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young village man wrongly accused by his nosy neighbours, and for his novel Time (1993). The plight of Noi, a widowed fish-gutter, is bittersweetly told in Of Time and Tide (1985), by Atsiri Thammachoat, a journalist and newspaper editor often hailed as Thailand’s ‘bard of the sea’. Writing entirely in English in order to reach a worldwide audience, Pira Sudham captures the struggles of the impoverished northeast in his books The Force of Karma, Monsoon Country, People of Esarn and Shadowed Country. He was born into a poor farming family and was sent to Bangkok to get an education as a temple boy.

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Want to read the Thai prize-winners? Silkworm Books publishes The SEA Write Anthology of Thai Short Stories & Poems.

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Even middle-class Thais put pen to paper during the later half of the 20th century. In Married to the Demon King, Sri Daoruang adapted the Ramakian into modern-day Bangkok casting a middle-class family into the epic’s lead roles. A fine collection of modern short stories by women writers can be found in A Lioness in Bloom, translated by Susan Kepner, which includes helpful cultural and historical notes for context.

Few of the postmodern writers have been translated into English but their subject matter ranges from themes of isolation and modern dislocation to individual perspectives on current events. Prabda Yoon’s short story ‘Probability’ won the 2002 SEA Write award. English-speaking audiences know him best through his screenplay for the Last Life in the Universe and other Pen-ek Ratanaruang–directed films.

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English translations of Thai literature are hard to come by but DCO Thai (www.dcothai.com)offers a respectable reading list as well as instructional books on Thai language.

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The ongoing political crisis has provided Thai writers with an opportunity to tap into the collective psyche. Chartvut Bunyarak explores the political tensions preceding the 2006 ouster of then–prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the short story ‘Thor Sor 2549’ (‘Taxi 2006’), about a customer ejected from a cab for disagreeing with the pro-Thaksin driver. Writer and poet, Siriworn Kaewkan won the government-sponsored Silpathorn Award for contemporary literature thanks to his wordily titled book, roughly translated as Tales from a Scribe that a Storyteller Once Told Him.

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Food & Drink

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STAPLES & SPECIALITIES

DRINKS

WHERE TO EAT & DRINK

VEGETARIANS & VEGANS

EATING WITH KIDS

HABITS & CUSTOMS

EAT YOUR WORDS

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There’s an entire universe of amazing dishes once you get beyond ‘pad thai’ and green curry, and for many visitors, food is one of the main reasons for choosing Thailand as a destination. Even more remarkable, however, is the love for Thai food among the locals; Thais become just as excited as tourists when faced with a bowl of well-prepared noodles or when seated at a renowned hawker stall. This unabashed enthusiasm for eating, not to mention an abundance of fascinating ingredients and influences, has generated one of the most fun and diverse food scenes anywhere in the world.

STAPLES & SPECIALITIES

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Rice

Rice is so central to Thai food culture that the most common term for ‘eat’ is gin kôw (literally, ‘consume rice’) and one of the most common greetings is Gin kôw rěu yang? (Have you consumed rice yet?). To eat is to eat rice, and for most of the country, a meal is not acceptable without this staple.

There are many varieties of rice in Thailand and the country has been among the world leaders in rice exports since the 1960s. The highest grade is kôw hŏrm má·lí (jasmine rice), a fragrant long grain that is so coveted by neighbouring countries that there is allegedly a steady underground business in smuggling out fresh supplies. Residents of Thailand’s north and northeast eat kôw něe·o, ‘sticky rice’, a glutinous short-grained rice that is cooked by steaming, not boiling. In Chinese-style eateries, kôw ôm, ‘boiled rice’, a watery porridge sometimes employing brown or purple rice, is a