Text 9543, 109 rader
Skriven 2014-02-05 23:28:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: thailand 149
====================
 ML> Interesting thing: the buffet at Le Meridien in Chiang Rai
 ML> was pretty good, but the one at Le Meridien in Chiang Mai
 ML> was nowhere near so good, despite 95% of the offerings
 ML> being the same. There was a curious deadness about the food
 ML> there, as though someone had taken extra lessons on how to
 ML> make food bland for the tourists.
 NB> A bit odd... but a difference in cooks could explain it...  whether or
 NB> not it was truly intentional...  :)

A difference in cooks based on what they were told to do
was my hypothesis. Americans don't like spicy food, that
sort of thing (and is largely true, compared  to local
tastes).

=

 ML> We made up for that later at Chiang Mai, where a Big Mac
 ML> cost B96, or just about $3 - I believe that's sort of average
 ML> in the developed world - so she ate herself silly on them
 NB> Hmmm...  lending credence to the theory that the buffets were
 NB> bland-ized for tourists...  ;)

Maybe. We didn't see a McDonald's in Chiang Rai; she had a burger
there at a place where I had beef jerky curry, though. It tasted
like meatloaf.

=

 ML>> The island, uninhabited, is kind of extraterritorial and
 ML>> claimed by none of the three countries. 
 NB>> So one only can claim to have been in a no-man's land...  :)
 ML> The boundaries do come to a point there, though. It's
 ML> maybe a couple acres, covered with grasses and reeds
 ML> during the dry season, very unimpressive.
 NB> Except for bragging rights, sorta... Like the point at which 4 states
 NB> meet, so by standing there, you can be in all four... :)
 
Pretty much. At Four Corners there's a marker where you can
put your foot down in what is supposed to be four states at
once - but rumor has it the marker was set a couple hundred
yards in the wrong place, but then that asks the question
what constitutes an official boundary anyway, the words in
the legislation or the surveyors' marks. I once looked up
the closest airport to the supposed location, just on the
offchance I might get someone to drive me there, and I think
it was Farmington, New Mexico, but it's been a while, and I
don't really care anymore.

 ML> There are market towns in both Laos and Myanmar where
 ML> one could get the actual bragging rights without pain
 ML> and with moderate expense. The hotel-sponsored tour,
 ML> which cost about 4-5x what the car and driver did, is
 ML> said to have visited these.
 NB> I suppose that tour is for people who actually have money... and the
 NB> hope is that they'll spend nicely at the markets as well... 

Five bucks is a generous day's pay for some of the people,
especially in Myanmar, so it doesn't have to be a big
expenditure. On the other hand, I suspect vast chunks of
foreign exchange go into government hands, which means one
quite dubious one (Laos) and one of the most corrupt and
repressive in the world (Myanmar).

 ML> I actually wondered what would happen back at customs if
 ML> we'd gotten Laos and Myanmar stamps. 
 NB> Are there travel restrictions on those countries at the moment...? 
 
Not at all, but there are certain places where your luggage
is sniffed extra carefully after you go there.

I think that Cuba is the only prohibited country, and even
then it's not difficult to get around the ban. On the other
hand, North Korea isn't strictly forbidden, but it's pretty
hard to get there.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Chutney Rice
 Categories: Rice/grains
      Yield: 4 servings

  1 1/2 c  Rice                                2 tb Oil
      2 tb Sugar; up to 4 Tbsp                 3 c  -Water
      3    Cloves                            1/2 c  Cashew nuts
      2 lg Apples; cooking chopped                  -salt & pepper
      4 tb Raisins; or sultanas

  Mynamar is the present name for Burma to turn this recipe into a main dish
  add cooked chickpeas for vegetarians, cooked chicken or prawns for non
  vegetarians

  Taking first the sugar, vinegar and salt, gently stir them in a pan. Now
  add the cloves, apple and raisin. Next heat the mixture slowly, stirring
  more frequently, and cook it for about 30 minutes or until it thickens.
  Allow to cool a little. Meanwhile, gently heat oil in large saucepan. Add
  the rice and stir for about 1 minute, seasoning with salt and pepper. Then
  pour in the water, put the lid on, and bring to a boil. Now turn down the
  heat and simmer the rice for 20 minutes or until it is cooked as you like.
  When this done, turn the rice into a dish and spoon the chutney over it,
  scattering the cashew nuts on top before serving.

  SOURCE:_The New Internationalist Food Book_ by Troth Wells posted by Anne
  MacLellan

-----

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 Join Us: www.DocsPlace.org (1:123/140)