicken stall. On our way the smells of spicy khao soi makes my mouth drool and my taste buds tingle. Khao soi is a spicy curry with boiled chicken, boiled potatoes, and yellow egg noodles.The sauce is made out of the creamiest coconut milk and just the right amount of chilli and spice. Every bite you take gets better than the last as the spice sizzles in your mouth. To my left I see crispy fried frogs stuck on sticks. On the floor there is a bucket filled with slimy frogs crawling over each other as people look in the bucket and choose their favourite frog.
As we continue our way through the maze, I see pig heads propped up on the stall table and their detached legs and hooves all intact as people swarm around trying to choose the best head. Right next to the pig heads stall there is a stall selling the fresh insides of who-knows-what animal, most likely a chicken or a pig. There are hearts, intestines, liver, lungs, kidneys, pigs ears, pigs snouts, and a various selection of eyeballs from numerous animals. Behind that stall is a stall with chickens cut open and their insides still inside the body as people choose which organ they want or if they want the whole body. The blood is still fresh as it seeps into the towel underneath. The smell that follows that myriad of insides smells like rubbish that has sat in the sun for years mixed with the smell of fresh blood and one thing that is for sure is we don't stay around that section for very long. Once we past that section of the market, we are getting closer to our sticky rice stall. We pass by the Thai “kanom” or “sweets”stand where there are plastic bowls or cups filled with jellies and candies of all shapes, sizes and colours.The smell of sweet chocolate, coconut, cookies, and a variety of sweet smelling smells waft around the stall. Hungry children swarm around the stall begging their parents to buy them some. Next to the kanom stand there is a vendor selling warm monkey peanuts and warm freshly cooked corn. The smell makes me feel so relaxed as it travels around me. If I am lucky, we stop and buy one.
We have now made it to the sticky rice and chicken stall. The steam from the rice rises up and fills the air with a moist humidity. The smell of the crispy fried chicken also hits you as soon you come near. The choice of choosing from the vast selection of fried chicken is so difficult. Every piece is cooked to perfection and the skin is neither too over crispy or too flimsy and soft but it is perfect. The golden pieces are put into a bag along with our perfectly cooked sticky rice. As we finally squeeze our way out of the market we leave behind a world of its own. A place where Thai culture thrives and everywhere you look creates an adventure that will last you a lifetime.