Thailand Food Tour: Day 1 4 may 2013 . - Bangkok - Nakhon Phrathom and Phetburi

Road to Phetburi

We leave Nakhon pathom at 07.30. It took 2 hours ride to reach Phetburi. Our first destination was Suan tarn lung thanon (Uncle Tanom Fram).

Once we reach Phetburi province territory, we started to see dessert shop which sell kanom morkeang. It is made of eggs, flour , coconut milk and sugar palm The shops sell dessert for souvenir. Thai people who drive pass this town is always stop and buy the dessert for friends and family.

Beautiful bridge on the way to Lung Thanom Farm

Along the way, we can see palm tree grow on the paddle of rice field. Many of them has small bamboo ladder attach. The palm tree perhaps give view, shade and fruit for the rice owner. That was my perception before our first stop.

Palm trees

We arrived at lung Thanom farm around 09.30. We walked along the palm farm to access the land which is 10 rai (3.8 acre) and grow 450 palm trees. Rai is traditional Thai measurement of land area. Distance between tree is around 3.5 wa or 4 meters. We took snap shot of row of palm tree which is nice with beautiful.

Luang Tanom fam

Introduce to Tarn Tanod (palm tree)

Tarn Tanod is the main actor of this tour. It has scientific name "Borassus Flabellifer Linn "

Common name is Palmyra palm or Lontar . This tree like to grow in area that has hot weather . It grow well in sand or Loamy Sand (ดินทรายปนร่วน). If this tree grow in Clay (ดินเหนียว) and close to blackest water swamp, the palm will grow very well and produce the best quality of palm sap , sweet. This tree do not like wet land, dry weather is better for them. It is original from east Africa. Then grow in Sri Lanka before access Thailand and south east Asia.

If there are airplane , palm tree do not need to make many stop over as old day before reach Thailand. :)

Palm Tree

This is un-identify gender of palm tree.

Welcome Drink & Get to know Uncle Thanom

Uncle Thanom welcomed us with fresh palm sap. We set on small pavilion which has all kinds product made of palms. Lung Thanom started to introduce himself and talked to us about his life and how did this project. He was born 4 years before World War II in 1938 (B.E 2481). His father and brothers was involve with palm by selling sap and made palm sugar. But he worked as Kamnam (Title of Village chief ) to serve the public since he was young .

Lung thanom give us overview of his work

Nong Da taste Look tarn ( It is small seed inside palm fruit)

Look tarn which is fresh, the young one has sap inside, sweet

palm sap juice and ice, the best drink ever

Get to know uncle Thanom (ลุงถนอม Lung Thanom )

He graduated just elementary school and after retirement he research and spend time to see what career path that he want to do. He think Thailand is proper for agriculture. In addition, this area has a lot of water, it should be proper to grow some plantation. He studied about lemon, sandle wood, and many kind of plantation. He hope to grow the crop that can bring sustain income stream. But it was not that easy.

Finally, uncle Thanom decided to grow the palm three in 2535 . He remember that day well. It was 12 August 2535. Each year, Thai people know it since it mother day or queen birth day.

Bloom made of palm leave

Dry flower of palm trunk

Learning about palm

Palm is not give fruit or flower if it grow less than 20 years. If you grow with well care with fertilizer, it will start productive at 12 years. Palm life cycle is over 200 years. If you want to cut the palm trunk, the wood is very durable than teak wood. The color of wood of palm is nice and special design.

P' Amnard with full equip and ready to collect palm sap

Work shop

We got to do some workshop after talk session. We separate to 4 group to learn about palm for 5 bases. It started from seeding, harvest, making sugar, squeeze the sap, and cooking dessert.

Seeding

The palm tree has 2 genders. Only female one create fruit. Inside the has shell look similar to coconut but smaller. Soaking the seed is canal for a month. It will start to grow soft root and hairy head. The young palm tree look very funny. It looks like been spouse but bigger size. On the head part, there are hair cover. Plant the palm three in bamboo container with soil. Wait till embryo come out. Then it is ready to grow.

Young palm seed, -- Hairy moster

After leave in bamboo can, it guarantee to grow.

Harvest

Palm tree turn mature at 20 years, then the gender of palm will occur. Male palm has trunk which is look similar of ivory shape. On branch has 3 trunks. Farmer will use only 2 trunks for each branch. Farmer will massage the trunks for 6 times within 6 days. It is kind of like give no warning before crush the sap. This area they use bamboo container to collect sap. Farmers will climb the tree two times a day. The sap can sell as drink or for be a raw material for making palm sugar. Harvest palm sap is more complicate than coconut sap.

After massage the trunk for 6 days, it is ready go give sap

Close up of the trunk which has little flower of palm.

Nong Da, our camera man climb up the first step

Tye and Nong Da are most get to the top

The high of this platform is around 15 meters

keep up the exitment , Tye still can smile.

Sugar making

Cooking well on the stove and stir it since it blend well. It is very similar to coconut sap. But they use less fuel and they use more labor to stir the sap till it turn harder.

Stir for life, You can get muscle from doing it , I guarantee.

Crush palm fruits for kanom tarn

Each day farmer got palm fruit from female Tarn. Peel the shuck, inside appear a strong yellow color of palm spathe. There is fiber and some meat which is soft than coconut. Squeeze this part and leave it for one day, they will get palm meat which has natural yellow color and yeast. They mixed this part with flour, coconut milk and sugar. Once it blend well, put it in small banana leave container and stream it. Yummy.

Palm fruit after pealing the buck

Palm seed

Palm fruit before process

Palm seed in the canal

Yummy Kanom Tarn

Mixed flower for Kanom Tarn

After stream

Our MC

Having lunch at palm farm

We have lunch on the farm. There are three dished selection. One is Keng hua tarn which is highlight It cooked with coconut milk which is so yummy.

Lunch and taking photos

Lung Thanom join us for lunch

Snap shot before leave

Craft work from palm leave

Then, we continued trip to local house which expert in weave craft from palm leave and natural product. We took some work shop making flower and mobile from palm leave and seed. Time fry quick, I finished 4 flowers. It was fun and we got a chance to talk to older generation and we amazing that all part of palm is so valuable. We also amazing that local people really know how to make use of it.

Smaller side of basket

Prof.Yada get good picture of mobile

Basic equipment

Tool for craft work

My trainer and my first flower in last 20 years

Cutting the palm leave

Lamp on sale

Other products which i wish to bring a truck to buy it . So cute

Day Break

We check in at small resort and break for two hours. We slept for a while. It was good relaxing. It will be better if I have Thai Massage for this free time.

Rice field and Palm Trees

Then continue to Tungna patarn at Baan tad. The road to this place is so exotic but it hard to remember since it was too many turns and intersections. We pass rice field, see buffalo and villages. When we arrived the destination, we saw simple dinner table and local people cooking for us. I think tonight it will be a lot of fun. Note, this landscape is amazing and most romantic place ever.

All girl having fun with post for pictures on rice paddle

Pa Chua (aunt Chua)

We met aunt Chua, 79 years old. Every day she climb up 5 palms tree to collect the sap for cooking sugar as her daily life. She was amazing and highlight of this trip. After say hi and talked for a while. Most of us ask about what she did, how old are you, how do you take care yourself and end up by ..Can you show me how to climb the palm tree?... She tough the we want her to climb 5 trees , we said not just one. Then it took her for 5 second she went to the top of the trees . This is so unreal . How can she keep up good health with this age. Moreover, the hospitality and attitude is best. Everyone fell in love with her in a second.

Pa Chue explained her work

Start quick

there she go

Almost reach the top

I can not pictures my health condition when i were 79 years old like her. Keep up good work Pa Chua.

Prof Yada, Pa Chua and me

Local Alcohol

The local demonstrated how to make Krachea (กระแช่), local kind whisky which similar to sake of japans. It is very simple recipe. Krachea made of palm sap and fig tree marinated. Once you drink it, you can tell the latitude of the drink where was it in your body. Professor Oiy said, it should be the about 7-10 degree of alcohol. However, we do not know why it makes people drunk so quick.

pig tree bake on fire before use for Krachea

ready to drink

Soak palm sap inside to pot

Nong Da , Prof Sai and Prof Aoi were curios about Krachea smell

Cooking

The demonstration of cooking Woon tarn (Palm fruit jerry) , it was nice. They are also cook sweet jaw tarn deep fried, This one is a little to sweet for me.

Deep fry Jow tarn Chuam

Dancing and Dinner Time

After that, we enjoy dinner which is both local dish and seafood. The local perform Plang tone (เพลงโทน) , the local music when they hang out during enjoy krachea (local alchohol). Some drink, dance while having dinner.

This is very interesting dinner in a good scenic view which is hard to forget. The more I think of this place, I think it would be a perfect dinner for honeymoon couple.