Filaree Farm in Okanogan, Wash. (509-422-6940, www.filareefarm.com), sells some of the spiciest stuff available, including the red-tipped Persian Star from Uzbekistan and Russian Inferno from, interestingly enough, Spokane, Wash.

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Last week an Indian woman wolfed down 51 "ghost chilies, " -- the world's spiciest -- in two minutes and smeared the seeds on her eyes for an entry into the Guinness World Records.

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His wife, who had been most excited to see the Floating Market, slept even through dinner, for he remembered a meal in the hotel with only Romi and Ruma, in a solarium overlooking a garden, tasting the spiciest food he'd ever had in his life as mosquitoes swarmed angrily behind his children's faces.

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