Green Papaya Salad

I’ll never forget my first bite. I was 18, greener than a young papaya, and in Bangkok for the first time. Having just spent 6 months in the Indian wilderness, arriving in the garish, neon-soaked Thai capital was like that moment where Dorothy arrives in Oz, and the screen changes from mono-chrome to glorious Technicolor. Anyway, the first street-food vendor I found (or plucked up the courage to approach) was selling a sort of greeny-white salad in a bag. I did a lot of pointing and nodding