Chiang Mai - Day 5

Hi from Chiang Mai.

Day 4 was spent travelling between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We were suppose to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai however when we went to the train station with Get to purchase our tickets we were told the train was full.  So we decided to fly instead. 

Our guesthouse in Chiang Mai - Baan Kong Rao is quite unique, clean and has very friendly staff however it is a little out of the way so it takes a bit to get to things.  Our first day was spent getting to know our way around.  We went exploring on Friday and found a wonderful air conditioned mall that had at least 4 shoe stores.  By the end of the first hour I even had Bill shopping for shoes.  The prices are exceptional, I purchased a pair of really cool pumps and a purse for less than $15 Cnd.  We stopped at 7/11 and purchased beer and water for our mini fridge and headed back to the guesthouse for our first massage.

We decided to try another Thai massage.  It was amazing how different it was from the one in Bangkok.  But apparently each region has it's own style.  The one in Bangkok was an extremely deep muscle massage that concentrated mainly on your back and neck.  The one in Chiang Mai was much lighter and she worked mainly on your legs.  So it all balanced out and was wonderful.  We wondered down the road and found a great place to each dinner, however you have to have your wits about you as there are no sidewalks and motor bikes, vehicles, tuk tuks and red cabs drive in all directions.  You have to keep reminding yourself to look left instead of right when crossing the street.  There are no rules, you just dash across when you think it's safe.  I watched a little old lady zigzag through traffic with her arms full, barely able to walk, but some how she made it.  Traffic is crazy, but we have yet to see an accident here.

On Saturday we booked a full day cooking class at Thai Kitchen Cooking School.  They came and picked us up at the guesthouse and then picked up 6 additional people who joined us.  One young couple was from Austria, another from Germany and two young lads from Australia.  We had a menu of 21 items of which we were able to choose 7 each.  Bill and I each chose different dishes so we got to try 14 different dishes. We started off with an authentic fresh market tour where our guide Tubtim explained all of the different vegetables, and ingredients we would be using.  The merchants then filled our woven baskets with products and we were off to the cooking school.  When we arrived we were served coffee and the cooking stations were explained.

Each of us had our own wok over a gas burner.  We started each dish at the prep table and then moved to the cooking stations to finish them off.  Each of the instructors taught us step by step how to prepare the ingredients and then how to cook them.  We started with Stir Fried Noodles, then we made two different curry paste and curry dishes.  Our favorite was the Massaman and Panang Curry. Both very different from one another but very good.  Next we made Fried Cashew nuts with chicken and Sweet and Sour mixed vegetables.  We sat on a traditional Thai table (on the floor) and ate the two dishes with steamed rice.  We enjoyed our classmates and had about 1 hour to get to know them and swap travel stories.  The Europeans were able to speak English so conversation was very easy.  Bill even got to brush up on his German as they switched back and forth.  After our break we were back in the kitchen, this time preparing Papaya salad and Spring rolls.  Papaya salad was made with a young green papays that you shredded with a peeler.  Most Thai dishes include a chili.  The smaller the chili the hotter they are.  Therefore I was only using 1 tiny Chile pepper about 3/4 of an inch long by 1/4 inch round.
Bill's spring rolls turned out great, but I didn't particularly like the salad.  Next we made two different kinds of soup.  Prawn with coconut milk soup and hot and sour prawn soup.  Both were very yummy however by this time we were getting rather full and we still had dessert.  Bill picked black sticky rice pudding with thick coconut cream and I picked sticky rice with mango.  We learned that sticky rice must be soaked for at least 6 hours or preferably over night.  Then the white rice is steamed rather than boiled.  I think I might have to invest in a rice cooker.  The black rice pudding was very similar to what we had had in Bali, I've decided I love coconut cream.  Too bad it's so expensive at home.

By the end of the day we were all stuffed, had made some new friends and learned a great deal about Thai cooking techniques.  Our biggest challenge will be to find the ingredients we need once we are back in Canada.  However we did purchase some chili paste in the market.  We also were given a great little cook book with all of the recipes. As a departing gift,  we had a Thai shooter [a shot of Thai whiskey, lime juice and sprite]. The Aussies were great sports, but were chomping at the bit to get going for a beer or 4.  All in all it was a fantastic day,  I can't wait to try our new acquired talents out when we get home.




In Chiang Mai, the cheapest form of travel is called a "red cab"  this is a small truck that has a tall metal canopy with open windows and no end gate, you just step onto an extended bumper an into the back of the truck.  It has two benches that run along the length of the box and hand rails on the roof.  You barter for you fare and jump in the back and hang on for dear life.  It's great fun except for the exhaust fumes.  Anyway we arrived at the spa and opted for a full body oil massage.  It was very relaxing.  Thai massage is deep and attempts to lengthen your mussels.  This one cost us 400 bahts for an hour.  (that's about $15 Cnd.)  Bill was attempting 1 a day however we just haven't had enough time.

We ended the night by having a fried banana pancake with chocolate and a fresh fruit shake.  The shakes were amazing however we haven't been able to match Tong's banana pancake.  How can you tell we love to eat and try new food.  We decided Thailand is all about food and massages, what a great combination.