We were following the orders of tour organizer. I always like to plan my trip myself and love to explore the unknown places. The idea behind this is to discover the place and understand the culture, tradition and scrutinize something which is not catchy at first glance. This time I was forced to opt for a package trip since there was no other option available.

We were always tempted to spend more time at some place and look for something more interesting. Since we were in group we had to suppress these thoughts. Many times we felt that we could read each others mind at incidence of tour guide's order, we looked at each other and smiled.

Most of the tourist attractions were conquered in the short interval of time. Two days in Bangkok passed faster then our calculation. In evening when we were set to return back to hotel tour guide announced that following day we will drop you in center of city and you all will be on your own.
We were waiting for it and accepted this with alacrity.
Morning we landed in the center of city. Our area of interest was not mall and shopping but to find something traditional. Hence we inquired for the market where street vendors are more. We were in the middle of some discussion for our next target when suddenly my eyes got caught in one of the very colorful and attractive street shop. We didn't gave any other thought and moved toward this street seller where our taste buds were tingling me making me feel that we are going to eat something really delicious. And we were never wrong.

What is this? I asked. This is "Thai Salad" she replied. She was busy in preparing salad for other customers. We also tried to observe how she is preparing it. We paused for some time and then asked her again .
"How much is this?"
She replied
"50Baht for green mango Salad and 90 baht for green mango salad with crab."
I was trying to read the faces of people who were enjoying this delicacy. Which combination will be better? I was thinking. We both are crazy to find new dishes and savor it, we didn't find difficulty in coming to a decision. We ordered two green mango + crab salad assuming that uncooked crab smashed will definitely enhance the taste.
The seller started preparing for us. She took 4-5 red hot chilli in the beginning and tossed it in a wooden vessel. ( in picture it is kept beside her). I want more chilly, a request came and before it can reach the seller I suppressed it immediately telling that let her prepare in her own way, else we will not get the real taste.


It was fast. Green mango, many different sauces, tomato and many more got smashed in her wooden pot. Then one black crab was also tossed in the same vessel when other hand was doing the smashing job using a thick cylindrical wood. We were eager to taste it.
Sooner we got the salad in our hand. Mouthwatering yummy smell was flowing in the air.
The first spoon in my mouth left me in the unstoppable vibrating taste which passed electrical pulse throughout my body. The electrical pulse was so strong that it became a challenge for me take the second spoon in my mouth. Really those chilies had done their job appreciably. Same time it was so mouth watering and tempting that it was tough to stop myself.
I looked at her and felt that she could bear the hot chili shock. She was totally lost in new delicacy. I thought not to disturb her and tried to concentrate on my plate. Second spoon in my mouth made my eyes to show the ecstasy by dropping tears. I asked her " How is it?".
 She replied
"it is very delicious. I love it. Hope I can pack some and take to my home."
She lifted her head up and i could see her tears also rolling out.
"You are feeling hot. Do you need water?" I asked.
She said "I love the taste of this salad and even its spicy part." I said " I am also liking it".
There was no question of stopping ourselves before we run for water. The crabs really added flavor in it. I think those were sweet water crabs since they were not hard or may be the crabs got crushed in the wooden pot and got softened. We ate till end also drank the tasty juice coming out. After eating we both were just struggling to get rid of this spice by opening our mouth big and blowing air out of it with sound whooooooo and hhhhhaaaaaaaa.... No one could utter even a single word before we got water.
It was indeed an unforgettable moment of savoring any delicacy which ignited our taste buds. The experience which can not be described in words.
I am trying to explain the recipe according to my observation of the street vendor.
2-3 Red chili. Smash it for some time.
Put one lemon juice and also one small red tomato.
few sprout beans (all begin smashed slowly)
Then some sauce(I think fish sauce and soya sauce) was also added with one green fruit (it is in photo and I still don't know the name).
 Green mango ( cut slices and shred) added and smashed slowly.
Some small cut beans.
and then the crab is also smashed.
( during the preparation she also added some more thing from the box kept in front of her.)
At the end it was decorated with some slices of papaya, peanuts and cashews.

I know you might be excited to try the same dish but my description is not good enough to prepare it at home.

Still after so many days when memories of Thailand is eroded, the feeling of eating mango crab salad is still fresh. I wish I can enjoy it again in near future.



( This article won the runner up prize in indiblogger Amul contest).

Everyday she comes and sits near me. She keeps looking outside gazing in space. I could never see her face, only long black hair. She sits silently as if planning to say something. I could never dare to ask her.

One day she came and stood in front of mirror. I tried to look at her face through mirror. I felt she is crying. I kept my hand on her shoulder. She turned at me. Her eyes were wet. She was really crying. I was looking at her. Suddenly her face became fierce. I stepped back. It seemed she is going to shout on me, but she did not. She got up and walked out same as everyday.

Today something strange happened. She walked in and looked directly into my eyes. She said "I want to tell you something. I never loved you." I was shocked. My mind immediately started evaluating her line. After evaluation my mind announced 'yes, I knew it. So you are not talking to me since long. It was all your plan" But my heart said " I know this is not true. Tell me this is not true. This is just a lie. A compromise with the situation."

My lips were still sealed. I did not speak anything. She looked at me for a while turned back and walked slowly calmly. I tried to shout, to call her. I tried to run to stop her but my body suddenly got frozen. I was not able to move any part of my body. I was not able to shout. I was not able to breathe. I tried hard and managed to open my eyes. "Oh", I was on bed. I looked around in my room. Far from somewhere a koel(cuckoo) was singing melodiously. My watch was showing 5 in morning. I got up, wore my shoes and started walking on the street. Somewhere on street a guy was pushing sugarcane to extract juice.

My visit to south east Asian and Middle East countries always left me with a feeling that we have lot to do about our culture on whom we are so proud of. I  always wondered how any girl from these countries will experience India if they are made to stay here for good enough period of time.

nine O's? what ? this was something which drew my attention back into the real world. Being a day dreamer I hardly could concentrate if someone is talkative. "Do you know how many O's are there in your name ?" She asked. I thought who damn cares, you gave me this name and you only put as many o's you want. "why 9 o's??" i asked. "because I enjoy writing 9 o's when i write your name."
Hmm was my reaction. Now when this word have not fallen in my ears for long, I was just thinking again.. why my name had 9 o's ?? Just because her name is related with 9 some where or it is just a crap idea came in my mind because now a days I am watching lot of detective movies ?

I took the pen and tried writing my coined name with 9 o's just to check that if it is really a fun to write it. This mystery may remain mystery forever and this name may never been used again from any side, but it was nice name which I hardly gave a thought before.