Muay Thai training is versatile, engaging and dynamic. Depending on your gym, who your teachers are and what their backgrounds are, training routines will vary from gym to gym. However, there are elements that are and should be consistently incorporated into your training programme. The key elements are:

• Warm up / Cool down: The idea is to build up a sweat and prepare your body for the vigorous exercise to follow. It is important to run, skip or bounce on old truck tyres (which is helps improve balance) for at least 15 minutes as a warm up to every Muay Thai training session. A suitable routine of around 15 minutes will prepare your muscles for training. Do not forget to do some gentle warm down exercises at the end of each training session. This will help your joints to remain supple and protect you from injury.
• Running: is essential to develop stamina and toughen the legs. Running is best done in the early morning and should vary in distance day by day. At least one day a week should be a rest day.. Be careful when running on uneven surfaces and wear good shoes. Steadily increase the distance you run each day.
• Skipping: is an integral part of Muay Thai training, it is an excellent in develop stamina and co-ordination. Skip by rounds, keep your mind relaxed and alert. When skipping hop from one foot to the other – don’t bounce on two feet.
• Shadow boxing: is essential to learning the proper Muay Thai technique. Shadow boxing in front of a mirror allows you to observe and correct your movements. When shadow boxing remember to use your full range of movement, do not shorten the punch or kick.
• Free weights: Incorporate the use of dumb-bells into your Muay Thai training routine. It will help to build strength. Lighter weights with many repetitions are best. Free weights work better than fixed weight training machines since they do not limit your range of movement, remember to train carefully to avoid injury. Training with very heavy weights is good for body building competitions, but not usually, the best way to train for a Muay Thai fight.
• Bag Work: Working on the hanging bags builds power and stamina into your kicks and punches. It also serves to toughen your body. Kicking the bags often is the only sensible way to condition (that is de-sensitize) your shins. Aggressive methods of training such as using bottles or other very hard objects to condition the shins are not necessary or recommended and may cause unnecessary injury.
• Pad Work: Full power striking of the Thai Pads is a tough part of Muay Thai training and an amazing workout. Your Muay Thai trainer wears a set of Thai pads, a stomach pad and shin guards which allows you to attack him as if he were an opponent. Pad work will develop your footwork, co-ordination and spatial awareness.
• Sparring: Once you have a comprehensive foundation in place you will be ready to participate in controlled sparring. This will form the major part of your Muay Thai training routine.
• Clinch work: This is a very tough aspect of Muay Thai training. Clinch work involves learning to control your opponent by trying to lock his arms or neck in a clinch. More advanced clinch work will incorporate the execution of knees and throw downs and knocking your opponent to the floor.

Incorporating these elements into you training routine will help develop and improve your strength, techniques, stamina and skill and ultimately a well rounded, balanced practitioner of Muay Thai.

Adjustment of Status is the process to go about getting permanent residence for a Thai loved one. When a Thai fiancee or spouse enters the United States on a K-1 or K-3 Visa, they are considered non-immigrants. In order for the Thai fiancee or spouse to remain in the United States as a lawful permanent resident, he or she must first go through the process of adjusting his or her status.

In a situation where a Thai spouse has entered the US on a CR-1 or IR-1 Visa the Adjustment of Status process has already been completed in Thailand because these two visas are immigrant visas and therefore when a Thai Spouse receives an IR-1/CR-1 Visa at the US Embassy in Thailand, their permanent residence is already secured.

ARE THERE ANY PROBLEMS THAT CAN BE AVOIDED IN GETTING A THAI LOVED ONE’S STATUS ADJUSTED?

One major pitfall that can get people into trouble, but can be avoided is what I call the “Tourist Trap.” I often see people try to adjust a Thai wife’s status from a tourist visa to permanent residence. This can pose a major problem as this course of action can be interpreted by USCIS as an attempt to defraud the Immigration authorities. This is especially the case where a Thai fiancée enters the country, immediately gets married, and files for adjustment of status. Immigration authorities are empowered to impose penalties if it finds that a a fraud has taken place, the penalties could even include prison and possible deportation for the Thai National. Be Warned! If you want to marry your Thai fiancée in the United States it is best to use a K-1 fiancée visa to do so.

WHAT STATUTE DEFINES ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS?

Adjustment of Status is defined in §245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). §245(a) of the INA reads: The status of an alien who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States can be adjusted by the Attorney General, in his discretion and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if:

1. the alien makes an application for such adjustment,

2. the alien is eligible to receive an immigrant visa and is admissible to the United States for permanent residence, and

3. An immigrant visa is immediately available to him (or her) at the time his application is filed.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO APPLY FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS PER YEAR?

US Immigration officials have a quota of how many “green cards” that may be issued to Immigrants each year. However, there is no limit on the number of green cards that can be issued to spouses of US Citizens. An adjustment application can be filed with the USCIS office that has jurisdiction over the district in which the applicant is residing.

I’M WORRIED ABOUT MY THAI LOVED ONE’S ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION BEING DENIED.

Since 9/11 it is less uncommon to see application for adjustment of status denied or stalled. However, with competent legal counsel this problem can be avoided. In the case of a Thai fiancée or wife the adjustment process generally progresses rather smoothly.

USCIS will adjust a Thai spouse’s status when she meets the statutory requirements and no “negative factors” exist that would preclude adjustment. When a “negative factor” is found the USCIS officer will look at the case to decide if there are “positive factors” present to offset the “negative factors.” Close kinship (for our purposes: the Thai spouse is married to a US citizen) is a very strong “positive factor” that will only be overcome by a VERY strong “negative factor.”

Using a tourist visa to get a Thai fiancée or wife into the US to Adjust status could be viewed as a “negative factor” and be used as grounds for denying an adjustment application.

DOES MY THAI FIANCÉE OR WIFE NEED TO STAY IN THE US WHILE THE APPLICATION FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS IS PENDING?

A Thai Spouse who enters the United States on a K-3 Visa can leave the country without affecting the status of her pending adjustment of status application. So, if she needs to return to Thailand and subsequently come back to the US it is not a problem on the K-3 Visa, because the K-3 is a multiple entry visa.

A fiancée/spouse who enters the United States on a K-1 Visa does not have the same privileges as a Thai spouse holding a K-3 Visa. 8 CFR §245.2(a)(4)(ii) states that a Thai fiancé/ fiancée who leaves the US while the adjustment of status petition is pending shall be found to have abandoned the petition and the process must be restarted.

A Thai fiancée/spouse, in the US on a K-1 Visa, may obtain an advance parole travel document before departure from the USA. A Thai spouse with Advance Parole will not be deemed to have abandoned a pending Adjustment of Status petition.

WHAT IS MY THAI SPOUSE’S STATUS AFTER ADJUSTMENT?

Once the Adjustment of Status application is approved the Thai spouse is deemed a conditional permanent resident for two years. Ninety days before the second anniversary of the approval of Adjustment of Status, the US Citizen may file to have the conditionality of the Thai spouse’s permanent residence lifted. From this point forward the Thai spouse’s permanent residence is not based upon their marriage to the US Citizen.

Thanks for reading,

Benjamin W. Hart, Esq.

Nothing in this article should be construed as a substitute for individual legal advice from a licensed legal professional in your jurisdiction.

Here are some very useful Thai words and phrases that will help you get around a lot easier on your holiday to Thailand, please give it a go as it makes the holiday much more fun and the locals appreciate it. Learning Thai language for your vacation can also save you allot of money, for example if you use your new language skills getting in a taxi the driver will automatically assume you have been in Thailand before and wont be tempted to try it on with you for fear of losing face.

Good Morning ______ Aroon sawad

Good Evening ______ Ratree sawad

Thank You ______ Kob Khun

Goodbye ______ Lakon

I will be seeing you ______ Pob kun mai

How Much? ______ Taw rai

What is your name? ______ Khun chuu ara

Never Mind or No problem ___ Mai pen rai

What is it? ______ Arai na

Where is the Toilet? ______ Hongnam yu na

Expensive ______ Peng

Cheap ______ Took

Big ______ Yai

Small ______ Lek Lek

Many ______ Mak mak

When using public transport in Thailand here are some more useful words and phrases that will help take a stress free journey

Tell me when we get there ____ Bok duay

I carn’t speak Thai _____ Phud Thai mai dai

Please turn right _____ Liaw kwa

Please turn left _____ Liaw sai

Go straight _____ Trong pai

Stop here _____ Jod duay

Stop there _____ Jod theenan

I want to go to _____ Phom ja pai

I hope this information helps you have a great time and makes things a little easier, while you are journeying around beautiful Thailand.

There are many foreigners from almost every country across the globe living in Thailand. Many of them try to learn Thai, and most are disappointed in themselves after even a sustained effort at attempting to master this very difficult language. Speaking, writing, and reading Thai is difficult for foreigners, there is no doubt about that.

It is humorous that, as visitors to Thailand we also look around at the level of English spoken by Thais and marvel that they do not seem to grasp it and speak at a higher level than they do. It really is not so puzzling when considered in reverse – visitors can usually speak no more than a few words, or at most two or three sentences in Thai. Even then, they probably are not speaking Thai correctly with the proper tones and respect.

The Thai alphabet has thirty-two vowels. Does that sound like a lot when compared to the English language having five? To me it does! In fairness, there are only twenty basic vowel sounds, which does sound a little more manageable.

Most students of Thai start out learning by speaking Thai because it is actually easier to progress a little bit than it is reading and writing it. This is the wrong way to go about learning Thai because the intricacies of pronunciation must be learned early on if you are to have any success. There are sounds used in the Thai language that have no equivalent in English… sounds like: ng, dt, dth, neu, and many more that require repetitive practice and ideally, evaluation from a Thai native speaker.

Recommendations for learning Thai language:

1. Find a very good book to help you learn the Thai alphabet and learn all the consonant and vowel sounds before anything else. A good book will have the Thai characters matched up with photos of some other scenes that are familiar to you. Many foreigners are using the proven, “Learn the Thai Alphabet in 60 Minutes” eBook which I mention in a link below.

2. Ask a native Thai speaker to teach you the nuances of these sounds that are sure to be new to you.

3. In addition to learning the Thai alphabet, write down pneumonic hints that will help you with pronunciation when you are studying Thai on your own. Record your learning sessions so you can play them back and learn during non-class time.

4. Study daily, and practice speaking words and sentences to Thai people often.

5. Learn to read Thai signs – this will help you save money, and find stores and restaurants you are looking for much more quickly.

6. Download some free podcasts from the Apple iTunes store. There are a couple that are right on and help a lot because they are created by Thai people explaining how to speak in Thai.

Good luck with your Thai language learning, remember, it is practice that counts more than anything.

Warning: If you do not have a sense of humor, do not read this Thai Massage article. Read at your own risk!

Recently I checked out the website of a major US Thai Massage association (I won’t name them here) to find out what it takes to publish an article on their site. I enjoy writing articles about Thai Massage and have been doing so for years. I publish them on three of my own healing arts websites and they have been republished by hundreds of other websites. After practicing and teaching Thai Massage in Thailand and other countries for 12 years and running an online Thai Massage video training school, I have lots of interesting topics to share. So I naively thought that those credentials would get me a foot in the door.

Now back to the website of the Thai Massage association. Their rules state that the article cannot appear anywhere else, that they have the rights to the article, that I have to submit proof who I have studied Thai Massage with, plus I have to submit evidence that I had a certain amount of study and practice hours, and at least one of my massage teachers has to be approved by them as a qualified teacher by their standards.

I almost fell off my chair when I read that and decided to pursue different venues. Too much trouble in my opinion. But it is their site and their rules, and they can make up whatever rules they like. I have no issue with that at all.

You see, I live in Thailand, and we don’t have so many rules here, and if there are too many or too complicated rules, nobody will bother to follow them anyway. They call it sabai sabai or maipenrai, roughly meaning “take it easy”, “it’s cool”, “everything is okay”, or “no worries mate” if you live in Australia. I find that much easier to live with, but that is just my personal perspective.

But here is the funny thing: If those same rule-obsessed Westerners come to Thailand, suddenly everything changes. They ask their favorite Thai Massage therapist where she learned all this good stuff. When she tells them that she learned it from her grandma, the westerner will nod appreciatively and admire grandma’s skills.

My most important Thai massage teacher is quite a genius. He is intuitive, somewhat psychic, highly creative, and all around very good at what he does. But he is also quite odd, at least from the western perspective. Class is supposed to start at 9 am, but might actually start at 9.30 or 10 am or whenever he feels like. Then the teacher will chant mantras for another half hour and then proceed to dispense his wisdom via extended talks about his views on life.

When all is said and done, he will take a cigarette break right in the classroom, and then finally get around to demonstrating the massage therapy techniques. He will keep smoking and even take naps when he feels like it. But whatever you think, he is one of the best Thai Massage teachers and many students come back year after year to study with him. Well, there are a few who freak out and can’t handle it. It’s their loss.

This isn’t the US of A here, it’s a different world. If you try to apply your standards of how you think things should be, you will be in trouble because things here are the way they are here and not how they are elsewhere. What was that saying again? “When in Thailand do as the Thais.” But I think the Romans have a trademark on that saying.

So those rule obsessed Westerners have no problem with their grandma-taught therapist and their chain smoking and story telling master teacher in Thailand (and don’t get me wrong, he really is a master teacher). But now let’s turn the tables. If I show up in the West and tell people that I can do a great Thai Massage because my grandma taught me well, they will call the police on me and throw me in the prison cell block which is reserved for those who dare touch anyone without the proper documentation, licencing, training, CEUs, disclaimers, insurance, and various paid up professional association fees on the state and national level (did I forget anything?)

Even if I do manage to set up a Thai Massage class in the West (which of course I am well qualified to teach), and I show up an hour late, tell lots of wise stories (at the expense of teaching time), puff cigarettes in the classroom and nap once in a while, I would get thrown out of the facility, all students would demand their money back, and they would sue me for tactile malpractice (a serious offense).

So as you can see, there is a quite a double standard in the Thai Massage world. But variety is the spice of life, and I stay safely on my side of the fence here in Thailand. Maybe you should visit too. Chances are you will have a great time!

Are you an American or European traveling to Thailand on vacation? Would you like to meet and date a beautiful girl while you are here? It is very easy to do this without knowing the girl prior to coming to Thailand although it does help if you have exchanged pictures or talked to them online first. Using a Thai dating site is typically your fastest and best option to meet Thai women and get the ball rolling prior to touching down in Bangkok.

If you don’t have time to meet a Thai girl online before traveling to Thailand, all is not lost however and it’s still easy to meet beautiful Thai ladies. And I’m not talking about paying money to “professional” bar girls either. Leave that to the fat old men. If you are even remotely good-looking and dress at least a little bit nice, it’s easy to meet real Thai women that want to date you.

The first secret is what I just hinted at. You have to dress for success! Many times I see the Western hippy traveler with dreadlocks and 3 day stubble. This might work for them and perhaps they aren’t looking for a legitimate Thai girl to be with…But if you are, you might want to pack some nice pants and some dress shirts to go out in while out on the town. This goes not only for meeting women in Bangkok but also meeting women in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Lampang and every town and city in between.

Thai ladies are attracted to people with status and authority. Note, I’m not saying they are attracted to money! This is a false accusation portrayed by sex tourists. Real Thai women don’t necessarily care much if you are rich or just a regular guy. The key is, they want a man they can respect. And by looking like a respectful man, you are already halfway there!

Next, is finding out where available women can be met. Obviously, you can meet them anywhere! But if you are strapped for time, you can often find girls that are easy to approach in bars and clubs found all over the country. It also helps if you’ve had a few Leo beers to muster up that courage. But keep in mind, there are both legitimate and “working” girls here. The key is being able to figure out who is who. I’ll tell you how you can easily spot real Thai women in an upcoming post.

The bottom line: When you come to Thailand, be prepared to meet many beautiful Thai ladies that honestly want to be your girlfriend. Enjoy the trip!

Advance Parole is a term in the Immigration field that basically means, “permission to leave and return to the USA.” This travel document is important because a Thai fiancee cannot depart and reenter the US without obtaining this document before she leaves. Immigration officials will presume abandonment of US residence if someone leaves the US after entering on a K1 Visa. Thus, if your Thai fiancee enters the country on a K1 Visa and then leaves she will not be allowed back into the US on that K1 Visa. The whole process must be restarted from scratch.

ADVANCE PAROLE AND ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR A THAI FIANCÉE

The question of Advance Parole often arises when a Thai fianee wishes to return to Thailand while her application for Adjustment of Status is still pending. The problem is that the visa will be considered abandoned by USCIS as well as the application to adjust status so once again this leaves the Thai fiancee outside of the country with no visa to get back in. Advance Parole is crucial if your Thai fiancee wishes to leave the US no matter what stage of the process her Adjustment of Status petition is in. Once she has obtained Permanent Residence she can leave the country and return, but until then it is wise for your fiancée/wife to stay in the US.

ADVANCE PAROLE AND K-3 VISAS?

A Thai spouse present in the United States on a K3 Visa is able to depart and reenter the US without an advance parole travel document because the K3 is a multiple entry visa.

THE HONEYMOON AND A THAI WIFE: ADVANCE PAROLE TRAPS TO AVOID

How does Advance Parole becomes an issue for some American/Thai couples? The answer is simple: the Honeymoon. For those wishing to travel outside of the US the necessity of advance parole can either postpone or cancel a prospective honeymoon. This is better than the alternative: leaving the United States only to find out that your Thai fiancee, now wife, cannot reenter the US. Some people have asked me if they can take their Thai spouse to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Although both of these locales, along with Guam and a few other American possessions, are under US jurisdiction there is some legal question as to whether going to one of these places constitutes “leaving the country” for immigration purposes. I believe that going outside of the 50 US states when the adjustment of status is pending is an unwise decision. Puerto Rico is technically another country, although a country in a perpetual union with the US, and now anyone traveling between the US and Puerto Rico has to go through customs. As a result, it is prudent to simply avoid travel to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands until such time as your Thai spouse’s Adjustment of Status is complete.

Thanks for Reading,

Benjamin W. Hart, Esq.

The information imparted herein is intended for informational use only and should not be used as a replacement for competent legal advice from a professional.

For centuries the Thai people have been using dried herbs to treat many different aliments in the body. One of the best types of treatments for muscle and soft tissue pain is used in the form of a herbal compress. For centuries this ball was typically used on soldiers returning from battle to get immediate responses to inflammation from wounds and injuries. It was also used for treating soreness and pain from tired, achy muscles and joints.

Now, they are used in many forms around the world. In north America we typically see them being used for personal use as home remedies for treatment of small wounds, inflamed joints or even menstrual cramps.

For years spas in Europe and more recently in North America, have been using the power of the herbal compress to lure clients into an ancient world of the past, surrounding them with rich enticing aromas and deep moist heat that alleviate stress from everyday living.

Massage clinics have also started treating clients with the herbal compress, using them in Thai massage treatments. This is great for the removal of toxins during inflammation, improving muscle tone tension, and easing aches and pains from many conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia and soft tissue injuries.

In Thailand the typical compress is created using traditional herbs commonly grown in Thailand. These herbs have both medicinal and aesthetic uses and are absorbed into the body through the skin and nose. Of course the herbs themselves can be ingested as well but when used in a compress there is no need for ingestion. All three methods allow the medicinal properties of the herbs to have profound effects in body.

A poultice is similar to the compress but is usually used as a home remedy. To make a poultice for home, one would need the herb or substance of choice, say oatmeal, place it on a square of material, wrap it up, heat it, and place it on the area for relief. Some poultices can be used for extended periods, for example the Castor oil wrap. These types of wraps can be left on over night and kept in the fridge or freezer for future use.

Prepackaged compress balls are great for use in spas or clinics. They can be purchased in a multitude of recipes but the basic Thai compress can treat a variety of conditions. Typically, they are steamed and applied to the client either on the skin directly or through the clothes.

Some spas use the compress in their heated body treatments that involve massage techniques, and oil. In clinics, the massage therapist would press the heated compress into the muscle belly and over the joints allowing the heat and the herbs to be absorbed deeply into the tissue. When being steamed the pouch reveals an intense and pleasing aroma that is inhaled through the nose while breathing deeply during the treatment.

This ancient treatment tool has come a long way. The herbal compress is becoming a staple in homes and professional settings around the world. It’s has many uses and the affects are amazing!

If you happen to know somebody who’s Thai or have been to Bangkok, Thailand, you must have heard of this tonal language. Most of the time people think this language is some version of Chinese. The only thing that makes you think it is Thai is that you are in Thailand. You are not that far from the truth indeed as the Thai language originated from the Kradai language, which is said to have originated from what is now Southern China. It is also mutually intelligible with the Lao language.

The Thai language, being the official language of Thailand, is spoken by about 65 million people. Some of these include those that speak the dialects of Khorat Thai and Bangkok Thai. Although most of the Thai people can speak good English and you can survive in the country using the English language, the Thai people would like you more if you could converse with them in their own tongue.

Thailand is also a great place to shop. If that is your main reason for going to Thailand, you will surely end up getting good bargains when you know how to haggle using the Thai language. Here are some tips on the right way to learn the language:

It is best if you expose yourself much to this language. Since it is tonal it means you can learn one word and use it with different pronunciations to mean different things. The language has five tones such as the mid tone, high tone, the rising tone, the low tone, and the falling tone. It may be hard for an outsider who is learning the language but Thai people are also good in discerning the language through context. Unlike in some languages whose native speakers are intolerant of those who are learning their national language as the second language, Thai people understand and give a lot of leeway for mistakes for foreign learners of the language.

When you speak in the Thai language it is best that you do it with confidence than do it slowly and with hesitation. When you do it that way it will distort the tones, making it hard to understand the language. They say that you will know if you are making progress in your Thai language learning when a native speaker tells you that you speak Thai clearly, instead of saying you speak it well.

It would help a lot to learn the language if you listen to the sounds of it most of the time. Surely you can’t be with a Thai or be in Thailand the whole length of time you are learning the language; the closest thing to it would be to listen to a Pimsleur Thai language learning audio on your iPod. Pimsleur’s manner of language training is gradual and done through exercises that you can access on your portable device. So start learning the language even while you are caught in a rush hour traffic.

Menus in Thailand

The most common words on the Thai menu include kai (egg), gai (chicken), moo (pork), nua (beef), and pet (duck). Dried beef and pork have a particularly strong flavor.

Thailand is particularly renowned for its fish and seafood dishes, though if you are dining some distance from the sea, bear in mind that river fish might be fresher. Popular seafood includes gung (prawn),pla (fish),plakapong (sea bass, a great favorite),plamik (squid), hoi (shellfish), hoi kreng (cockles), aharn taley (seafood), and boo (crab).

Among the vegetables you will find ham (onion), (mushroom), pakad ham (lettuce, which should be avoided unless you know it has been washed in clean water), makeyatet, tomatoes, and prik (chili). If you want food that is not too highly spiced, say, “mai sai prik”-“don’t add chili.”.

Typical Thai Dishes

Thai dishes use all the ingredients specified above, to which they add various flavors, notably garlic, coriander root, black pepper, lemon grass, ginger, and chili. Here are some of the most common dishes. Geng ped (curry), and geng ped gai (chicken curry). You may need to differentiate between geng pet kiau (green curry) and geng pet deng (red curry). Geng mussaman will be a Malay-type curry common in the extreme south of Thailand. Geng jert is soup. Again, you need to specify. Geng jert nua is beef soup. It is often served in metal vessels with charcoal underneath to keep the soup hot.

• Tom yam is a hot, spicy soup. This is one of the most popular dishes in Thailand, especially tom yam gung (spicy prawn soup).
• Kau pat (fried rice) is a popular one-dish meal, and can be served with almost anything. Kau pat moo is pork-fried rice. Cucumber and spring onions usually accompany the dish.
• Kwitiau (noodle soup) is of Chinese origin and found on many a noodle stall. It is sometimes eaten with chopsticks. Bami are noodles, and come in various shapes and sizes.
• Bami lad na gung is prawn cooked with noodles, and is a meal in itself.
• Meekrob (crispy noodle) is also worth trying.
• Tawt man pia or tawt man kung (fish or prawn cakes) are interesting, chewy dishes.
• Yam (salad) is much spicier than the Western type of salad, and should be sampled only by the more intrepid visitor.
• Kau sooay (plain rice) is usually steamed, delightfully fluffy, and of high quality. This is the staple food of Thailand, and the Thais eat it with virtually every meal.
• Kau niau (sticky rice) is a speciality of the northeast, where it is sometimes cooked in banana leaves.
• Potatoes (man farang) do not feature in Thai cooking, being rather expensive, though they are served with Western- style food or sour fish).