ก๋วย เตี๋ยว

We found a shop not far from our house that makes the best ก๋วย เตี๋ยว (kuay tiaw). It's similar to the Vietnamese soup, Pho, except we like it with egg noodles and David likes to put tomatoes in there too (Lao-style). It's a family favorite.

So, notice the cups? Every time we go I comment to David how much I like them. They are solid, they don't break, they don't have little parts, and it's fun to drink cold water out of a metal cup. So last time we were there, we asked the ladies where they got the cups and right away they asked if we'd like them to get some for us next time they went to that market. We said sure and "ordered" four.

That's one of our favorite things about Thailand. It's kind of hard to put into words but if I had to choose one word, it would be "flexible". When I think of the US, things just seem so much more set in stone. It would be a much bigger deal to figure out who purchased the cups for the restaurant and then to actually track down the cups. Plus, it would be almost unheard of for the person to offer to buy some for you the next time they were at that market, and then not require payment up front.

Of course there is a positive side to the way things are in the US: everything is pretty predictable. You can count on things unfolding in a certain way and the laws are pretty clear. For now though, we are enjoying the flexibility here in Thailand.