I would be the first person to admit that I'm not a great fan of Thai food. That's not to say that I dislike  Thai food as there are many dishes that I really enjoy especially in North-East Thailand. My dislike and I must say its only a mild dislike is that  I reside for the vast majority of the year outside of Thailand and tire of the prattle and bull that goes on about the food that has become such a sensation around the world. For example -"The fragrance, the colour and the affect on your palate blah blah blah is heavenly". In the final analysis, Thai food  is as the English would say , just "nosh".

To me the personal enjoyment of eating and drinking in Thailand is more about the atmosphere than the food itself. To illustrate this point, I find that the eating of Thai food say in Australia to be a rather bland affair. For instance Restaurants  in Australia often make boasts such as  " Our Chef used to cook at the Dusit Thani Hotel". In the main these claims might be  true, with the food invariably delicious but again the atmosphere tends to be  wanting.

In a perverse way I've often thought that if money grew on trees I would open a themed Thai Country restaurant in Australia. The restaurant would have to cook "authentic" Thai food but it would be the props that I would focus on. The plates and cutlery would be cheap metal, the napkins ridiculously small and pink and in the background would be a continuous soundtrack with the sounds of people shouting, laughing and the buzz of two stroke motorcycles. I fully concede that my themed non-air-conditioned restaurant would go broke in a month - but its nice to dream.

I appear to be getting off the subject of this page but wanted to emphasise the importance of both location and atmosphere whilst indulging in Thai food and drink. As any guide book will tell you - food is very important to the Thais. Inveterate snackers both at home and about it usually only takes two people to get together before a gas or charcoal stove is fired up and food being prepared. The beer and whiskey bottles are opened in concert with flames erupting under a Wok and ingredients being thumped by mortar and pestle. In what can be described as a matter of minutes, a delicious meal has been prepared. Friends and neighbours soon appear and hey presto a party has started.

Of course food preparation is not necessarily hard work as seemingly 80% of small business appears to be devoted to food and its preparation. Markets in both villages and towns sell an endless array of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat fish and poultry and an endless array of condiments. The prepared food is genuine "fast" food and in the villages can be bought for a few baht. One of the things that I miss when we return back to Australia each year is the easy availability of food and the relaxed atmosphere in which it is consumed.

And finally on the subject of food one of the things that has touched me over the years especially in Ban Phutsa and all round Isaan is the hospitality of the local people. Over the years I have been invited many a time to share a meal, often by total strangers in villages and at temple ceremonies. The only time I refuse (always with a smile) is when its offered on public transport just in case somebody is trying to "nobble" me.

But from here I turn my attention to alcohol. It would be a classic understatement to say that Thais enjoy a drink. It would be pretty rare especially in day to day life not to come across somebody quaffing a glass of whiskey or a beer. Whiskey is still the favourite tipple although beer is fast closing the gap in popularity. Well before I arrived with my ugly face in 1981 many villagers used to make their own whiskey (which was illegal) and many poorer villages still possibly do today. During my first visits a brand of whiskey called Mekong dominated much of the countries liquor trade. Of course in poorer areas of Thailand such as Isaan a much cheaper brand of  local whiskey nicknamed "Whiskey SiSip (40 degree whiskey" was popular. This brand which can still be bought today and is popular with older drinkers has the taste and strength of paint stripper. But there again on several occasions I have been out in the rice fields and seen a farmer gulp down one or two glasses (its definitely not a sipping whiskey) of the white spirit during the lunch break and then go out to the fields and labour for the rest of the afternoon.

In the earlier trips I found that beer was always available up in the country but most Thais didn't drink it as it was relatively expensive. In contrast over the past five to seven years the popularity and consumption of beer has soared due to increased disposable incomes and the advent of budget brews such as "Beer Chang" which is very popular. Singha beer which is an original is still popular and of course at the top end of the market are foreign beers such as Heineken (my favourite in Thailand) which is now brewed in Thailand.

But at the end of the day as with food its the attitude and atmosphere linked with the drinking of whiskey and beer in Thailand and in particular in Isaan that's important. One of the global tends in the past decade is that many countries with expanding economies/standard of living (including Thailand) are consuming larger amounts of alcohol per capita. The downside of course is that a lot of societies are experiencing large levels of alcohol fueled violence.

Thailand has always bucked this trend and its possible to drink and enjoy yourself without worrying that somebody is going to try and "kick the shit" out of you. To sum up , in the same way as their religious and social habits, the culture of eating and drinking is truly a window on the Thai spirit.