How can I describe the experience of food in Thailand? I'm beginning to understand why a country whose weather hovers around 90 degrees would develop food that is blazingly spicy and soups and curries that are boiling hot. There is nothing more glorious than the burning feeling that lingers in my mouth after I have eaten Som Tum, a sweet/spicy papaya salad with lime, tomato, peanuts, green beans, and chilis. A stiflingly hot night seems practically brisk after a plate of Som Tum--it acts to cool your body, I think. That, or the air seems cooler when your internal temperature is elevated. Likewise, after I sweat through a bowl of Tom Yam (or Yum), a lemongrass and coconut milk soup with mushrooms and glass noodles, I emerge into the night feeling refreshed and cool. Last night, a quick monsoon rain, lasting only the duration of my meal, helped to suppress the evening heat as well. I would have to say that Som Tum is the best food I've ever eaten, or at least the best experience of food, but it must be had "pet" or spicy for full effect. And it goes best with sticky rice to dip in the juices. This "salad" surpases my deep love of cake and ice cream certainly. And I read recently that Som Tum was voted favorite food by thai women as well. Both of the dishes I described can be ordered at any of a thousand or more little stands throughout Bangkok and Thailand.