Being posted to Bangkok for five weeks definitely has its advantages (oh, just a few…), so when the opportunity came up to take a long weekend, Dave and I jumped at the opportunity to head up to Chiang Mai and spend a few days in the mountains.
First stop: seriously scary mountain biking. Although massive amounts of fun, I’m not sure how sound the decision was to choose the option that’s described as ‘dangerous, steep and rocky’. Foolhardy Sarah, foolhardy. But despite the sore arms from holding onto the brakes for dear life as I bumped over rocks, tree roots and through ditches that came out of nowhere, and the sore legs from riding (erm, pushing my bike …) up ridiculously steep hills, the views over the green, lush forests were amazing, and it’s almost hard to explain the child-like joy I felt while flying down the mountain with trees whooshing past on either side of me.
Next stop: lying in bed feeling sore from mountain biking.
And then the other highlight of my weekend … a Thai cooking class. There were loads of classes to choose from but after reading through Trip Advisor reviews, we chose Scenic Asia cooking class. I’m sure they are all pretty much the same, but regardless, our night at Scenic Asia’s big house was so much fun, the meals were easy to learn, and although I haven’t actually tried to cook any of the dishes since this course, I really feel like I’d be able to whip up a pad thai in no time. Honestly…
The class started with a wander through the backyard veggie garden with our teacher explaining the different
herbs and veggies and how they grow. Afterwards, we walked down to the fresh food market and again he took us through the different herbs, spices, curry pastes and rices, explaining what each is for, how they are sold, and what would be a good substitute if you couldn’t find it in your own neighbourhood market. Then it was back to the house and ready to cook.
Making the curry paste.
Throughout the class I made a pad thai, spring rolls, green curry paste and a green curry. The great thing was that everyone chose different dishes, so you also learned how to make a variety of other
Dave with his delicious panang curry. Interestingly my green curry, despite having a fraction of the curry paste, was about about five times as hot.
meals. After each dish, we sat down and ate our creations, never failing to congratulate ourselves on our newfound talents.
For around $40, this was a great evening. I had loads of fun learning about Thai cooking, and definitely did not have to eat again that night … greatest thing about cooking is eating it afterwards, and that was surely taken care of. Totally recommended.
And after the mountain biking and cooking course, the rest of my Chiang Mai weekend was full of hours of wandering through backstreets full of hidden temples, food markets and delicious vegetarian cafes. A Lonely Planet or other good guidebook will give you names, but every restaurant I went to was more than willing to make any dish into a vegetarian one, including the delicious panang curry (red curry paste is mixed with crushed peanuts, giving the curry a creamy, nutty flavour).
I’m back in Melbourne now but can’t wait for my next Asian adventure. Singapore, Indonesia and Pakistan are coming up in May and June … my stomach is already rumbling.
My Vegetarian Adventures 