Photo update

I have just updated my profile photo on the top right of my blog.

another day cooking

Yesterday I spend another day in the classroom cooking a great number of Thai dishes. This time it was just me and two teachers so plenty of time for questions and answers. I wont bother you with all the details but here is a photo of me and Jo cooking and one of a sweet and sour prawn dish I did.

Tourist

Last Monday I did one of the most touristy trips I have done in a very long time.
Together with nine others I visited an elephant camp, a Karen village with a few women in traditional costume weaving cloth, a waterfall for a swim, a jungle walk, well rice fields really, then another village this time with a Hmong man in costume and finally a ride on a bamboo raft down the local river. Nothing really new or exiting but it kept me busy for the day and the people that were on the tour were pleasant enough.

Cooking Class

I spend yesterday at a cooking course here in Chiang Mai. We started out with a visit to the market where we were shown and got taste all the weird and wonderfull things that grow in Thailand. Including ten or so varieties of egg plant, more herbs and spices then I can remember and a colossal selection of fruit where the unwary got to smell a Durian. ( Tastes good but smells like a sewerage plant on a bad day.)

We then proceeded to the actual kitchen, a well layout and roomy place with lots of shade to keep things cool. And then we went at it first up how to make green curry paste from scratch then on to "Green Curry Chicken"


Followed by "Steamed Chicken Souffle in a Banana Leaf Basket" the chicken was actually because I don't like fish the others were making fish souffle.

Then it was time for Cashew nut and Chicken stir-fry
Fish cakes with a cucumber sauce or in my case more chicken.

And finally Tom Yam soup with prawns, Yes I do actually occasionally eat prawns.

And that was just for lunch. Needles to say to much to eat for any of us.

After lunch we proceeded to make sticky rice in sweet coconut milk with mango. Followed by spring rolls and PhatThai with egg.

All in all a good day I learned lots and am looking forward to trying out some of my newly learned skills when I get home.

Chiang Mai

Thirteen hours on the bus and of course no sleep. However I am here and I have found a room in a funky little hotel that's tucked away in one of the little lanes in the old part of the city. The hotel is in a converted Thai farm house and chock a block with art, antique and knick knacks. It reminds me of a place I stayed in a few years ago in Pondicherry with Mum & Dad. Only the rooms are a lot smaller but they do have air conditioning and free Internet access as well as breakfast included in the price. Not bad for ten bucks.