wattumsea

When I put a green, it is not grass. When I put a blue, it is not the sky
Matisse

We had our first nibble of Thai hospitality 24,000ft high. Just after midnight and above a black Arabian Sea, we ate a surprisingly delicate dish of chicken over rice, with juliennes of vegetables, followed by a mousse of cream and lemon. Airline food is generally avoidable, but there couldn’t possibly be bad Thai food. Whether in the Airbus, the by-lanes of Patong at four in the morning or the fantastic hotels of Krabi, Thai cuisine is so good you can’t ruin it. My journey through southern Thailand was a gastronomic revelation that left lingering tastes and memories, of lemongrass and shrimp, cuttlefish, tom yum, mushroom and Thai chilli. Clear broth and pale colours drew you in deceptively, but they had a thin, sharp tongue that you’d be aware of only a few spoonfuls down. Slivers of ginseng, little cups of rice, whole fish steamed so lightly it would shiver on your plate and melt in your mouth.

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