Once Upon A Thai In Hawaii.

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A Thai celebration was held this past weekend at the Kapiolani Park across from Waikiki Beach. Though Thais are a small minority in Hawaii, their presence is well felt here as Thai Restaurants are plentiful and prospering in Hawaii. Having been to other states and countries, I know they are also popular there. Not surprising, it is my favorite ethnic cuisine and I love cuisine from almost any country.

I remember my first taste of Thai food, which was the Barbeque Beef Salad. It had a strong peculiar flavor, at first I thought I made a mistake in ordering it. It must have been the fish sauce which kind of made it seem the meat was moldy or something. However, the more I ate it the more I grew addicted to it. My following trips to the restaurants from then on always included that dish. The dishes served in Thai restaurants seems to have a similarity to Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese Foods and much much more.

Thailand and it’s culture has always seemed a paradox to me, and though I know a few Thais, I don’t know them well enough for them to explain it to me. For example it seems to be a heavily religious country based on Buddhism, yet at the same time the most sexually liberal country in the world. Everyone seems to adore the monarchy, yet there exists very strict laws in which you can be arrested for speaking disrespectfully about them. There are fabulous Temples covered with gold leaves, yet many live in what seems to be very squalid conditions and I read that many families do sell their daughters into prostitution in their early teens. However reading tourists accounts of the country it seems it’s a happy paradise and it’s called the Land of Smiles. If anything, I would say Vietnam seems to fit that description more.

At the festival was Thai Dancing and Muay Thai demonstration by a Martial Arts school. Surprisingly there were quite number of female students in the school.

I took the opportunity to slip in some of my shots from a trip I took to Thailand many years back to augment the flavor of this blog.

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