Thursday. Thai Cooking School.

Thursday. November 6th. 

It is another drizzly day. But that's OK, we are off to Thai cooking school. I am excited about this because I am not an adventurous cook or eater. I shy away from spices and things are unfamiliar. It is just easier to have a bologna sandwich sometimes.

The cooking school is on a local organic farm about 20 km out of the city. They pick us up at our hotel and we pile into the back of a pick up truck, 11 of us. Fortunately there are seats and a canopy!

 

First stop, Raum Chok market to pick up some ingredients that they do not grow at the farm. Our guide and instructor Cheeky Benny takes us through the market showing us some of the things that are important for Thai cooking. of course there is rice, 20 some varieties. And curry paste - red, green, yellow curry paste.   Coconut - shaved, grated, milk, cream.  Exotic fruits and vegetables. And meat - even the pig's head and feet! But that's not what we are cooking - thank heavens. I didn't admit that we used to used make and eat head cheese!

 

Coconut.

        

 All kinds of rices.

 

 

We arrive at the school. It is a lovely place. Four separate classrooms each its own building with an outdoor patio. The kitchen has small gas hotplates, butcher block workstation. It is bright and clean and cheerful.

 

Part of our group.

 

 

 

Benny is our instructor. She is a firecracker, enchanting. A great sense of humour she makes the day fun and lively. But she is a wealth of knowledge. She takes us on a tour of the gardens where she grows fresh herbs. She picks the ones we will be using and puts them into the straw basket she carries. Coriander, lemongrass, chives, galangal, kaffur lime.

 

 

Benny.

Back in the classroom we make our own chili paste. I have chosen green curry because I think (and hope) it tastes a little less like curry!  We make a green curry and chicken dish.  Coconut milk soup with shrimp, which is delicious. Pad Thai. And mango with blue sticky rice for dessert.

 

Coconut soup with shrimp.

Green curry chicken.

Pad Thai.

Mango with sticky rice, the blue color in the rice comes from crushed iris flower petals.

 

   Yummy!!!

 

 

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!!!

Wednesday. Temple in the Rain.

Wednesday. We have been lucky with the weather till now, but today the rain moves in. It is drizzly but still warm. Tonight we have an evening shoot at Doi Suthep, a temple that is built up the mountain. This is the spot that the white elephant chose, carrying the ancient relics, as worthy to house these precious and miraculous holy relics. From here you can look down over the city and the Wat Suan Dok Temple with its Golden stupa that holds the original relic.

AS the evening approaches the rain gets heavier but we decide to go on the shoot anyway. Rain jackets and hats we are ready. To protect our cameras we carry shower caps from the hotel, careful to keep them as dry as possible. We remove our shoes, as you must in all temples and barefooted we shoot in the rain. 

Some get frustrated and huddle under rooftops or pagodas. But it is beautiful, mystical ethereal.

The photos tell it all.

 

This was my Lemonade Day.  It could have been a writeoff because of the weather but by embracing it and learning how to see the beauty of it and how to capture that it was probably my best day. I came back to the hotel so pumped and exhilarated.

 

Definitely Lemonade...

 

 

Tuesday. More markets.

Tuesday in Chiang Mai.

It is another day to explore the city. After breakfast we head toward the street markets. They are everywhere. Sometimes they remind of Mexico, stall after stall of people pedalling their wares. Everything from clothing to jewellery, arts and crafts, handmade this and that. Anything you want or need. And bartering with the merchants just like Mexico.  

 We pass shop after shop of fabrics. Beautiful silks and cottons. Alli would love this.

  

 

The market we go to first is like a big Bazaar. It is 2 stories high with hundreds of vendors. This one has food on the lower part and clothes, shoes, fabrics, and more on the top.  Honestly, this market is nothing special, lacking the local charm and character.

 
Many of the items in this market are made in factories in China and India. It is like a giant Dollar Store!
 

There is an area like a food court where the dishes are local rices, curries, and other Thai staples.

 

From here we walk a little further, past more fruit and vegetable stands. The colors here are brilliant. The fruits and vegetables are inviting. There are new ones I am not familiar with like Dragon Fruit and apple pears and kaffur limes. And always the vendors are friendly and patient as we take our photos.

We end at the Flower Market. This is beautiful with shop after shop of beautiful flowers, every colour and type imaginable. The smell of the Lotus blossoms fills the air. Marigolds are strung in chains, they will adorn the little floats released in the river for the festival this week.

 Pink lotus blossoms.

  Merchants creating arrangements.

White peonies.












 

Pink lotus buds getting ready to bloom.

After lunch we pile into tuktuks and head back to the hotel.

The traffic is heavy as this is the week of their big festival, Loy Krathong and each day more people descend on the city. The mood is happy, jovial, celebratory. Chiang Mai is a generous host opening its doors to visitors.

The afternoon is free time. I choose to visit a little spa across the street from the hotel for a pedicure.  It is nothing fancy. Mostly Thai massages which are 1 or 2 hours of very deep tissue, where you lie on a mat on the floor and they dig into all your stiff and sore spots with the hands, even their elbows. They pull and contort you like a pretzel . I haven’t done this yet but it is on my list. Gene would love this place. 250 Baht for an hour massage (that’s about $9)!

 I settle for just a pedicure. My girl, Pon, is sweet. She thinks it is hilarious that I have my toes painted the same color as my flip flops (orange of course!)  She calls all the other girls around to see and they giggle.

 

 

Overall a pretty layback day but a good day still as I see more of the present day side of the city.