Thailand Mall

These are photos taken in a large mall in Cha'Am Thailand (located about 120 miles south of Bangkok, on the southern coast).

Fruit and vegetable vendors are found everywhere in Thailand. As a result, there are few "grocery stores" as we know them in America. The large food stores in Thailand sell mostly specialty items, such as bakery goods, wines and boxed goods. Meats, fish, fruits and vegetables are easier and cheaper to find on the streets. 

Dunkin Donuts is in Thailand. They not only sell donuts, but sell pastries suited to the Thai taste. While this one didn't have them, other branches also sell donuts decorated to look like "Hello Kitty" characters, which are popular enough to be featured in television commercials for the chain.

A pineapple vendor by a set of escalators. 

These are durians, which I had never had before. They are super popular in Asia, but are also banned from most hotels as they start to smell like unwashed feet when they age beyond ripeness.

These durian vendors knew exactly how to check the fruit for ripeness. The woman on the left (in pink) would hit the fruits with a stick to determine the ripeness by the sound. The woman on the right was an expert durian slicer.

My co-worker checked the durian for the ripeness that he liked the most.

She quarters the fruit.

Here's the center that is edible.

My co-worker took my photo as I bit into it. The texture was like a banana, while the flavor tasted like tapioca. It was very good and extremely filling.

Later in the mall, we found these - they are breads filled with American-style meats. We found bologna, hot dogs, pastrami, etc. This one was filled with bacon and cheese. I didn't try it as I was still stuffed from the durian. Sorry folks. Maybe next time.