Local natural remedies involving herbs? Yes please! As the owner of Pure Thai Naturals I consider that professional research, and mandatory.
After the long mountainous overland-overnight schlep through Northern Thailand to the Laos border, some crazy days which included moving house-business and then spending half a day in crammed queues at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane, I hit the wall. A distinct lack of sleep over many days, not enough food, some pressing deadlines, too many of the wrong people in my personal space and a mind which struggled to let go of anything suddenly hit me hard. And so I opted for the industrial local Lao herbal remedy.
Vietnamese mint, banana buds, fresh coriander, local peppers, lime and chili. Lots of chili. When I ordered my "medicine" and the waitress commented on my great Thai-Lao language skills, she asked if I wanted it "local". Haha... Yes, I can and like to eat local. Basically it means so wickedly spicy that you can't THINK about all the stresses and pressures in your head. You are IN THE MOMENT. Totally present. Your senses grasp for the complex herbal-citrus tastes to try and sidestep the intensity of the burn. Your sinuses clear instantly. Your eyes water and it's more effective than the most expensive eyedrops. The soft, uber cheap, government brewed Beer Lao is then applied to soften the burn, and it also softens the travel stiffness in your back and legs. The whole body sweats and relaxes. And the last step of the remedy is the local rice dish which induces the need for sleep, whilst being fragrantly inspired by yet more burned chili, green onion, coriander and garlic.
The herbal remedy works quickly, especially when administered in the lazy afternoon heat. One reclines and suddenly 2 hours have passed and one awakes hungry, revived and ready to tackle the next travel challenge.
My particular version of the Lao herbal remedy involved:
Lao-style cucumber-long bean salad
Lao-style somtum (green papaya salad)
Lao style fried herbal rice
A dish of fresh local greens and herbs
And a bottle of Bia Lao
Total cost was the equivalent of US $10. As yet not specifically ratified by "scientific research" but historically and culturally endorsed nationwide here in the beautiful People's Democratic Republic of Laos. The communist government here is doing wonderfully well keeping western junk food OUT and sustaining local culinary traditions.
Come visit & try the herbal medicine sometime.
On my way! See you soon. : )
Wow - this is a brilliant treatment. I could see it working as well if you think you're coming down something. Sweat and sleep it out.
I don't think I'll wait to need this - going to try it tonight. Thanks!
Yes, this IS a brilliant strategy for fighting off colds & flu too. Even better if you can find your way into a herbal steam room. You are always welcome to visit - let me know when you are on your way. :)
Enjoy all the local Lao herbals
oh yes!! nothing better. Thanks for your support, Jamie.
This is wonderful, @artemislives.. I am going to bookmark your page and try this (if I can find all the ingredients here).
Glad you like - I plan to be posting some of my fav Thai-fusion-Asian "recipes" in the future. :) Don't generally use "recipes" per se (except for some baking) but a general 'you need this' and 'how to' - I get asked all the time so I may as well publish and profit, right?? :)
I just wish I could eat that way all the time. I often find myself eating throw together salads, boiled eggs, and similar quickies— sandwiches. My kids are so picky so I only have time to prepare kid food most days. I love spicy food and especially warming hearty food like this.
As for sinuses, have you ever tried a Neti pot?
Haha.. yes... let there be more spicy! I HAVE tried a neti pot - it's OK but far better, IMHO, to stimulate your body's own inbuilt cleaning system with spicy food. Why reinvent the wheel? Gratitude for your engagement.
Agreed on that much. The body is much more equipped to deal with issues than we give it credit for. Most of the time warm spices don't clear out mucus only because there's not enough hydration in place. Peppers are really good for various types of cleansing. A good pepper shot will have you sweating out all manner of toxicity as well. LoL!
You are so right about most people being dehydrated! After yesterday's burn-sweat-long-nap I drank 2 litres of pure water with lime after yet more spicy food (Indian this time), half expecting to pee a lot in the night. Not-a-once! Slept again last night for 7 hours straight. Applying more water today and feeling hugely better. Dangerous, even. :)
that foooooood <3
'so hot it you cant think about stress'
that sounds awesome..im gonna go spicy tomorrow if that helps hahahah
Going spicy ALWAYS helps!! :)
You've been Tweeted ♥️
I have been wanting to try authentic Thai food for ages now and this post just got me salivating. I'd love to try and cook it, but for now, I have absolutely nothing to compare it to - I need to fix that, pronto.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be traveling there anytime soon even though I would love to, so I have to find something here on the East Coast in the US to try to live vicariously - at least through my taste buds. I'm intrigued by that beer, too; wonder if I can find that here as well. Hopefully, I'll get lucky enough to find a restaurant that offers the whole shebang.😋
Many compliments on your treatment of choice. That is definitely the way to go in lieu of swallowing some pills or nasty liquid that'll just give you a whole host of other issues!
Thanks for the comment and steem-lurve - following you too, so I can follow your adventures (esp the ones bout your Thai food experiences) :)
Beautiful. Some of the best food and delicious crisp Beer Lao.
Full of health benefits too. Yum!
I always mentally give thanks for the Laos government and enlightened socialism when I sip my first Beer Lao in a while. :) And yes, the local food here is superb. :)
Congratulations @artemislives! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
To support your work, I also upvoted your post!
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPlocal? LoL can feel the spice kicks in.
I don't really like spicy food, but i know thi food is super spicy. 😂
Not all Thai food is spicy. When you visit, I will safeguard your mouth and make sure you get all of the flavours and none of the heat. :)