I Sold Out

That’s right, I succumbed to the Krispy Kreme nostalgia. But, lets get one thing straight... I don’t even like doughnuts. In fact, I think they are one of the most useless dessert items out there. Sweet enough to make my head spin and then they sit in my stomach like a brink... a lard-filled, powdered sugar caked, oil fried brick. Give me pie, cobbler, ice cream, gelato, chocolate, cookies, or even a brownie and I won’t protest.... but doughnuts just don’t do it for me.

That being said, I stood in line for 2.5 hours, the only Westerner in sight, for a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. An overwhelming pang of homesickness you might ask? Wrong. Thais loove doughnuts. Love. Them. And when Krispy Kreme opened its first Thailand franchise at the swanky Siam Paragon shopping center, Thais lined up for days to taste them. They are the ‘it’ foodstuff of the moment. As one Bangkok Post contributor put it; a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts nestled into the tell-tale oversized, logo-ed bag has become the hottest Bangkok accessory. So when the Masters student in my lab, Bpio, mentioned that she wanted to try one (and all the other students I was eating lunch with enthusiastically agreed) I knew it was my calling. “We’ll have them Monday” I said, “You have to try a Krispy Kreme... they are the epitome of American food.”

    Little did I know I would wait in line for a humorously long time to make this promise come true. So, I waited, in the rain, for a box of desserts that I had no particular attachment to. And let me tell you, it was totally worth it. The smile on Chaloa’s face upon first taste was worth my time and money 10X over. The women who inspired my Krispy Kreme adventure were delighted. It was the first time I have been able to give back anything to these people who have so warmly welcomed me into their laboratory and friend-circle. Krispy Kreme may not be anything I like personally and it might represent the most unhealthy of American food-stuffs but they were the perfect demonstration of my gratitude and appreciation.