Goerwitz

I took this shot because I just like the Phetchabun Mountains, and I like the courtyard of this particular restaurant. Note that none of the structures, despite being up in the (generally cooler) hills, require much in the way of walls. Herbs grow around back and are picked as needed for cooking. Banana trees grow out front (behind me).

Roofs are thatched often, as in this picture (left). But increasingly you see roofs made of simple corrugated metal (straight ahead). In Thailand there is little need for insulation. Anything that lasts well, looks passable, is cheap, and sheds rain is fine.

Thai food is very good as a general rule. The really remarkable thing, though, is that it's good everywhere (even in an area a bit off the beaten track, like this). And it's generally pretty good for you, i.e., nutritious. Although all Asians, including Thais, eat more meat now, traditional Thai food tends to use meat more as an accent, with lots of rice, noodles, and/or vegetables. Very healthy. Gout friendly.

This restaurant picture reminds me also of the Thai custom that whoever invites pays. So, e.g., if you are asked by a Thai family to come to a restaurant, they pay. Sometimes you can finesse this if you are older than your hosts or a lot more wealthy. Thais think hierarchically. They even have different forms of address for people older or younger than them. Personal pronouns vary depending on the relationship between speaker and listener, and the gender of the speaker. Anyway, one of the first things you do when you know you'll meet a Thai is find out how old he or she is, how well connected they are, and how much money they make. It's not considered rude to do this sort of investigation, or just ask the person up front, because these facts are crucial in determining relative status. (If you're dealing with a woman, sometimes the age thing can be dicy, so what you do is tell your age first, then let her address you, which will tell you whether she is younger or not.)

When it comes to paying there are also, we discovered, various ruses you can use, like saying you're going to the bathroom and then sneaking off and paying. This is actually kind of fun, and although slightly naughty, totally OK. By doing this, you basically make it impossible for your host to pay. There's nothing, in other words, he or she can do if you pull a stunt like sneaking off and paying. So they don't feel they've failed to fulfill their social obligations.

It took us quite some time to figure this out, but only a little time to figure out that if you try to offer to pay up front, you'll be unceremoniously turned down most of the time. In fact your hosts will become annoyed if you press the issue, so don't. Thais are extremely generous.