Thai chefs for a day (Feb. 9/09 - Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Thailand is considered to have some of the finest cuisine in the world, so today we wanted to learn how to cook it ourselves! Cooking schools are offered all over town, so we joined in and were introduced to the crazy Thai guy who would teach us. Along with a couple from England and another from Austria, we each selected three dishes to make out of the huge list in the recipe book. Once the shopping list was assembled, we each took a wicker basket and walked a few blocks down the street to the market to get our ingredients. We got the lowdown on the huge variety of Thai vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, sauces, and meats available. A man shredded a couple husked coconuts to make a pile of fresh coconut meat that would later be soaked in water and squeezed by hand to make fresh coconut milk! We bought rice, cashews, fish sauce, peppercorns, rice noodles, curry paste, peanuts, chicken, fish (swimming around one minute, in chunks in our basket the next!), eggplant, basil, ginger, limes, lettuce, pineapple, tofu, onions, shallots, shrimp, mushrooms, coriander, chilies, and a ton of other ingredients I can't remember. We were amazed how inexpensive everything was - boneless chicken, fresh fish, pork, and prawns were all about $1 per pound - probably ten or more times cheaper than at home. We bought all the ingredients for six people to each make three meals for about $18.

Back at the cooking school, we spent a while chopping, dicing, slicing, and shredding all the ingredients since the actual cooking process is so quick that everything has to be ready beforehand. Over the next couple hours, Ken cooked coconut chicken soup, spicy red chicken curry, and cashew nut chicken with oyster sauce. I whipped up spicy hot and sour prawn soup (tom yam soup), yellow chicken and potato curry, and pad thai. Between dishes, we sat down to taste what we just made, and everything was sensational! The flavours were so bold and perfect, with super fresh ingredients and authentic recipes. We were impressed that everything turned out so well, and the whole process was a lot of fun. We even learned how to make a pretty plate garnish for a finishing touch. Provided that we can find the right ingredients at home, there is going to be a lot of Thai cooking going on in our house when we get home!

For an afternoon walk, we headed west to a wat on the other side of the moat called Suan Dok, which was recommended as a must-see. The late afternoon sun gleamed off the huge gold chedi (bell-shaped tower), which was intricately decorated and surrounded with numerous white towers and sculptures. Against the blue sky, it made for a beautiful scene. Royal tombs were set on one side of the wat, and a courtyard with a small shrine was on the other side. Next door was a monastery, where young boys and men live and study Buddhism. It was interesting to see them hanging out on the grounds, wandering around with take-out food containers, and just reading in hammocks. While we were sitting admiring the wat, a monk walking by struck up a conversation with us (eager to practice his english!), giving us a little insight into their lives. We learned that they can choose between six colours of robes - saffron orange being the most popular - but also bright orange, mustard yellow, bright yellow, brown, and white. This guy was actually from Siem Reap but came to Chiang Mai to attend university. He laughed when we asked if he would still be a monk after he finishes studying (some of them continue it for life) but he said he hadn't decided. It was a unique chance to speak with one of these guys that turn heads on the streets, but really they are just normal guys devoted to their faith - he even had a Blackberry in his hand!

On the way back to our neck of the woods, we met a local guy who teaches at an elementary school here who saw our Canadian flags and said he used to live in Canada. More proof of how small a world we live in - he used to live beside Buchart Gardens and study at UVic!

Side note: Today officially marks the half way point in our journey around the world. 95 Saturdays are behind us, and 95 lie ahead. Thankfully, it seems as though we've been gone forever (Africa seems like a year ago!), so that must mean that we have forever yet to go! We really are having the time of our lives, loving every moment and so thankful that we are able to be doing this. We are already changed people, and I know neither of us would trade the memories we have already made for anything. Long live Saturdays!