Kampua Talk

Like I mentioned before in my previous post about my Thailand trip two weeks ago, we were being left to shop at the market (ala flea market/pasar malam) for two hours. One of us got thirsty and we stopped by this stall by the roadside selling coconut

For some reasons, the coconuts sold in Hatyai were all shell-less, not exactly shell-less but without the thick outer layer that you have to chop off to get to the juice. So adorable!

On another perspective, these coconuts can be useful during emergency. You see, if your handbags or bags were being snatched and the snatchthief ran off, you could just grab a few of these coconuts from the nearest stall and throw them at the culprit because they are light enough to be thrown by the ladies and hard enough to knock the snatchthief out for a few moments. How practical is that? Imagine throwing the huge, green, heavy coconuts. The furthest you can throw is at your own toes!

I stole a sip from my friend’s coconut. So fresh (duh!) and aromatic!!! Seriously! Not like the usual coconut you drink at your nearest mamak stall, this coconut kicked ass! Now I understand why they call it ’Thai Coconut’ in Malaysia and sell it at a higher price than the normal coconut. But the so-called ‘Thai Coconut’ I’ve tasted in Malaysia (in Sibu, particularly) were a pale imitation of the real Thai Coconut! And they sell it for only 20 Baht (RM2) per coconut in Thailand! So cheap, mana mau cari???

Two hours later, Uncle and his friend came and picked us up. They brought us to a place for Thai Massage. I had Thai massage at the Sakura Hotel during my trip to Hatyai two years ago and did not really like the masseur who massaged me because she was so weak that I could not feel a thing. Two weeks ago, my masseur was so damn good that I felt so relaxed after the massage. She was strong. Strong to the extent of too strong, sometimes, and I had to let out an “Oww!!!” or two so that she did not exert too much force. Note that I prefer strong massages, i.e. really hard pressure on my muscles, and when she made me let out a few “Oww!”, you can imagine how strong she was!

It took 2 hours for the traditional Thai massage which cost about 300 Baht (RM30). I fell asleep at the point when she massaged my back. After the massage, Uncle took us for lunch. Since we requested to have Tom Yam, Uncle brought us to a kopitiam within the walking distance from the massage centre to have our meal.

We ordered:

Dried cuttlefish with mango and cashew nuts. It was supposed to be fish instead of cuttlefish but we were not up to having fish at that moment. This dish was like the kerabu we have in Malaysia. Not too bad but I do not like the cuttlefish. It could be better with something else, like fish fillet or chicken.

Seafood tom yam (of course!). I loved it! The sourness and the spiciness were just nice for my likings with a stint of unmistakable seafood taste. However, I still prefer the Tom Yam I had two years ago (in a fishing village in Songkhla) which was so fresh and delicious that I am drooling everytime I think of it.

Fried Pig Leg! This beats Sibu’s Roasted Philippine’s Tu Kah (Pig Leh) hands down! The crispiness of the skin and the juiciness of the tender pork are unimaginable! I was deprived of pork for 2 days prior to having this and therefore feeling like Einstein after eating this! I can virtually taste the juiciness of the pork in my mouth and the aromatic smell from my LCD as I am typing this!

Crab with Yellow Powder! The taste was amazing but the crab was too tiny that I gave up trying to savour the crab meat after attempting 2 pieces. The gravy tastes so good with rice! It was basically curry powder with a lot of coriander leaves. The taste beats Sibu’s so-called ‘best’ crab kopitiam near Everwin but in terms of size, I give this a RED CARD!

Kangkung! This dish failed big time! Look at all the stems of the kangkung they expect us to eat. We prefer the leaves! This sucks, big time! The picture speaks a thousand words.

After lunch, we were left to walk around the city centre and done our shopping. We hopped from one shopping complex to another until time came for us to leave.

Things I noticed in Thailand (what we don’t have in Malaysia):

• In Thailand, motorists sounded their honks at all times, as a warning to coming vehicles and pedestrians.
  In Malaysia, it is a sign to say, “HOI! YOUR GRANDFATHER’S ROAD KAH?” before showing a middle finger.
• In Thailand, roadside stalls are common sights everywhere but the police are not.
  In Malaysia, roadside stalls are a common sight until the police came, which is frequent.
• In Thailand, you can find BB bullet-guns and samurai swords being sold at roadside stalls at very cheap price.
  I almost bought a BB bullet-gun before remembering that it is illegal to own one in Malaysia.
• In Thailand, I only saw 2 cops during my entire day there.
  In Malaysia, cops are everywhere, especially those thirst-for-Kopi-O ones.
• In Thailand, Thai Girl Tiger Show are commonly held at hotels.
  In Malaysia, free girls show are commonly seen along Jalan Alor and Petaling Street before ending up in a cheap hotel.
• Discos, clubs and pubs in Thailand are clubbing paradises.
  Clubbing in Malaysia is chaos!