Thailand

Food in Thailand for vegetarians

The fame of Thai gastronomy is entirely deserved, with a great diversity of dishes with a predominance of curries, aromatic and mildly spicy, and noodles, a smooth and soft pasta made with rice flour, present in many of the Thai dishes, like soups and stir-fry.

Generally speaking, rice is always present in any home, and it is common to walk the streets of the neighbourhoods to feel the hot smell of cooked rice at any time of the day, which is almost always made in electric cookers, both at home and in restaurants.

Near the markets, or even on the streets of the city, small stalls are selling cooked rice, both glutinous and normal, in small plastic bags, serving as side dishes for curries, stews or fried fish or meat, and sold in the form of small kebabs.

Sticky rice, or glutinous rice, serves as an accompaniment to many Thai dishes, also serving as a dessert, where it is eaten together with pieces of mango, and often drizzled with sweetened coconut milk, making a good combination. In some markets it is still possible to find this type of rice, which after being cooked is introduced into a bamboo trunk which is then grilled over charcoal; it can be just plain rice or mixed with beans, alfalfa seeds, bananas, meat… the choice is always risky because most sellers don’t speak English and even the sounds I try to pronounce to express my choice for vegetarian food are not understood, most of the time.

This type of long grain rice with a sweet taste, originally from the Issan region (northeastern Thailand), where it adapts well to poorly fertile soils, after being cooked it maintains its firm consistency but is easily added which allows it to be dipped in sauces, it is left to soak in water overnight, so that in the morning it is ready to be cooked.

Very popular, especially among foreigners, is the so-called “fried rice” which is nothing more than previously cooked rice that is stir-fry in the wok, with some pieces of vegetables and flavoured with soy sauce and fish sauce. Far from being my favourite dish, I consider the fried rice as “last resort” option, as the vegetarian option don’t show much nutritional value apart from a lot of carbohydrates and fat!!

It can be considered that the curry paste is the basis of almost all traditional dishes of Thai gastronomy, and can be made with different ingredients, but it usually has ginger, garlic, salt, chili, curry leaf, lemongrass… finely crushed and crushed to form a paste to which salt and spices are added that can be kept for several weeks. According to the dish to be prepared there are several types of curry pastes: green, red, massaman, panang… which are sold in the food markets all around the country.

Another constant is the noodle soup, prepared in less than a minute and very popular as street food, where small stalls only need a large pot with a steaming broth, which when uncovered fills the air with soft aromas, which pieces of green leafy vegetables, meat, or tofu are added to the dish, with the addition of fresh rice noodles, which are instantly ready to eat.

MSG, Monosodium Glutamate. This is the true plague of Thai food that competes strongly with sugar, and is present in almost all dishes, both in restaurants and in street food, which consists of a chemical used to enhance the flavour of food, but controversial use as it is not well tolerated by everyone and can cause gastric problems.

The “pad thai” is undoubtedly the most popular, perhaps because it has become popular with tourists and because it is cheap and easy to make, which makes it present in all restaurants, markets or street stalls. based on sautéed noodles with soy sprouts and a few vegetables, and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Despite having an egg, it is a good option for vegetarians, but small dried shrimps often appear that ruin this option.

In general, Thai cuisine is not very “friendly” for vegetarians, as many of the dishes often have pork, chicken or shrimp, including noodle soups that are often made with meat broths; even more difficult is for vegan, where the presence of egg is almost mandatory when ordering something vegetarian.

But in the bigger urban areas, the vegetarian diet is getting popular and with a bit of internet research is not difficult to spot a vegetarian or even vegan restaurant. However, the prices are certainly higher than what you can find in street-food.

Tofu is also a presence in Thai cuisine, certainly an influence from neighbouring China, and is seen as one more ingredient in the local dishes, and not necessarily an alternative to meat or fish.

As most of the food is cooked at the moment it’s not difficult to order a vegetarian version of a dish, yet nothing is a guarantee about the use of some “mysterious” sauces that most of the time contain animal products.

There is no strict timetable for meals, nor a specific type of food for each meal, and a soup of noodles or a piece of fried chicken with rice can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

restaurante de rua em Bangkok que surge diáriamente ao fim do dia dedicada exclusivamente à preparação de um prato feito à base de legumes e de carne ou marisco, que são cozinhados numa chapa aquecida sobre lume forte, enquanto são vigorosamente mexidos e regados com caldos e molhos — street restaurant in Bangkok that appears daily at the end of the day dedicated exclusively to the preparation of a dish made with vegetables and meat or seafood, which are cooked on a heated plate over high heat, while being vigorously stirred and drizzled with broths and sauces

A restaurant next to Ayutaya train station, which in the morning, even before dawn, already serves simple meals, such as soup and noddles and pad thai

uma das muitas sopas de noodles que podem ser encontradas pelos restaurantes tailandeses; esta é uma variante vegetariana com tofu, mas a base é a mesma das tradicionais sopas à base de carne: caldo que está sempre fumegante numa panela ao lume, que é deitado sobre os legumes e onde são colocados os noodles (massa de arroz) que é cozinhada pouco mais de trinta segundos numa outra panela com água a ferver. Tudo isto é feito em menos de um minuto. — one of the many noodle soups that can be found in Thai restaurants; this is a vegetarian variant with tofu, but the base is the same as the traditional meat-based soups: broth that is always steaming in a pan over the heat, which is laid over the vegetables and where the noodles (rice noodles) are placed it is cooked just over thirty seconds in another pan with boiling water. All of this is done in less than a minute.

Uma das bancas de venda de salsichas, e outros derivados de carne ou de peixe, apresentado uma consistência estranha, de textura compacta e cor artificial, mas que, a avaliar pelo numero destas bancas, são bastante apreciadas pelos tailandeses, que as consomem enquanto andam pela rua ou levam para casa juntamente com sacos de arroz, já cozinhado — One of the stalls selling sausages, and other meat or fish products, presented a strange consistency, of compact texture and artificial color, but which, judging by the number of these stalls, are highly appreciated by the Thais, who consume them while walking down the street or take home with bags of rice, already cooked

Em alguns mercados é ainda possivel encontrar leite de coco feito na hora, que é vendido juntamente com o coco ralado resultante do processo de obtebção do liquido — In some markets, it is even possible to find freshly made coconut milk, which is sold together with the grated coconut resulting from the process of obtaining the liquid

Sopa de arroz acompanhada de massa frita, que é um dos tradicionais pratos consumidos pela manhã, mas que tb se pode encontrar em algusn restaurantes ao longo do dia. A base é muito semelhante à sopa de noodles, sendo feita à base de um caldo de legumes, onde é colocado o arroz muito coziso e por vezes ligeiramente triturado, e que pode ser servido com ovo que lentamente cozinha no caldo que é serviso a escaldar — Rice soup accompanied by fried pasta, which is one of the traditional dishes consumed in the morning, but which can also be found in some restaurants throughout the day. The base is very similar to noodle soup, made from a vegetable broth, where the rice is placed very cooked and sometimes lightly crushed, and which can be served with an egg that slowly cooks in the broth that is served to scald

Sticky-rice em bambu; esta é a variante com alfafa — Bamboo sticky-rice; this is the alfalfa variant

Although it is not too cold, this time of year is corresponding to winter, and temperatures drop significantly during the night; and how could it be that chestnuts appear to remember winter in Portugal … but these are smaller and steamed!

pad thai, numa variante feita por mim, nos dias que passei na Giant Gouse, em Chiang Mai; esta tem mais legumes para além dos habituais rebentos de soja, e não tem ovo — pad thai, in a variant made by me, in the days I spent at Giant Gouse, in Chiang Mai; this one has more vegetables than the usual soy sprouts and has no egg

tiras de carne a secar ao sol — strips of meat drying in the sun

Bananas, bananas, bananas.... estão por todo o lado, de diversas variedades, e vendidas frescas, verdes, secas, fritas, assadas.... — Bananas, bananas, bananas… they are everywhere, of various varieties, and sold fresh, green, dried, fried, roasted..

Uma das bancas de venda de "papaia salad" no mercado de Sompet, em Chiang Mai — One of the stalls selling “papaya salad” at Sompet market in Chiang Mai

as the end of the day approaches, many stalls that prepare meals or simple snacks start to appear in the streets

rotee… a kind of crepe, but with a very thin dough based on rice flour, which is stuffed with banana and can be drizzled with chocolate or condensed milk; You can also opt for the vegetarian option. Despite the similarities with the French crepe, this snack comes from Malaysia and most of the sellers who are in Thailand, of Muslim origin

Papaia Salad, feita com papaia verde, cortada em tiras finas, juntamente com cenoura e pepino, e que é envolvida num molho picante feito à base de chili, alho e algusn molhos — Papaya Salad, made with green papaya, cut into thin strips, together with carrot and cucumber, which is wrapped in a hot sauce made from chili, garlic, and some sauces

Um dos muitos caris que a dá fama à gastronomia tailandesa, sempre acompanhados de arroz. Podem ser servidos numa espécia de sopa, em taças e que aos poucos se deita sobre o arroz ou nesta versão, menos liquida — One of the many curries that make Thai cuisine famous, always accompanied by rice. They can be served in a kind of soup, in bowls and gradually poured over rice or in this version, less liquid

Sopa de noodles vegetariana — Vegetarian noodle soup

Caril de marisco, vendido nos mercados para ser consumido em casa ou no trabalho, juntamente com o arroz vendido em doses individuais e embrulhado em sacos de plastico — Seafood curry, sold in markets to be eaten at home or at work, along with rice sold in individual doses and wrapped in plastic bags

How to get a Thai visa in Vientiane… from Chiang Mai

The so-called “visa run” is a classic for travels that choose to stay for a long time in Thailand. But let’s start with what is a visa run?? Running for a visa? More or less!!! Means go to a nearby country, cross to border and come back to Thailand again, preferentially in the same day!!

Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Malaysia are the neighboring countries, but being in the north of Thailand, the easiest way to get a new 60 days tourist visa is going to Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Mae Sai, in Myanmar, is also a popular option but crossing by land only give you 15 days visa (NOTE: since 31^st December 2016, you can get 30 days tourist visa, on arrival, for free).

Step by step… time and costs:

Day 1: from Chiang Mai to Thai Consulate in Vientiane

Bus from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani: 545 baht

The best price is from Phetprasert company (good and comfortable buses), that has several buses leaving during the day, but the best option is the on that departure at 7.30 pm, from Terminal 2 of Arcade Bus Station, otherwise you’ll arrive unnecessarily early to the border.

A VIP bus can cost around 800 bahts and is better to buy the ticket in one of the counters of the Terminal 3.

If you don’t carry much luggage you can go on foot from the old town to the Arcade Bus Station, and it will take you between around 40 minutes walking.

The bus departure at 30 pm and arrive to Udon Thani around 6.30 am. The bus drops the passengers in from of the City Plaza, a modern mall. Watch out because this is not the last stop.
After the bus leave, you’ll see on the other side of the street a kiosk (with Van Station sign) where you can buy a ticket for the mini-van that take you to the border: Nong Khai

Mini-van kiosk at Udon Thani, in front of Central Plaza

The mini-van ticket from Udon Thani to Nong Khai cost 50 baht. It takes 1.5 hours and drops you at the Immigration area.

Thai Immigration at Nong Khai: basically you need to wait on the line and show the passport and the departure card.

If you overstay in Thailand you need to line on the counter on the left and pay the fee (500 baht a day).

After you get the stamp you´ll find a desk outside the room that sells the tickets to a bus that cross the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong. Apparently crossing the bridge on foot is not allowed!

The bus ticket cost 20 baht, and the trip takes about 10 minutes. The bus departure when is full.

The bus will drop you just at the Thanaleng border crossing and you just need to walk a few meters to the Lao Immigration.

Lao Immigration procedures: when you get off the bus you’ll see a counter on your left side, where you can find the immigration form.

For the Lao visa you need:

1 passport photo,
Immigration form,
35 USD (you can pay in baht – 1500 baht – but it will be more expensive). The fee depends on from your country but most of the Europeans countries pay the same. The French citizens pay 30 USD. Check your situation on line.

After you present the document and pay the visa fee (everything in the same counter) you need to wait a few minutes. Every now and then the third window of the counter will open and your name will be called and the passport gave back to you, with a 30 days visa, single entry. A transit visa will cost you the same and will give you more trouble.

Note: the Lao Immigration works from 8 am to 4 pm, so if you cross the border out of this schedule, no matter in which way, you need to pay 1 USD extra.

As soon you cross the border gate, mini-van drivers that take you to Vientiane or directly to the Thai embassy approach you. You need to wait until there at least 3 passengers.

The mini-van trip cost you 25.000 kip or 100 baht (the driver will be happy to receive baht… so don’t rush to exchange money at the border and just wait to arrive at the Vientiane to get a better rate!!!) the trip takes around 30 minutes.

If your trip to Laos is just to get the visa, so is better go directly to the embassy, as it closes at noon.

Consular Section: Monday to Friday

08.30 – 12.00: Application for Visa

13.00 – 15.00: Distribution of Passports with visa

Close on Saturday and Sunday (check also Thai and Lao holidays http://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/en/embassy/calendar.php)

Procedures at Thai Embassy in Laos:

For the Thai visa you’ll need:

2 passport photos
a copy of the last Thai visa and also the page with the stamp of entry in the country
a copy of the Lao visa

At the Consulate the things are a bit chaotic and busy.

As you cross the Consulate Gate you must go first to the building on your left where you can ask for the application form, and where you can also take the copies of your passport: 20 baht each (you can pay baht or kip).

Inside this building there are some desks where a few consular officials can help you to fill the forms and glue the photos… you must pay 4.000 kip for this service, but filing the form has no big issues and you can save time and money doing it by yourself!!!

Note: you must write an address of a place or the guest house where you plan to stay in Thailand… don’t need to make proof of any reservation but you must provide a valid name and an address.

With all this paper stuff ready you need now to join the long queue that zig-zag under the shed, that you see as you come out of the building. This part is fast, as is just the time need to the consular officials check your documents, and give you a number, that you’ll use next day to pick the passport with the new visa stamp, for 60 days with a single entry.

Watch out: when you come off the mini-van, maybe someone forward you to one of the improvised offices where someone fill the form for you, make the copies and arrange everything for you (4.000 kips), even with the promise that paying an extra you can get the visa on the same day… don’t trust in this touts! The consular officials reject the forms that they have… and then you need to do it by yourself inside de consular services.

Exceptionally, from 1st of December 2016 until 28th of February 2017, the 60 days tourist visa is free. http://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/en/news/announce/detail.php?ID=362

Now that you have you have the ticket with the number is time to find a guesthouse, have rest and some food in the sleepy Vientiane.

You can reach the center of the city on foot, which that take around 40 minutes walking slowly.

In Vientiane, you can get a bed dorm for 40.000 kips (Garden Hostel, Sihome), get street food for 10.000 kips and watch the time pass by near the Mekong waters.

Day 2: from the Thai Consulate in Vientiane to Chiang Mai

On the next day, after 1 pm you can go the embassy to collect your passport. The officer behind the counter will calls people by the ticket number given to you the day before. But don’t worry, is ok if you arrive later (2 pm is a good time), as this way you just need to go to the counter and show your recipe, no matter if it already call your number. This is super fast.
Outside de Consulate the mini-van driver will be waiting to take the foreigners back to the Thai border. Again you can pay in baht or kip the mini-van ride: 100 baht.
Arriving at the Lao Immigration you must get your passport stamped.
Take the bus to cross the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge: 20 baht
Fill the arriving/departure card and get your passport stamped with the day that you must leave the country.
After the Thai Immigration procedures, you must walk out the border crossing area, until you pass under a big gate decorated in gold. Many taxi and tuk-tuk drivers will approach you to take you to Nong Khai (if you are going to the south, like Bangkok) or Udon Thani if you are going back to Chiang Mai, for a big amount of money. Ignore them!

Keep walking a bit further after the gate and you’ll see a few tuk-tuk line up on your left (if you arrive at a 7 eleven, you walk too much), behind them is the office of the mini-van company that takes you to Udon Thani for the just 50 baht! Just need to wait a bit, as the mini-vans run every hour.

Thai border at Nong Khai, after passing under this gate you'll fin the mini-van to Udon Thani and Nong Khai Bus Station — Thai border at Nong Khai, after passing under this gate you’ll fin the mini-van to Udon Thani and Nong Khai Bus Station

office of Mini-van from Nong Khai to Udon Thani

Schedule of the mini-van that link Nong Khai border with Nong Khai Bus Terminal and Udon Thani Bus terminal... you dont need to hire one of the expensive taxis or tuk-tuks — Schedule of the mini-van that link Nong Khai border with Nong Khai Bus Terminal and Udon Thani Bus terminal… you dont need to hire one of the expensive taxis or tuk-tuks

Probably you’ll arrive in Udon Thani around 5 pm. At Udon Thani Bus Terminal you need to find the counter that sells tickets to Chiang Mai… the buses departure at:

17.45, 18.45 and 20.45h.

Depending on the demanding you may have the lucky to get a ticket for the first bus… otherwise just need to wait a bit for the next one. There a nice café in the opposite of the entrance of the bus terminal or you can enjoy the air-conditioner of the Central Plaza, a mall very close by.

The bus will pick you at the entrance of the Central Plaza, at the same place where they drop you in the morning of the day before…. just wait there patiently because the bus can arrive a bit later (I wait 30 minutes)…. but no worry because at the kiosk in front (van Station) there a bus company official that can help you.

The bus arrives at Chiang Mai in the next morning, 11 hours later.

And here you are again in Thailand for a couple of more months… and you can even extend this visa for more 30 days!!!!!

Schedule of the bus from Udon Thani to Chiang Mai

Costs of the visa run:

Transportation: 1430 baht (considering not using tuk-tuk in Vientiane)

Sleep: 40.000 kip (dorm with breakfast) (approx. 175 baht)

(The cots of the food in Vientiane are not included as you send more or less the same as in Chiang Mai).

So you will spend minimum 1600 baht plus the 35 USD of the Lao visa.

Bus tickets form Chiang Mai to Udon Thani

How to Apply for Thai visa in Kathmandu

Get the Thai visa in Kathmandu is easy and without big issues!

But you can probably get a visa on arrival for 30 days if you arrive by plane, or 15 days if you arrive by land, totally for free.

The process takes 2 working days, but watch out that during the high season (September and October) it can take up to 5 days. Also check the holiday calendar, as the Thai embassy close during Thai holidays as also the Nepali holidays, and can be closed for several days in a raw like during the Dashain and Tihar festivals. http://www.thaiembnepal.org.np/?do=embassy&index=holidays&lang=en

To apply for a tourist visa (60 days that you can extend for more 30 days during your stay in Thailand in one of the many immigration offices along the country) you need:

Passport valid for 6 months
3 passport size photos
3 prints of the form that you can find online.

You need 3 of these forms, filled with your information and also with an address of the place you gonna stay in Thailand… just put an address of a hotel or guest house that you find on the internet… you’ll also gonna need it to fill the immigration card on arriving at the airport or any land border. http://www.thaiembnepal.org.np/?do=services&index=visa&lang=en

A print of the balance of your bank account.
A Print of passport and Nepali visa
A print of the flight ticket to Thailand. On the website is written that you must have a return ticket but I just show one-way ticket and didn’t had any problem and didn’t even need to justify nothing.

Tourist visa costs: 35.000 rupees. Single entry.

Schedule of visa section

to submit application: 09:30 – 12:00
to collect the passport: 14:00 – 16:00

The visa section is open from Monday to Friday (the Thai embassy don’t follow the Nepali weekend: Friday and Saturday).

visa section schedule of Thai embassy at Kathmandu

Visa application process:

To save from being too long on the line, because there are some guys from travel agencies that arrive with a pile of passports, is better to arrive a bit earlier. I arrive 30 minutes before the opening and I was the first one… but just for a few minutes.

At the counter, you submit the documents and passport.
if everything is ok you’ll need to go to the Bank of Kathmandu to make the payment. The Bank of Kathmandu is located about 10 minutes walking from the Thai embassy. Basically, you go down along the main road (Basbari Road) and when you reach the big junction you must turn right. Then the back is on the first floor of a building located 300 meters ahead,
At the bank you fill a form, and make the deposit in the name of the Thai Embassy… don’t worry because the staff is used to it). Note that you need to pay 100 rupees extras as back fees!
Returning to the embassy you show up the payment recipe (that is also the recipe that you need to show to pick the passport) and it will be stamped with the day when you can pick your passport.

All the process took me one hour including the bank stuff!

If by any reason you cannot pick the passport by yourself, anyone can do it for you as far as it has the recipe, but that person will need to show identification, passport or ID card.

Bank of Kathmandu where the visa fee must be deposited

Address:

Basbari Road, Maharajgunj 167/4 ward 3

http://www.thaiembnepal.org.np/?lang=en

How to go to Thai embassy at Kathmandu:

The easiest way is by taxi, and you can even ask the guy to drive you to the bank and then back… but it can be expensive!

The other was is to pick a tempo, a shared tuk-tuk. The tempos start from Sundara/New Road. The one that goes along Basbari Road is the number 5; sometimes the tempos are identified with nepali numbers… or sometimes are not even identified with nothing, but just ask for “Basbari” and someone will point you a white and green ruined three well vehicle.

At Basbari road you can ask to the tempo driver to drop you close to Thai embassy, that probably the driver knows. From the main road is less that 500 meters until you find the gate.

The tempo takes 20 to 30 minutes to reach Basbari, and the ticket cost 15 to 20 rupees. This vehicles a bit uncomfortable so if possible try to get the front seat…

tempo number "5" that pass by Barbari st. — tempo number “5” that pass by Basbari st.

Bangkok: second round

Uma estadia mais prolongada, uma localização afastada dos locais mais turísticos e mais tempo para deambular aleatoriamente pela cidade, permitiram ter outra perspectiva, e uma melhor compreensão desta cidade de mais de 6 milhões de habitantes, cosmopolita e moderna. Rica de contrastes, onde o novo convive com o tradicional, onde a miséria escurece o brilho da prosperidade.

Calor e muito calor… com a chuva a surgir curta e pontual a deixando um rasto de humidade que se cola aos corpos.

Da rica zona de Siam Square com os seus modernos e reluzentes centros comerciais, até agitada vida nocturna de Patpong, cruzando a movimentada interseção de Phaya Thai com destino à zona de Sukhumvit com os seus escritórios e edificios empresariais, passando pelos habituais mercados e pelas infindáveis bancas de venda de comida que se estendem pelas ruas principais onde arranha-céus marca a paisagem urbana… Bangkok cativou.