Chapter 11 A Brief History of Thai Beijing

In 1981, just after the Lunar New Year, I was bored living in seclusion, and I was motivated to travel again, so I took a direct flight from Korean Air to Bangkok for the third trip to the Buddhist kingdom.The plane took off from Chiang Kai-shek Airport at 1:20 p.m. and landed at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok after flying for three hours.By not passing through Hong Kong on the way, the trouble of getting on and off the plane in Hong Kong is eliminated, and the flight time is shortened by two hours, which is really a lot more convenient.The only shortcoming is that none of the stewardesses on that flight can understand Mandarin, and they don't seem to be very good at English.Passengers on the plane have two types of forms to fill out, one is for customs declaration and the other is for immigration inspection. Filling out the form on the small activity table, unable to lie down or stretch out, is really a chore.When I traveled abroad a few times before, I suggested to the airline company that passengers fill out the form, why not send it with the ticket, or else it is stipulated that for those passengers who do not know how to fill out the form, the stewardesses who serve randomly should have The obligation to fill in on behalf of customers is a measure that truly facilitates passengers!

I visited Thailand for the first time in 1973. As soon as the plane landed at Don Mueang Airport, I felt that the airport building was majestic and majestic, which was more grand than Taiwan Songshan Airport; It is cramped and densely populated, and it seems to pale in comparison to the Huan Huan New Building in Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek Airport. The most majestic and magnificent area in Bangkok is the Lachawaidi Palace area. The Royal River reflects the swamp, the flowing water is stacked with honey, the cornices are flying, and the gold-decorated scales have always maintained a consistent majesty.The Buddhist temple where the monk king "Song Lv Pai Yala Yiweng Shagu Heran" resides is decorated with emerald green tiles and golden pagodas, with Danying and green pottery, and monks in yellow clothes, speaking scriptures and talking gatha. Compared with the imperial palace, it is more solemn and precious.The Erawan Hotel in the urban area, Qiongpu Danyuan, gold-painted strange beasts, and gold-plated ancient Buddhas are enshrined in that stone niche, and flowers, incense and candles are piled up like a mountain.In the past, people came to burn incense and make a wish when the night was low and the lights were on. Now the incense is in full swing, day and night, and there are many good believers. Some people even invite hollow-out crown pockets and embroidered clothes. Singing and dancing to fulfill the wish, although the place is an important place, people and vehicles are blocked, the police turn a blind eye, take it for granted, and never intervene to ban it. This is probably a special situation in the Buddhist country!

Thailand was originally a kingdom of elephants. Elephants were used to carry heavy wooden utensils in the wild mountains and forests. However, in the metropolis of Cheyong Malong, such giant beasts rarely appear on the streets. Silom Road", this street is a six-lane thoroughfare, with companies and banks lined up in rows, and the traffic coming and going is endless. It is unexpected that someone is leading an elephant.In addition to the five-colored valerian flowers and intricately painted brocade clothes on the elephant, there is also a white cloth with red letters on it in Thai, to the effect that if you want to ride, you will be charged 12 baht in Thai currency for 20 minutes.There is a wooden and gold-painted pavilion tied to the elephant's body. Sitting in the pavilion, you can have a panoramic view of the city. Naturally, it is full of curious tourists.Seeing the smile on the elephant slave's face, the business is probably going well!

There is a long-established Luang Pini Park in the downtown area. Although there are no ancient banyan pines and secluded springs to wash stones, the fine grass is flat and green. Every morning, there are men and women practicing Wai Dan Gong and Tai Chi. The young and the old practice their own skills, and the disco dance and country dance are embellished by men and women, which makes the morning park full of vigor and vitality, making people feel refreshed physically and mentally. There is also a kaowu zoo in the urban area, which has tigers, leopards, lions, elephants, hippos and rhinos.It is not unusual for Thai people to see elephants as much as northerners watch little donkeys. Therefore, except for attracting some foreign tourists to take pictures, Thai people rarely visit Look at the elephant threshold.There are as many as 40 or 50 species of apes collected in the garden. There is an old monkey who, according to the wooden sign hanging on the sill, is over 40 years old. feel pitiful.

Thailand is a Buddhist country. It is said that there are more than 18,000 temples in Thailand, and more than 200,000 monks. Taking Bangkok as an example, there are more than 1,000 Buddhist temples, large and small. When visiting Thailand, visiting temples is listed as the main One of the sightseeing items.This is the third time for the author to visit Thailand. I have probably rejoiced in all the Buddhist temples in Bangkok and its suburbs. The most famous ones are the Temple of the Golden Buddha, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Temple of King Arun, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, the Great Buried Stone Buddha Temple, and Indian Buddhist temples. Been there two or three times.This time, because a friend asked me to buy a gold-plated Buddha hanging around my neck, I went to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha again.The temple is painted everywhere, which shows that the Thai government is still willing to invest in tourism.The Reclining Buddha Temple is the first to enter the mountain gate. There is a row of houses on the west side of the road. There is a wooden sign hanging on the door, indicating that there are masseurs who are proficient in medical science and skilled. If you want to massage, please enter immediately.There is a small counter at the entrance, which is the toll booth. There is a long wooden door on each side, complete with pillows and mattresses, men left and women right. After paying the fee, you can board the board and receive a massage.I made a fuss about "horses killing chickens" in Taipei. I have been afraid of bone loosening massage for many years. I naturally don't want to let this opportunity go. At the same time, I can try Thai massage techniques.The massage fee is 60 yuan, and foreigners need to pay double 120 yuan. Originally, tourists wanted to try it, but when they heard that foreigners had to pay twice the price, although the number was small, everyone felt a little bit pickled. It feels like a foreigner is a foreign plate (Hangzhou people call it "planing cucumbers" when they are ripped off).When visiting Crocodile Lake in Pak Nam, the entry fee for foreigners is also doubled. This practice has aroused the disgust of tourists. I wonder if the tourism authority in Thailand has the determination to improve it.In front of the second entrance to the inner hall, there is a beech tree, and a pile of stone rocks stands beside it. Among them, there is a stalagmite, covered with gold leaf, colorful and colorful, wrapped in layers, and young men and women who burn incense and worship in front of the stalagmite. , each of them looked solemn and pious.It is said that this is the "Buddha power" invited from India several years ago. All women who have been married for a long time can go to ask for an heir.This is the same psychological effect as touching copper mules in Dongyue Temple in Beiping. European and American tourists are curious and take pictures here as souvenirs.

In the early morning of Bangkok, there is a strange scene on the streets, that is, monks in yellow clothes, with their heads in bare hands and half of their arms bare, begging for alms.Some devout believers, at the intersection of the street, put the newly unloaded rice and freshly fried vegetables on the tableware, and knelt on the ground to wait for the monks to come before devoting their offerings.The monks could not take too much food, and each of them brought a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy with a suitcase, and returned to the temple to collect the food for everyone to share.Thai monks abide by the precepts and do not eat after noon, they can only drink some milk and fruit juice.Monks can be seen in the streets and alleys of Thailand, but in all the temples, pilgrims come and go as they please, and it is rare to see monks, even if they meet in the temple, they do not entertain guests.In Bangkok, it is midsummer in March, and colleges and universities around the world begin their summer vacation. Groups of boys have cut off their shoulder-length hair, shaved their heads into green curly hair, and put on half-armed monk clothes. To go to the monastery to practice meditation and pay homage to the Buddha, the shortest time is three weeks, the longest is three months.After the summer vacation is over, I will go back to the vulgar life and go back to school as usual.There is a Chinese-speaking monk who has just been ordained. I asked him his motivation and feelings for learning Buddhism. He said: "My parents gave birth to me and raised me. If I convert to the Buddha, I can prolong my life and avoid disasters for my parents. I am grateful to my parents. The situation is so hot. In the heat of summer, the temples are spacious and deep, where you can escape from the hustle and bustle, seek a pure heart, and meditate introspection, and you can realize some ways of being a person and dealing with the world. The youth summer camp is a dynamic training, and being a monk is a quiet meditation, which has its own mysterious meaning , It’s not something that ordinary people can understand!” He is young, and his words are subtle and profound, and his appearance is extremely pious, and it can be seen that it comes from the heart. This is the supreme method of emotional education in Thai Buddhism!

Nine out of ten Thais are optimists. Everyone has the idea of ​​being drunk now, as long as they have a few bills in their pockets, they must find ways to spend them, so that they can feel at ease.Every month when the salary comes, teahouses, restaurants, bathrooms, and karaoke halls are full of customers. Although the bosses in the entertainment industry are all complaining, saying that the market is sluggish and business is difficult, but every night when the lights come on, the weathered area along Paipeng Road is full of people. The fragrance of clothes, the scent of wine.Some bold street girls with bare breasts and backs, entangle passers-by, ghosts and monsters, with a variety of tricks, and except for some vagabonds and bad sailors, decent people avoid the road to avoid trouble.Recently, a super massage parlor called "Mona Sally" opened in Bangkok, employing more than 400 fit and skilled massage girls. It is said that this is the 118th massage parlor officially approved by the Thai government. It advertises that this is the largest massage parlor in the world.A few years ago, Bangkok opened a luxurious bathroom called "Ginni". There are so many beautiful women in the country, claiming that there are more than 120 bath girls, and it has become a sensation. It seems insignificant in comparison!There are also a few movie theaters in Bangkok that specialize in western films. The sound and light equipment and seats are of a good standard, and the "music" that specializes in Chinese films is not bad. dabbled in.There are two movie theaters called "Prince" and "Bailehui", which specialize in showing adult movies. The advertisements in the newspapers are dirty and low-level, which is already unsightly, but I have never heard of government agencies interfering .In addition, there are several streets in Bangkok, and there are also transvestite markets like those in Singapore where men dress up as women. Out of curiosity, some tourists often invite them to sit and accompany wine through the tour guide of the travel agency. Thai people call transvestites "rabbits".Although I didn't have the chance to see Fangzi in Bangkok, I traveled north to Chiang Mai for sightseeing. The place is famous for its night market. When I ate in a restaurant, I had an eye-opening experience.Everyone praised Chiang Mai for being beautiful, but the waitress in the restaurant we went to did not have a flat-headed chick. When we finished eating and settled the accounts, there was a gorgeous girl standing in front of the door. , but a beauty embryo.Someone in our group recognized him as a man wearing women's clothing. After careful examination, he has no Adam's apple, and his lips and cheeks are smooth. It is not known that he is male and female.His movement voice is more natural and feminine than that of Zhong Xueqin in Shanghai back then.On the streets of Bangkok, I often meet people with long hair hanging down their shoulders, their hair permed into wavy or explosive shapes, and their lips painted with powder.According to the police investigation, there are more than 10,000 young men in Bangkok alone. They are still above the middle class in terms of wealth and education.

When it comes to drinking beer, based on my experience of drinking beer for many years, compared with domestic beer, Shanghai beer is not as good as Tsingtao beer, and Tsingtao beer is not as good as the five-star beer of Beiping Shuanghesheng. , Fuji beer, although lottery prizes, full of tricks, because the taste is bland and astringent, not in line with Chinese tastes, has not been able to knock down the three Chinese beer brands.Later, I drank German dark beer and Danish barrel wine. The former tasted bitter and sweet, leaving the tongue fragrant, while the latter was fragrant and moist, even sips were pleasant.After I arrived in Thailand, my daughter knew that I was well-versed in the quality of beer, so she let me taste several famous beers in Thailand one by one.There are four types of beer marketed in Thailand, all of which are brewed by German brewing technicians. (1) "Amarit Manna", there are two types of raw and cooked beer, among which the cooked beer won the gold medal in the European international competition and is very popular with foreign ladies in Thailand. It has a low alcohol content and is similar to American canned beer. Good refreshing drink.Because the taste is too weak, Thai people think it is not strong enough. (2) "Simgha White Lion", in a brown glass bottle, has a lot of foam. People who can't pour wine will never fill a glass of wine, and the foam will overflow, and it will last for a long time, and the aroma will remain.Naturally, most alcoholics order White Lion beer. (3) "Rloster", a green glass bottle with a tinfoil cover on the bottle cap. The packaging is similar to champagne. It is the most beautiful packaging among Thai beers, and its alcohol content is said to be as high as about ten degrees, which is already between refreshing and refreshing. Between light drinks.Thai people are the most appreciative of Ke Shide and therefore the best seller. (4) "Dagak Tiger Brand" is rare in Bangkok market. It is said that it sells very well in the southern area. This kind of beer has a clear and delicious taste, and is closest to the alcohol content, polyphenols and bitterness of beer brewed in Taiwan. , the natural flavor is also the same.I want to import this brand of beer, it will be more popular than American beer.The constant temperature in Thailand is above 10 degrees Celsius all the year round. The restaurant ice room uses a kind of earthen refrigerator to freeze the beer. When the fire umbrella is high and the temperature is so hot that you can't breathe, you go into the dining room and order a bottle of beer. When it is on the table, the beer is in a semi-solidified state in the bottle, and it needs to be stirred in the bottle with a bamboo stick to melt.As soon as the wine is poured out, the whiteness is better than the snow, the nose touches the face, the aroma of the wine is tempting, after a few sips, the summer heat disappears, the taste is astringent and slightly sweet, and the taste is something that non-individuals cannot understand.The color, aroma, and aroma of Taiwanese beer are all high-quality, but the foam is slightly insufficient, and it cannot last for a long time.At the two German beer halls "Laixi" and "Dalai" on Jing'an Temple Road in Shanghai, when the drinkers entered the door, they were first served with white towels.These two taverns are famous in Shanghai for their salted pork knuckles and pink assorted salads. The above two dishes are must-haves for those who come to drink here.After gnawing on pig’s feet and eating salad, the corners of the mouth and lips will inevitably be stained with oil. When sipping beer, the foam will easily disappear. The small towel is to remind guests to wipe their mouths at any time, so that the aroma of wine will remain and the taste of wine will always be fresh .Drinking beer is the most taboo to fill up, take a few sips and then refill, and finally a glass of bitter water. When drinking beer, "you must drink it when you pour it, and you must drink it up." This is the only way to sing beer.

The waiters in restaurants and hotels all over Thailand, regardless of gender, seem to have been trained. Open the bottle of beer, pour only half a glass, put it in front of the guests, show respect, and don't refill it, unlike the waitresses in Taiwanese restaurants. It's half a dozen, and standing behind the guests, they are courteous, and the guests fill up immediately after taking a few sips. In the end, the wine is not cold enough, and the so-called bitter wine is full.I think the price of beer in hotels in Taiwan has already exceeded the official price by several times. Don't the managers of the restaurants teach them how to serve wine?

Thai people don’t eat a lot, and the dining time is not very fixed in the morning, afternoon and evening, so snacks are very popular. You can find all kinds of restaurants and food stalls on the streets and alleys at any time to solve people’s livelihood problems.Pure Thai breakfast, everyone loves porridge.Porridge is divided into Cantonese style and Chaozhou style.Cantonese-style porridge is relatively thin, and it is best to boil the porridge into a paste because the rice grains cannot be distinguished. Most of the ingredients are sea bass and grass carp. , shredded ginger, coriander, sprinkle with a little pepper, pour the hot porridge into a bowl, stir it a little bit, and the fish will be cooked.Cantonese people have a catchphrase: "Fish porridge should only be cooked." The reason why it should only be cooked is that the fish is cooked as soon as it is hot, and the fish is just smooth, tender and sweet. lost.Pay attention to the fish porridge, and some add fried noodles, crispy peanuts, fried noodles, fresh crab meat, etc. to increase the freshness.Teochew porridge is quite different from Cantonese style.First, wash the sea bass, cut it into large pieces, put it together with water and rice, and boil it together until the white rice blooms, the soup turns rich, all the brains in the fish head flow out, and the fragrance of the fish overflows before it is brought out to the market.On Wangwang Road, Yanfu, Nuanfu, there is a three-story "Asian fish porridge shop" hung with colorful neon lights. One person has opened a total of 18 porridge shops in various provinces in Thailand. The old shop is located near Thonburi Sanli. The fish porridge in Bangkok is almost all their brother's world!Nai Wentan said: The secret to cooking fish porridge is to first remove the fishy smell. As for how to get rid of the fishy smell, it is a private business of his family and he will not disclose it.However, the fish is fresh and the tableware is clean, which is one of the reasons why Asian fish porridge shops make customers feel at ease!

Kway Teow (Taiwan is called Ban Tiao) is almost the staple food of Thai people. Kway Teow can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys. Many students travel across the ocean to study, and the only snack that misses their hometown is Kway Teow. In 1973, I traveled to Thailand for the first time. I saw a small restaurant at the entrance of Songpai Alley of Huangqiao Theater. All the stoves, pots, bowls, and cooking utensils are on the boat. At that time, I thought it was the art design of the dining room, so I didn't pay much attention to it.This time I took a bus to Chiang Mai and passed Don Mueang Airport. Not far from the airport, there is a lead iron canopy covering several acres. The interior of the canopy is connected by boats and boats. There are as many as one or two hundred boats, all of which are selling cakes Articles.It is said that a century ago, kway teow sellers gathered on the Chao Phraya River in the downtown area, paddling back and forth to do business, which not only polluted the river water, but also was unsightly, so they were driven ashore, and they abandoned the river and continued their business on land.Over time, they met unexpectedly and set up a special Kuey Teow market near the airport.Not forgetting their origins, they still use small boats for business. Although there are row upon row, because the cooking techniques have their own tricks, and the ingredients are varied, the diners have their own preferences, and there has never been a situation where you compete with each other.It's a pity that the car passed by in a flash and failed to taste the delicious food.However, on the left side of Moon Palace Theater, there is a store that specializes in fish ball kway teow. Wow La Festival has chicken kway teow, and Nanxing parked beef barley rolls on Zhenjunye Street. All of them are listed as kway teow with different flavors by old gourmets. Selected.Going sightseeing in Bangkok, this exotic flavor should be tried once. There is a Kwai Kee restaurant on Bang Dao Road in Bangkok. The owner, Huang Bingtong, is a culinary expert who has passed down his father's business from his son to his father. His signature dish is "dried and frozen squid".Dong Ren Yu is originally a soup dish. He added the frozen Ren Yu ingredients to squid and made it half-fried and half-boiled. The fish meat is sweet, smooth and delicious when chewed. Delicious Thai food. According to a Chaozhou friend who is proficient in Thai food, “In the early years, Thai people paid attention to eating a kind of sweet noodles. In recent years, due to the increase in sweet snacks and cold products, sweet noodles have gradually been forgotten. Now there are only two in Bangkok. There is a shop selling sweet noodles in Chenzhuogang Lane. Although it is so small that it doesn’t even have a signboard, it still retains the original flavor.When I asked him, he couldn't speak clearly, and I couldn't understand either. Maybe there were some secrets that were not passed on, so I didn't want to tell others! Thai people like to use Minglu suckling pig to treat guests. On the second floor of Paikunlun Daimaru Company, there is a Yueyuan restaurant. Their family has a taste of Jinling suckling pig, which is considered excellent in barbecue.He can burn the skin and meat so that the suckling pig skin is crispy in the mouth, the meat is fried with fragrant pepper, the meat is fragrant and the bones are crispy, and the wine and rice are delicious. The head chef Chen Wei, also known as Chen Dazui, served as the head chef at Yaohua Garden in the Mingyuan Restaurant in the Basar shopping mall in Pratunam, Bangkok. Later, Zhou Feilai, the manager of Mingyuan, hired him to serve as the chef in Mingyuan. .They use the big-tailed sheep raised in Chiang Rai. The climate in Chiang Rai is mild, the water is thick and the grass is fertile, so the mutton is tender and not smelly.He uses selected red dates, deer tendons, and preserved abalone to simmer over a slow fire. The camel hoof and deer tail are tender and delicious, and melt in the mouth.It is said that the elderly have weak feet, and they can strengthen their muscles and walk vigorously after eating it.Every winter, although Thailand is as warm as spring, those who are not strong enough in their senior years always go to Mingyuan to eat casserole stewed sheep's feet several times! I happened to talk about fried dough sticks with my friends in Bangkok. Overseas Chinese who have been in Europe and America for many years always eat fried dough sticks a few times when they return home. In fact, there are no really decent fried dough sticks in Taipei now.Everyone says that Yonghe's fried dough sticks are good. In fact, the fried dough sticks are good. In fact, the fried dough sticks are still crispy like the soles of shoes. Compared with the "horseshoe", "hanging furnace" and "slightly baked noodles" in Beiping, not only the taste is different, but also the appearance is not the same.The deep-fried dough sticks are straight and general, long and thick. Not long after leaving the frying pan, they can no longer be chewed, and the small rings, fried cypress, sugar skin, and pot noses have disappeared.A fellow villager in Xianghe County, Hebei, who has lived in Thailand for many years, pointed out that there is a seller of sesame seed cakes on Nanxing Street, which is generally not out of the ordinary.The stall is a husband and wife stall, with a row of small wooden tables and small stools in front of the stall, just like a bean juice stall in Peking.After chatting with them, I found out that the boss’s surname is Ding. He said: “I lived in Dunzi’s Mansion in Beiping, and I opened a porridge shop at home. I could do everything from making sesame seed cakes and deep-fried fruits by myself. During the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, I was arrested by the Japanese. , and then drifted to Bangkok. In order to make a living, he returned to his old business and started selling sesame seeds. There are still people cheering, either Chinese or Thai. There are also many people who often patronize the breakfast place. Unfortunately, Bangkok may Feces are hard to come by, otherwise you can cook some japonica rice porridge with horse manure, that would be delicious! After more than 30 years of wandering life, God has a good eye, and you can still get enough food and clothing." Ms. Hou Rongsheng wrote "Another "See Peking", said that Beijing's sesame seed cakes and fruits have also changed, and it is not the same as before. I am sorry to ask everyone. Maybe one day I will go to Bangkok to learn how to make sesame seed cakes and how to deep-fry fruits! Hai Tien Lou is the oldest Cantonese-style tea house in Bangkok. Every time I come to Bangkok, I always go to drink tea and have breakfast. Although his Xiaolong dim sum is not exquisite, it is made with Chengfen, which is indeed better than the Cantonese style in Taiwan. The Dim Sum for Yum Cha is a cut above.No matter shrimp dumplings, noodles, siu mai, shark fin dumplings, the skin is soft and smooth, and there is no phenomenon of sticking to the bottom of the cage. This time, I ordered a fish head noodle at his house. It is called a wonderful dish, but it costs only 300 baht per cup, which is about 600 Taiwan dollars, and the price is quite astonishing. In Bangkok, we pay attention to eating Chaozhou cuisine, and there are several Chaozhou small restaurants with superb craftsmanship.There is a Ronghua restaurant in the swing. The fried fat sausages are clean and crispy, and they are delicious when dipped in sour and spicy seasonings.At that time, Dongxinglou in Beiping had a famous dish called "Braised Three Dings", which consisted of ham, sea cucumber, and belly cubes. His family had a dish called "Fried Five Dings", and the extra two Dings were snail meat and diced mushrooms.Tricholoma has not tasted it for many years, and it tastes fresh and refreshing in the mouth, and there is also a sense of intimacy.Crab claws in casserole is Ronghua's signature dish. He first cracks the shell of the fat and fresh crab claws, then wraps them in gauze and cooks them in a casserole. Spread a piece of fat on the bottom of the pot and cover the vermicelli. At the bottom of the pot, the fans absorb the freshness of the crab meat. This dish costs at least 800 yuan at the Ningzhe Restaurant in Taipei, but Ronghua only sells it for 60 baht, which is only 110 or 20 Taiwan dollars.From this point of view, the food prices in Thailand are much cheaper than those in Taiwan.In short, real Thai food is both hot and sour. Chaozhou cuisine pays attention to the original taste, rich and sweet. If you are a person who likes hot and sour seafood, you will probably be able to adapt to the taste of food when you travel to Thailand. Much more comfortable. Not far from the Imperial Palace and Royal Garden, there is a square called "Royal Field". In the early years, during the spring plowing period, the Thai emperor would come to persuade farmers and teach farming in person.The reason is that it covers a vast area, with clear rivers and beautiful fields. It is the best place for young knights to practice cars and children to fly kites and play takraw on weekdays. The field is surrounded by two circles, inside and outside. Everything that ordinary citizens eat and use every day is chaotic and unprepared.Although things are slightly cheaper than those on the market, you have to bargain for everything. If you are not a local, if you do not bargain properly, it will be much higher than the store price.Therefore, every time a market is launched, although all tourists will come to visit, but there is no old horse who knows the way to bargain for the price.This prime location in the city center is now planned by the Thai government and has already been used. It plans to build a new type of market for them near the Mantang Market, so that all the weekly vendors will be relocated there for business.However, it is quite far away from the urban area, and the two sides are negotiating the conditions. It seems that the relocation of the Royal Field is imperative, and it is only a matter of time.The only characteristic of Royal Fields is that the food sold by the vendors is pure traditional Thai flavor, which cannot be seen or bought in other markets. For example, the honey seller sells the whole honeycomb. It is said that eating the young pupae in the honeycomb can nourish the yin. Nourish the lungs, improve eyesight and reduce fire.The author saw a friend who bought a beehive. He picked up a huge beehive, squeezed it and shook it, and he could estimate the maturity and number of larvae in it, which is incredible.It seems that the honeycomb business is really good. In a short period of time, the honeycomb has not sold a few bottles, and the honeycomb has already closed four or five deals.There is also a kind of brownish-green reptile kept in a large plastic basin, which looks like a big cockroach and wriggles around in the basin.At first, I thought it was the dragon lice that my friends in Guangdong loved to eat. My Thai friend said: "This is a kind of aquatic insect that is a specialty of Thailand. Stir-fried and served with wine, it is not only a good food, but also a tonic. If you often eat it for weakness of muscles and bones and rheumatism pain, you can gradually recover. There was a famous monk in Laos who was taken captive and imprisoned in a squalid banana plantation. , suffered more than half a year of misfortune, and his legs were paralyzed by wind and paralysis. He was cured by a monk from the Institute of Chinese Medicine of the Reclining Buddha Temple who instructed him to eat this kind of insect.” Unfortunately, it only has a Thai scientific name, and it has many syllables and is long. remember. A few years ago, when the Vietnam War was in full swing, I went sightseeing in Thailand, and obviously there were more private cars in downtown Bangkok than in Taipei.The urban area is vast, and people who arrive at the company at eight o'clock will leave in a hurry at half past six.There is a special regulation in the traffic area of ​​Thailand. Heavy-duty ten-wheel trucks in the suburbs are not allowed to drive into the urban area during the day, and they can only be released after eleven o'clock in the evening.Generally, the trucks driving in the urban area are made of teak because of its solid and durable Thai teak wood.It's a pity that the exhaust pipes of each car stick out far away, black smoke billows when driving fast, and the heat is scorching when parking and waiting for the green light to pass. If measured by air cleanliness, the air pollution level in this city is probably much worse than that in Taipei. Woolen cloth! Although there are quite a few taxis on the streets of Bangkok, there are no air-conditioning equipment in the cars, oil stains are everywhere, and the car mats are full of oil stains. The biggest disadvantage is that there are stop meters in the cars instead of metering. .The driver doesn't know English, and even Chaozhou dialect "don't slaughter sheep". If you don't know Thai, you will have to look forward to the car and sigh.The Thai government advocates tourism every day, but it has never trained those people to learn foreign languages. Do you think it is strange?Although the trams in urban areas have been cancelled, short-distance transportation in urban areas still relies on tricycles. One car can accommodate three people, and you have to negotiate a price to board the car. Dazzled, it always takes three to five minutes before hearing can recover.The bus routes in the urban area are as dense as a cobweb, especially far away. During commuting hours, the temperature is in the 30s and 100 degrees Celsius, and everyone is crowded in the car like sardines. One can imagine how it feels.Taipei bus drivers don’t drive without closing their doors. Buses in Bangkok rarely have doors at all.They are so used to it that it doesn't seem to matter!The bus fare is one yuan per section. At the beginning of March this year, each section of the fare was once adjusted to two yuan. The turmoil finally subsided. In the past two years, Thailand has made rapid progress in terms of crops.Take rice as an example. Although Siamese rice used to be well-known in Southeast Asia, people who are used to eating Jiangnan indica rice always feel that Siamese rice lacks oiliness in their mouths.This time I ate a kind of fragrant rice in Thailand. The rice grains are neat and slender, fragrant but not sticky, and the viscosity is between Penglai and Zailai rice. It is very popular with people from all walks of life.This time I went to the Reclining Buddha Temple to rejoice, and saw a banana on a fruit stand in the temple. Each banana was only the size of a little finger, and its color was golden. It was obviously not a deformed banana, but a ripe tree.Peel it and eat it, the meat is thin and sweet, and the taste is clear and delicious. It can be called a delicate and different product among bananas.After asking the street vendor, I found out that this kind of "mini banana" is a special product of Lampang, but the output is not much, and the time to market is short, so it is not noticed by people!Thailand's improved "Lianwu" fruit is as big as a fist, with soft light reflecting blue, thin skin and sweet water, sweeter than pear jujube, which is better than Taiwan's new variety Lianwu. I wanted to bring some seeds back to try planting, and I have met international regulations. , There are restrictions on the import and export of fruit and seeds, so I have no choice but to give up. I think that if the soil and climate are suitable, the breeding experts of the Agricultural Development Council will introduce trial planting through formal procedures.The mangoes in Thailand and Luzon are all internationally famous rare fruits (Taiwan calls mangoes "Xuanzai"). When I went to Thailand, the mangoes had just been on the market. The skin was green, the flesh was milky yellow, sweet and less fragrant, and the Thais called it "Kai Lu Mang".Except for children and those who like to try new things to buy and eat, most people always have to wait for the mango market to buy and eat!It is said that there are many kinds of mangoes in Thailand, as many as more than 20 kinds. The mangoes produced in each province have their own unique flavors. It is a pity that we went at an untimely time, so that we could not taste all the delicacies and enjoy them to our heart's content. It is a pity. There is a small orange in Thailand, which is called "Song Qiao Wan" in Thai, which means green and sweet. It is produced in the Bangying area of ​​Thonburi Province. All vendors who sell Song Qiao Wan say that his oranges are from Banying. , shipped directly for sale.Whether what is said is true or not, we who are new to earth cannot tell the difference.From the outside, Songqiao Pills look yellow in the green, and the fruit is small and inconspicuous, but when squeezed out, the juice is yellow and reddish, no need to add any coloring, just add a little syrup and some lemon juice, it can not only Helps to develop aroma, and can help digestion, moisturize and beautify the skin.There is a No. 128 restaurant on Silom Road that makes the most standard orange juice, so diners who dine in this restaurant, when they are drunk, always order a glass of orange juice to sober up! Coconut water is the most common drink for Thai people. Coconut has a wide range of uses. The mesh fiber surrounding the coconut shell is very tough and durable. It can be used as cables on ships, large fishing nets, and outdoor carpets.The trunk of the coconut tree can be used to build stilt houses, as well as tables, chairs and bed cabinets. Because it is solid and not afraid of insects, it is the most popular wood in the countryside.Coconut husks can be used to make bowls, lamps and spoons, and it is said that they can also be used in the defense industry to make gunpowder, gas masks, the inner wall of submarines, and even cigarette filters are mixed with coconut husk powder.Thais often say that coconuts are more versatile than bamboo, which shows how much they can use coconuts.We imported some coconut seedlings from the Philippines more than ten years ago. The road from Kaohsiung to Hengchun is full of coconut trees. I don't know whether it is a poor variety or improper maintenance. It has not been fully utilized so far. What a pity!Every time I come back from a tired trip in Thailand, the most memorable thing is the coconut water in Thailand. Coconut water is available all year round in Thailand, and it is cheap and good, and it is sold everywhere.Drinking coconut water in Taiwan, how to open the coconut is really troublesome, while selling coconut water in Thailand, first peel off a layer of coconut skin, peel off the top and bottom, like a big rivet, its color is white, stacked in the refrigerator inside.Because the skin has been thinned, the cold air penetrates inside, and it is almost solidified. When eating, cut off a piece at the top, use a straw and an iron spoon, drink the coconut water first, and then slowly dig out the coconut meat to eat.Coconut water is clear and fragrant, sweet as blue, the coconut meat is cold and smooth, soft and fragrant, and the coconut milk has a high sugar content. Although it has not been tested, it may be ten times higher than Taiwan coconut water!I think friends who have been to Thailand, as long as they drink coconut water, they must never forget the taste of the condensed jade liquid! "Durian" can be said to be the most peculiar kind of delicacy among fruits. It is said that once the durian is on the market, the money is tight.People who are afraid of smelling that smell say that durian smells better than chicken manure, and they should avoid it.Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Yangon, and Jakarta in Southeast Asia all produce durians. According to reviews from durian lovers, Bangkok durians are the best, with a strong fruity aroma and the most sugar.Friends in Singapore who love to eat durians, every year when durians are on the market, they always ask their friends in Bangkok to buy some durians and ship them to Singapore. The refusal to ship is a testament to how popular durians in Bangkok are.The main reason why durian is so valuable is that it is very delicate and not easy to cultivate.Its adaptability to soil is extremely narrow, and it must be planted in sashay soil that does not contain the slightest salt but is rich in sulfur. The quality of durian in Thailand is also divided into regions. The soil on the right bank of the Chao Phraya River does not contain salt, so it is called the best durian. It is a product of this area. Experts call it "inner durian";产榴莲叫“外榴莲”，品质甜度就赶不上内榴莲了。三月底榴莲刚刚上市，是隆路有一家大水果行是总批发，街上还没看到设摊贩卖，而他家货架子上，已经林林总总像刺猬一样排满了，论形态有长有圆，讲颜色有棕有绿。舍亲是这家水果行老主顾，而且每年都要大批买了运到新加坡去，所以老板对我们特别欢迎。他知道我对榴莲的品种优劣深惑兴趣，一面挑选，一面不厌其详地跟我说：“榴莲以树熟最好吃，果壳绿里泛黄，用指甲弹敲芒刺，回声发空，果实就成熟恰到好处了。不过榴莲高逾寻丈，榴莲实重多刺，如果让跌落的榴莲打中，果实摔烂不说，人虽不死也受重伤，所以在榴莲成熟前几天，就要雇工猱升采收了。采榴莲的工资特别高，还要戴上特制的头盔，因为果实成熟，一碰就掉落下来，工人若是被榴莲外皮的芒针戳一下，或是被果实击中，都是很严重的伤害呢！榴莲最名贵的品种是'金枕'，泰国人称它为'榴莲之王'，果肉充实细润，味更香甜，因为长得结实，所以成熟得慢，要比一般榴莲晚三分之一时间。每株树上结实又少，所以价格就比别的榴莲贵多啦！泰国几十种榴莲中，'长梗'梗子特别长，'仙桃'水分最高，'水蛙'果肉有类青蛙，特征是纤维细长，'长臂猿'外壳棕色，颜色跟长臂猿毛色相近，'多子王'每粒果肉多达十几瓣，'美玉'肉色晶莹似玉，这些都是榴莲的上品，可惜三月间吃榴莲还嫌早点，再过半个月那些名种珍品才能上市呢！”他给我们一只索价泰币五百铢的榴莲，回来剖开来看，只有五粒果肉，甜香程度，两皆不足，不过总算今年已经尝过鲜了。