In case you've been wondering what it's like eating lunch in tiny villages in Thailand, here are a few photos of what you might expect. Most of the places I eat on the road are the local equivalent of a greasy spoon, except...healthy. No menus, no English spoken, so you gotta have your restaurant phrases down pat...pat kapao, or khao pat, or pat pak boong, or pat pak met mamuang (pat means "stir-fried" in Thai; awesome bilingual pun, huh?).
Most of these places don't have an "inside" or "outside," no doors or windows, they're just wall-less shacks with tin roofs, but they usually have a bit of decorative flair, like above and below, in the form of rubber pigs in flower pots, or ceramic fish hanging from a tree.
This is the sitting area, which also doubles as the dish drying rack, place where the owner stores her supplies, and...can you spot the King?
This is a non-smoking establishment.
Most importantly, the key ingredient for a successful countryside ran-ahan (restaurant) is a cute middle-aged lady who knows how to whip up wonders on her wok, wearing flip-flops and using a minimal amount of equipment. Seriously, this lady has one knife, uses a tree stump for a cutting board, and her floor is made of dirt. You might think this looks unsanitary, and although you'd be right in suggesting that this kind woman's digs wouldn't pass heath and safety inspections in the US, I can't imagine getting sick at one of these places. The important things (utensils, cutting and cooking surfaces) are kept very clean, as well as hands.
