Before heading back to Cambodia, I flew from Florida to Kentucky to see family and friends, as well as gather some documents for visa/immigration purposes.
Evansville, Indiana 🌽
I arrived at the Louisville, Kentucky airport and was greeted by my dad and stepmom, Ron and Sandy. My dad was the driver, and already quite tired when he arrived, so I drove the nearly 2 hours back to his house on the Indiana side of the border in Evansville. He has a very nice dock behind his house where he like to relax, feed the catfish, and occasionally launch his foot-paddle boat.
Alligator Snapper 🐢
=I'm not 100% sure this little guy was an alligator snapper, but I found him in my dad's lawn, struggling to crawl through the grass and reach the lake. Southern Indiana is about as far north as alligator snapping turtles go, and if this is one, it could easily reach 115+ kilograms in adulthood. With this cute killer in the palm of my hand, I walked down to lake's edge and put him in the water.
Catfish Feeding Time 🐟
My dad keeps a bag of fish food at the dock, and he insisted I hang around for a feeding session. Apparently a Thai family had put a few koi fish into this lake several years ago, and occasionally they join the catfish for dinner. The moment I put my phone away they swam through, one white and gold and the other one gold.
Dinner With Dad 🍛
In Evansville there is a single Thai restaurant that I am aware of, and it's not good, but the staff are friendly and it's the only one in a town with 150,000 people, so it stays in business. I always forget how common it is for foreign foods to be adapted to American tastes, and because there is no Thai expat community in this part of Indiana, the food is made for 'Mericans.
The end result is a larb tofu that looks more like stir-fried veggies than the plate of herbs and shallots the dish would normally be in Southeast Asia. I was so perplexed by the plate that I took a pic and sent it to my wife back in Cambodia. It was edible though, even dare I say tasty, but larb it was not.
My 40th Birthday 🍾
My hometown is not far from where my dad now lives, and it is still where he maintains his used car sales business. June 1st was my 40th birthday, and we celebrated by having a family get together at, believe it or not, a Thai located in a town with 5,000 people only a few miles from the family farm.
Several of my uncles and aunts from my dad's side of the family joined us. This simple restaurant has been here for more than 20 years, located in the front of her husband's tow truck business, and has gained a loyal customer base through the years. The woman here was not a cook originally, but learned to make Thai dishes over the phone by asking friends and family back in her village. The result was recipes not influenced by American taste buds, and pretty authentic compared to Thai dishes back in the motherland.
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what I want to say this time is happy 40th birthday, if we are born in the 80s, it means we are the same age, friends. at the age of 40 we must have had many experiences that we have faced in our lives,but what is clear is that our age is no longer easy, of course, we are just counting a few more years and we will become grandfathers,hopefully in this year we get blessings from the creator,as well as our household is always peaceful and comfortable,and there is also good news that you will return to Cambodia,because we all really miss the situation in the mountains that you often share.while you are still in Cambodia.
Yes, I really did miss the nature here, and especially the much better weather. Haha, yes I am old a bit now I guess, and are you in your 40s already? Thanks for stopping by brother. I hope to not be a grandfather anytime soon 🤣🤣🤣
Dad looks like a cool merican dood according to your description.
Speaking of turtles 🐢, wonder what will happen if you put a sea turtle in to fresh water pond 🤔🤔🤔 I know I can Google pretty much everything, but what do you know about that?
We have Manhattan fish market, we got Texas chicken, and we even have San Francisco Coffee. Just when you think how Merica it can be in Malay land, and then you found nasi lemak in their menu 🤣
Hmmm....the only thing I know related to your query without googling is that salinity is serious business. I know for fish, if a freshwater fish goes to saltwater, it's basically getting slowly turned into fish jerky. If a salty fish goes to freshwater, I guess it's the opposite, the fish would possibly have to fight taking on too much water.
I do know of a story in Nicaragua I think, a small sea was cut off from the ocean and slowly turned to fresh water, and within this new lake were bull sharks that didn't die, and instead became freshwater sharks. So now you can swim in a lake in Nicaragua, or Panama, or somewhere near there, wherever the lake is, and possibly get eaten by a shark.
You think my dad's cool, wait til you see him in a denim vest 🤣🤣🤣.
Let me just say that it seems like your family was very happy to see you but I'm sure you're happy to be back.
Welcome to the big 40! The best decade of (y)our life ;<)
Yes, a wave of calm washed over me as soon as I gathered my tuk-tuk from storage in the capital and rolled it to the battery shop. Something about being back in Cambodia and solving a problem like a dead tuk-tuk battery by rolling it to a battery shop.
When I was in the USA I mentioned to family that the ease of solving life's daily problems is one of the biggest reasons I live in Cambodia. Even in the smallest of towns there is always an auto/motorbike battery shop, and the casual atmosphere doesn't make it feel weird to push a tuk-tuk down the road. Anyhow, I am finally back and settled, trying to get engaged on Hive again, and more importantly find time to engage. I really need to catch up on your blog my friend, coming soon. Thanks for the b-day wishes.
Can't really compare the USA to The Netherlands and Cambodia to Portugal but I guess, in a way, I can. I easily relate to this :<)
I'm glad that you were able to see your family. Belated Happy Birthday! May you continue to be blessed throughout your life! Take care always!
!PIZZA
Thank you my friend, it was indeed nice to see them and catch up on old times.
Wewww! What a beautiful picture in a frame and I see you were all having a great time. Happy return to Cambodia my friend. Take care always.
I miss my American family members already, just wish they would be willing to come here for a visit. 🙏🙏🙏
$10 for Pad Thai? The entire country of Thailand would starve if those prices were introduced over there.
That $10 mid-sized Indiana city Pad Thai would be $20 in Sarasota, Florida, where I spent a few days. It's all hopeless though, make it yourself and source things like tamarind, peanuts, noodles, etc., and you've also spent just a few bills less than it would take to buy a rideable used moto here.
I find that Thai food is too hip now, and now that even rednecks enjoy it, it's become sweet, less spicy, more savory, salty, and is no longer intended to be served to local Thai residents and workers.
well that's true of almost any ethnic food in America, particularly Asian food.
Happy 40th Birthday sr! God bless!
I don't feel old, but my daughters tell me I am now 😁.
Glad you had a happy 4️⃣0️⃣ 🍰
It was indeed a good one, glad to have spent it with family.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@sgbonus(1/5) tipped @justinparke