Deliciously Poor: Isan and Acadiana

   In 2001, I visited Thailand and felt magic in the air. Humidity, hospitality, and spicy food: this Cajun boy was right at home.

            A year later I married Natthinee Khot-asa and became part of Thailand, but not the land of pristine beach resorts or raucous Bangkok nightlife. Natthinee is from Si Sa Ket Province, in northeast Thailand, and that region is called Isan (EE-san), which can be translated as “the land of Shiva,” illustrating the influence the Khmer Empire and its Hinduism had in the area before Buddhism became the dominant religion and modern national boundaries were drawn.

Published by www.cybersoleiljournal.com/index.php