Thai Massage has been developed over the centuries from the influence of Chinese’s medicine on Ayurvedic techniques. The doctor for Buddha, Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha is said to have developed Thai message.

Thai message is not like your regular message forms. It is more rigorous and exhilarating.  Generally there are no oils used on you, and you stay fully dressed during the message. You should wear loose fitting clothing to get your message in. And a typical message will last from 60 minutes up to 2 hours. The message is done on a very large mat so to have plenty of room to be moved around.

What is it like to get a Thai message? Well, I have only had one so far when in Thailand. It was included in a package when Ning and I went down to Koh Chang Island. We could get 2 hours worth of Thai message. However, after the first hour I did not go back for the last hour of torture. Well maybe Torture is a strong word, but I did not know that I was as flexible as I proved to be during my first hour.

Will I ever go and get another Thai message? Sure I will, I will say that after my hour’s worth of being stretched and deep muscle messaged, I really did feel very good and even rejuvenated. I was just caught off guard the first time.

If you have any injures at all, you better let the therapist know. You should even tell them of any conditions that you might have also. The message process is very invigorating to say the least, and you do not want to aggravate any medical problems that you might have.

Take a look at the video above to get an idea of what a Thai Message is really like. The therapist here is doing a message close to what I received. As you can see, the message will move you around some.

For more Thai lifestyle posts,  go to Thai street food,  click the link.

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It does not matter what size city that you are in Thailand, you will find Thai street food on every corner and between. A lot of Thai people earn their livings selling street food. It is also very cheep to buy, and very convenient for any one looking to eat.

Street Vender geting ready in the morning

Most Thai’s will stop by and get breakfast and supper from the food stands on their way to and from work. Every morning the Buddhist Monks walk the streets so the Thai’s can offer them food in turn to have the monks bless them. Most Thai’s get the food for them at the food stands. It is already packed up so the monks have no trouble carrying it.

The variety of Thai street food is endless. There really is not a Thai food that you cannot get from one of the street venders. You will find anything from local Thai fruits to just about any cooked dish that you would like.

Out in the countryside you can even run into roadside stands. They can have fruits to cook while you wait food. During one of our trips we found a roadside stand in the country that had live prawn. You picked the one’s that you wanted and they grilled them for you right there.

Here is a tub full of live freash water Prawn

One of the good things about street venders is that you get to see the cooking taking place right in front of you. You know then how clean the kitchen is, right along with the hygiene of the food preparer.

Most cooked food is cooked at a very high temperature so you really do not have to worry about the food it’s self. The thing to watch for is how well the plates and things are washed. You will be able to tell at a glance if you want to eat that a cretin food vender or not.

Behind the sense look at a dish washer.

Lot of the bigger venders will have small area’s so that you can sit and eat right there. The smaller ones are serve and go. These are usually the ones that sell the simple foods.

Eating away at a food venders stand

If you do not like spicy food just say Mai Ped or if you want to ask if it is spicy say Ped Mai. The way to say the two Thai words would be (Mai) = my and (Ped) = pet.
My pet is telling the server you do not want it spicy, and pet my is asking is it spicy.

You will find that some of the best Thai food that you will ever eat will come from a Thai street food vender that is off of the beaten path. I have had some very tasty meals down some old ally in Bangkok.

To go to more Thai Lifestyle post, go to amphawa floating market, click the link.

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During out last trip to Thailand, Ning’s family and I took a trip to Amphawa Floating Market. This place is not too far out of Bangkok. It is in Songkhram Province. The market is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday.

Looking Toward the river

The market is located on a canal that flows in to the Mae Klong River. Ning was telling me at night you could see fireflies. We did not stay till nighttime this time, but maybe next time. Ning said that you could rent a room from a lot of the families that live on the river to find out what it is like to do just that.

You can find just about anything you want to eat at the market. You can find some craft type shops there also.

Four food venders on the canal.

Here in the picture you can see from left to right, a curry vender, desert vender, Grilled Squid vender and a noodle vender.  You place your order on shore and if you wanted squid, they just pass it over for you.

Various food venders

Here is a picture of various food venders. The larger boats are taxi stopping for the people to buy things.

Doug and Ning walking down the shore line.

Ning and I are looking over some plants for sale here.

Coconut vender

Here is a coconut vender selling young coconuts. The milk is very mild and the meat of the coconut is very soft. You can scrap in out with a spoon to eat it. Very good taste and good for you.

You can find just about anything you want to eat at the market. You can find some craft type shops there also. It was a very nice way to spend our afternoon. If you ever are in Bangkok, you should try to get to one of the floating markets that are around. There are a lot of them, so you should not have any trouble finding one.

For another Thai lifestyle post,  go to Thai orange grove,  click the link.

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During Ning’s and my 2008 trip to Thailand, we went to and stayed at a 40 acre orange grove owned by Ning’s cousin. It was about and hour or more north beyond Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is about 435 miles north of Bangkok. So we had a fairly long drive to get there. It is always good to get out and see the countryside in Thailand. There are a lot of sights to see and we stopped at various places on the way for some sight seeing. But that will be another post down the road.

The weather there was really pleasant. During the day it would get up around 85F and at night it would go down to the mid 60’s. Very good sleeping. The morning would have some fog till the sun came out and burnt it off. I like the coolness at night but most of Ning’s family was cold. They all come from around Bangkok that is fairly warmer then up north.

Fog in the cool morning

Where we were staying was out in the country far enough that were was no commercial electric. They had solar panels with 12-volt batteries setup. We also had a generator for lighting for where we prepared our meals.

We sleep in the housing used by the orange pickers during picking season. It was just basic shelter with running water and bathrooms. The showers like a lot of Thai Homes had just very cold running water. So you did not take long showers.

A lot of oranges all most ready to pick

We cooked all of our meals on propane burners. But we as always ate really good meals. Thai food tastes even better out in the country too! Every buddy help and we all had a lot of fun.

Cooking on propane Here you can see where we did all of your cooking.

Meal times were allot of fun. We all pitched in and helped make the food.  This is truly Thai Food at its finest.

Making a Meal

Here they are getting vegetables ready and grinding up ingredients for curry.

Teak trees and Bamboo

This is looking on to the Thai Government land that borders the orange grove. They have planted acres of Teak trees. The tree line in front of the Teak is Bamboo. The water in front is a holding pond to water the orange tress with.

Here is a slide show of one morning going out and picking oranges.  All of the people here are our family and friends. We had a very good time.

When Ning and I do finely move to Thailand to retire, we are very seriously thinking of staying up north in Thailand. It is not as hot as down south and the people there live a more laid back life.

Go to Thai Lifestyle page, click the link.

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