As Thais, we might not find rice that exciting given that we eat it every day, but through the eyes of so many people in the world Thai rice is something that never ceases to amaze. 

Through a project called “Think RICE, Think THAILAND” initiated by the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, the government invited bloggers from around the world to get some first-hand experience with Thai rice to understand the entire industry’s ecosystem, from unique farming methods and processing to the different uses of rice in everyday products.

Here’s some of the highlight posts from the influencers on that trip:

Kevin Curry, Fit Men Cook

“I’m wearing traditional Thai Lue clothing as I farm sticky rice, Kao Kab, one of my favorite types of rice. I only did this for 10 minutes and the heat was brutal. I have a new appreciation for the food I easily take for granted. Chances are if you’ve ever eaten rice, there’s a good chance it came from Thailand.”

Amanda, Amanda的小厨房

Amanda, a famous Chinese food blogger with more than 2.6 million followers on her Amanda的小厨房 platforms, seemed to be particularly impressed with the incredible diversity of Thai rice — not to mention she loved all the creative food on the trip. “You can’t miss the Thai curry noodle soup and Thai fried noodles. Dinner here is traditional Thai style. There are four kinds of rice – white rice, brown rice, black glutinous rice and glutinous rice. Each is very delicious. Curry is also very fragrant.”

Xie Xiaoke, Miss Wallflower

For Xie Xiaoke—the founder of Miss Wallflower in the Kitchen, a Weibo account with a focus on healthy food and lifestyle—came all the way from China to have an amazing experience joining rice field work. She said, “This time, I experienced a Thai rice harvesting process in Thailand. I think they are good enough to get rice into various products! Not only a variety of staple foods, snacks, skin care products, soaps, but in the development of various possibilities of rice.”

Roger Wu, Blogger

Roger Wu, a blogger from Hong Kong who is familiar with Thailand, also joined the trip and was surprised by the fact that Thai rice, through technology and innovation, can be transformed into so many categories of products. He said, “I would like to thank you, Ministry of Commerce, for the invitation to come here to Thailand again. It is really a big eye-opener for me to learn that Thai rice can be made into so many kinds of products!”  
 

Bee Yinn Low, Rasamalaysia,

Malaysian-born, US-based food blogger Bee who loves healthy and delicious meals. She said “I was so lucky to embark on one of the most enjoyable FAM trips of my life to Thailand, for the “Think Rice, Think Thailand” campaign. A group of us were on the trail of learning all about rice and understand the entire ecosystem of rice, from the unique farming system, processing to the different uses of rice in everyday products.” She also added that “I grew up with rice and I eat rice on a daily basis. I have always loved Thai rice, especially Thai Hom Mali rice. After this journey, it reaffirms to me that my choice has always been right. Thailand serves the best quality rice to the world and it was eye-opening to discover new rice-based products from this trip.”
 

Looking through the amazing experiences that these international bloggers just had, it’s also pretty amazing to see that Thai rice is being acknowledged and celebrated by the international community. That can also help us to better appreciate what we have at home, and encourage everyone to take a closer look at the diversity and innovative quality of Thai rice.