We were picked up at our hotel by our cooking class instructors. They took us to their facility not too far from our hotel. They picked up other people and immediately started chatting. One was from the UK, one from the US, two from Germany, two from Australia and us. Good mix. It was a full day of cooking 6 dishes. We had choices between the dishes so Chelsea and I picked all different dishes so we could try 12. The group was so open and generous we actually tried every dish. We started the day by going to the food market and picking up what we needed for the days cooking. The market was packed. You don't buy canned coconut milk here - you use a shredding machine add water and soak a bag full of the shredded coconut to massage the milk out. Glad we all washed our hands. The instructor introduced items in the market that we probably won't find in our grocery stores.
When we got back to the class the eating began with a taste of local deserts and fruits. We all sat on the floor which was uncomfortable for tall people like Matt. We made three types of curries including the curry paste which we all mashed using a crucible (I think that is what it's called). It is a tall wooden bowl with a round headed crushing utensil used to mash, crush and pulverize. Matt went Thai spicy on most dishes. The heat was good enough to still taste the food. Other tasty dishes was a spicy papaya d
salad, hot and sour soup, spring rolls and deep fried bananas. All day eating just like the Thai's.
Chelsea was not feeling well so Matt headed for another round at the night bazaar. Shopping more and more. I missed dinner due ti the overload of food.
The next day we started the day with watching boxing at breakfast and ended the day with Thai boxing. The Thai boxing had it's moments both good and bad. There was a three person blind folded match and a midget vs a 10 yr old to fill the space between the real fights. Matt was victorius in choosing the blue corner who were Thai over the red corner which were Burmese. Apparently the two do not like eachother.
We have decided to stay two more nights in chiang Mai as we love it soo much.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Day 14: Chiang Mai - all about the food
Today we started the day off a little late not realizing that we were out at the night market until about 1:30 the night before. The night market is said to shut down at 10:30 but if the shoppers are still buying they'll stay open. And they do this every night, 365 days a year.
Matt was craving his bacon and eggs again so we had breakfast in the hotel - mistake. They had a great buffet but our deal at the hotel did not include breakfast and Matt couldn't into this one for free. The food we ordered was small and cold. Chelsea had a second breakfast done better after we asked.
After a swim and sun tan poolside, we ventured out to find sushi (in Thailand?). This place was recommended by our hotels concierge. It was inside a mall that had no windows and pretty much just electronics stores (chelsea did manage to find another pair of shoes though - on that note shoe sale at the Poulsen/Beckett household when we get back) and an entrance that looked like we were sneaking into the loading area - very odd. The restaurant was all you can eat in 1hr and 15 minutes. We sat down at our table to find a conveyor belt in front of us with tempura, gyoza, sushi, nigiri, fresh seafood, chicken, beef, and pork to cook in our boiling soup pots as in front of us. This was known as Shabu Shabu. What a dining experience - you just grabbed what you wanted and when you wanted. This was on my tops of food ever. Up their with the Benihana cooking right in front of us. We didn't make it the whole time as we were very full. Unfortunately as I was up getting a few things Chelsea ate two gyoza that were not cooked. She didn't know we needed to cook them in our boiling pots - the stomach also disagreed. She is getting better (24 hrs later) and a trip to the pharmacy helped.
After the enormous food we needed to walk it off and we sure did. We headed to the travel and trip agent recommended by Cal and Clair (they have been great with the recommendations so far). As we got there they looked closed but sure enough someone came out and opened the shop. Gotta love Thai people - very welcoming. We booked a Thai Cooking Class for the next day and not sure what else we'll get up to here as we are unsure we we'll head to bangkok for a few days or just fly in and fly out due to the unresolved conflicts in the city centre. We should know by Monday what the gov't will do. The Thais here say the "Red Shirts" (protestors) won't be able to close the airport and just stay away from the shopping and business district and we'll be fine. Bangkok is massive (17 million people) so there are many areas unaffected. We have some items on our list that are out of town so we may just do those.
Stay tuned... MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH.
Matt was craving his bacon and eggs again so we had breakfast in the hotel - mistake. They had a great buffet but our deal at the hotel did not include breakfast and Matt couldn't into this one for free. The food we ordered was small and cold. Chelsea had a second breakfast done better after we asked.
After a swim and sun tan poolside, we ventured out to find sushi (in Thailand?). This place was recommended by our hotels concierge. It was inside a mall that had no windows and pretty much just electronics stores (chelsea did manage to find another pair of shoes though - on that note shoe sale at the Poulsen/Beckett household when we get back) and an entrance that looked like we were sneaking into the loading area - very odd. The restaurant was all you can eat in 1hr and 15 minutes. We sat down at our table to find a conveyor belt in front of us with tempura, gyoza, sushi, nigiri, fresh seafood, chicken, beef, and pork to cook in our boiling soup pots as in front of us. This was known as Shabu Shabu. What a dining experience - you just grabbed what you wanted and when you wanted. This was on my tops of food ever. Up their with the Benihana cooking right in front of us. We didn't make it the whole time as we were very full. Unfortunately as I was up getting a few things Chelsea ate two gyoza that were not cooked. She didn't know we needed to cook them in our boiling pots - the stomach also disagreed. She is getting better (24 hrs later) and a trip to the pharmacy helped.
After the enormous food we needed to walk it off and we sure did. We headed to the travel and trip agent recommended by Cal and Clair (they have been great with the recommendations so far). As we got there they looked closed but sure enough someone came out and opened the shop. Gotta love Thai people - very welcoming. We booked a Thai Cooking Class for the next day and not sure what else we'll get up to here as we are unsure we we'll head to bangkok for a few days or just fly in and fly out due to the unresolved conflicts in the city centre. We should know by Monday what the gov't will do. The Thais here say the "Red Shirts" (protestors) won't be able to close the airport and just stay away from the shopping and business district and we'll be fine. Bangkok is massive (17 million people) so there are many areas unaffected. We have some items on our list that are out of town so we may just do those.
Stay tuned... MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Day 12 & 13: Rawai & Chiang Mai
So this morning we woke up and were out of the resort early. We decided to utilize the motorbike and take a ride into Phuket Town. It was a really pleasant ride because there wasn't much traffic and it wasn't too hot. We stopped first at a local market and sampled some interesting fruit; purple dragon fruit, something prickly we don't know what it was, and another item that looked like Lychees. So we bought some breakfast for the next day and headed on.
We arrived at the Central Festival Phuket which we were really excited for. We realized soon after that it was just another word for "fancy big mall that is way too expensive!" One of the cool things was that there were small swimming pools in the middle of the mall for kids to swim in. Anyways we left soon after that.
Next stop was the town. We parked and walked about in the scorching heat!! We were starving and happened to find a locals food market. There were so many people and such great, but weird food, that it was like a zoo. Matt found some great items that you just had to yell out to order and then wait. From there we cruised around and headed back to the bike only to find that we had forgotten the keys in the ignition!! Luckily the bike was still there and all our stuff stored in the seat was too. The funny part was that two old Thai guys were sitting on a couple bikes right beside ours waiting to laugh at us for forgetting the key. Man they gave us a hard time but were nice enough to guard it for us haha.
After we got home we met up with the "Glaswegians" at the resort and decided to go out for something different. They took us to a great little Mexican restaurant and we were not let down! From there we all said our good byes since we were leaving the next morning.
Early the next morning we got on yet another flight to Chaing Mai. This is the second largest city in Thailand and different from the rest of the other places we were because it is in the north. We found a great hotel with an amazing swimming pool right in the heart of the night markets, historical sites, and tourist attractions.
We phoned up Cal and Clair, friends of Brad's, who have lived here for the last two years. They were amazing! They told us about the history of the Moat which is a 2km square of water running around old castle walls dating back 800 years. Nothing in Canada is that old so it was neat to learn about. After our mini tour that took an hour to drive 2 km (still Songkran, crowded streets, and partiers everywhere throwing water) we went to a local Thai restaurant where we learned a bit about how Thai's really eat. Apparently here they know if you are new to Thailand if you eat with your fork. The Thai's only use the fork to push food into the spoon which is the main utensil for eating! Weird hey. We let them order a whole whack of food in Thai and waiting for the surprise. To our delight it was the best meal that we have had yet! Seven dishes to share and taste...my kind of style! After enough food for 10 people we then got treated to dessert as well. It was sticky rice, in season rich mango, and coconut milk made by a little Islamic lady on the side of the road. It was to die for to say the least.
After dinner Cal took Matt to his tailor where Matt picked out two suits and six shirts because it was so affordable. While this was happening (long process) i went for a foot massage that included back and shoulders...amazing for 5 bucks!
We arrived at the Central Festival Phuket which we were really excited for. We realized soon after that it was just another word for "fancy big mall that is way too expensive!" One of the cool things was that there were small swimming pools in the middle of the mall for kids to swim in. Anyways we left soon after that.
Next stop was the town. We parked and walked about in the scorching heat!! We were starving and happened to find a locals food market. There were so many people and such great, but weird food, that it was like a zoo. Matt found some great items that you just had to yell out to order and then wait. From there we cruised around and headed back to the bike only to find that we had forgotten the keys in the ignition!! Luckily the bike was still there and all our stuff stored in the seat was too. The funny part was that two old Thai guys were sitting on a couple bikes right beside ours waiting to laugh at us for forgetting the key. Man they gave us a hard time but were nice enough to guard it for us haha.
After we got home we met up with the "Glaswegians" at the resort and decided to go out for something different. They took us to a great little Mexican restaurant and we were not let down! From there we all said our good byes since we were leaving the next morning.
Early the next morning we got on yet another flight to Chaing Mai. This is the second largest city in Thailand and different from the rest of the other places we were because it is in the north. We found a great hotel with an amazing swimming pool right in the heart of the night markets, historical sites, and tourist attractions.
We phoned up Cal and Clair, friends of Brad's, who have lived here for the last two years. They were amazing! They told us about the history of the Moat which is a 2km square of water running around old castle walls dating back 800 years. Nothing in Canada is that old so it was neat to learn about. After our mini tour that took an hour to drive 2 km (still Songkran, crowded streets, and partiers everywhere throwing water) we went to a local Thai restaurant where we learned a bit about how Thai's really eat. Apparently here they know if you are new to Thailand if you eat with your fork. The Thai's only use the fork to push food into the spoon which is the main utensil for eating! Weird hey. We let them order a whole whack of food in Thai and waiting for the surprise. To our delight it was the best meal that we have had yet! Seven dishes to share and taste...my kind of style! After enough food for 10 people we then got treated to dessert as well. It was sticky rice, in season rich mango, and coconut milk made by a little Islamic lady on the side of the road. It was to die for to say the least.
After dinner Cal took Matt to his tailor where Matt picked out two suits and six shirts because it was so affordable. While this was happening (long process) i went for a foot massage that included back and shoulders...amazing for 5 bucks!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Day 11: Sawatdee Pi Mai (Happy New Year)
We started the day off chilled and relaxed by the pool... But it quickly turned very crazy the minute we left our resort.
It was lunch time so we headed for a recommended restaurant. We soon found out we were in the middle of the largest water fight in the world. Most Thai's celebrate this time off year which goes from April 13 - 15th. It originally corresponded with the astrological calendar to celebrate the end of the dry season. As we were headed out of town every bar restuarant closed but what they had plenty of was iced cold
water to splash in buckets in our faces, down our backs; we were drenched. We stopped off at a bar that had a free BBQ going on. All you can eat green curry, fried rice, fruit, and chickn wings. OMG wow they were great. We realize the bike was not safe due to the wet roads and people coming out of nowhere splashing water at us.
We decided to join in and be the one to toss the water at the passers by. Some fought back. What a battle. What a waste of water says greenpeace. We were smiling ear to ear. It was the first time that 711 which is famous for A/C in Thailand was not welcomed by our cold bodies. It made it worse. Songkhran in Rawai is just one day but Chiang Mai, our next stop last for six days or longer.
When we got back to our hotel we met some guys from Glasgow, Scotland. And mom you told me no ones Glasgow. Well matter of fact none of them actually were. They all were born in London or Edinburgh. Being local foreigners who vacation here one month in this location for the last 7 years we went out for dinner and drinks with them. They took us to a spot with a fantastic view. The paneng curry was great yet also the most expensive. Good food, company, great views; what a way to finish the day. It took a while for us to pick up on the accent but a funny group of guys.
Muay Thai, Big Buddha, the sunset cape and more beach is on schedule for tomorrow.
It was lunch time so we headed for a recommended restaurant. We soon found out we were in the middle of the largest water fight in the world. Most Thai's celebrate this time off year which goes from April 13 - 15th. It originally corresponded with the astrological calendar to celebrate the end of the dry season. As we were headed out of town every bar restuarant closed but what they had plenty of was iced cold
water to splash in buckets in our faces, down our backs; we were drenched. We stopped off at a bar that had a free BBQ going on. All you can eat green curry, fried rice, fruit, and chickn wings. OMG wow they were great. We realize the bike was not safe due to the wet roads and people coming out of nowhere splashing water at us.
We decided to join in and be the one to toss the water at the passers by. Some fought back. What a battle. What a waste of water says greenpeace. We were smiling ear to ear. It was the first time that 711 which is famous for A/C in Thailand was not welcomed by our cold bodies. It made it worse. Songkhran in Rawai is just one day but Chiang Mai, our next stop last for six days or longer.
When we got back to our hotel we met some guys from Glasgow, Scotland. And mom you told me no ones Glasgow. Well matter of fact none of them actually were. They all were born in London or Edinburgh. Being local foreigners who vacation here one month in this location for the last 7 years we went out for dinner and drinks with them. They took us to a spot with a fantastic view. The paneng curry was great yet also the most expensive. Good food, company, great views; what a way to finish the day. It took a while for us to pick up on the accent but a funny group of guys.
Muay Thai, Big Buddha, the sunset cape and more beach is on schedule for tomorrow.
Day 10: Phuket - Old and New
We woke up early in Ko Samui to catch our flight to Phuket. The flight even included breakfast
Arriving in Phuket saved us some money thanks to moms lonely planet book. We caught the city bus for 10% of the cost of a cab. We headed to the old town of Phuket city. It has a portugese architecurtural feel. We stopped at another mall/bizaare Phuket square. Chelsea found a fewitems for herself. Of course we got lost inside again.
It was a sweltering 40degrees. We walked a few more clicks to catch the bus to Rawai a beac side
community in the southern most part of Phuket. We checked into a resort once again recomended by the book. Cheap, has a pool outside our door, on the beach, and even have local fruit in the fridge.... Perfect! We decided to make this base camp for the next three nights. We finally picked up a moped so we could get to the different beaches and such.
Tomorrow is the start of
Songkhran which is the Thai new year.
Arriving in Phuket saved us some money thanks to moms lonely planet book. We caught the city bus for 10% of the cost of a cab. We headed to the old town of Phuket city. It has a portugese architecurtural feel. We stopped at another mall/bizaare Phuket square. Chelsea found a fewitems for herself. Of course we got lost inside again.
It was a sweltering 40degrees. We walked a few more clicks to catch the bus to Rawai a beac side
community in the southern most part of Phuket. We checked into a resort once again recomended by the book. Cheap, has a pool outside our door, on the beach, and even have local fruit in the fridge.... Perfect! We decided to make this base camp for the next three nights. We finally picked up a moped so we could get to the different beaches and such.
Tomorrow is the start of
Songkhran which is the Thai new year.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Day 8 & 9: Ko Samui
This morning we hung out at the pool after our 7/11 yogurt breakfast and banana. This resort we opted out for the breakfast and our course were starving! Matt decided to try and sneak into the free breakfast and I chickened out. Of course Matt came back stuffed haven gotten his breakfast and an accidental second dish! Man I missed out!
From there we walked a scorching 25mins to the pier to take the 1hr ferry to samui. The ride was quite pleasant with awesome views. When we arrived we stopped for a bite of our first north American meal...Asians "best cheese burger." Matt thought it was awesome and I not so much. We are going to stick to the safer Thai food from now on.
We arrived at chawang beach and found a decent resort there right on the beach. This area was all about tourists! There was no end to the shopping and restaurants of all cultures. Of course since there were the most amount of foreigners we have seen yet, it was the most expensive area yet. We cruised around a bit but mostly suntanned on the beach. To our surprise the beach was very "European" if you know what I mean!
There were so many people and restaurants on the beach it was amazing. As night fell the tables came out all lit up with style and glam. We found a massage parlor on the beach and relaxed as the new year fireworks lit up the sky. After that we decided to have a snack at one of the beautiful tables on the beach. The dining table was comprised of a table and two day beds with candles so we could lay back and eat while looking out at the sea.
Tomorrow we head for Phuket on a very early flight. Talk to you then!
Chelsea and Matt
From there we walked a scorching 25mins to the pier to take the 1hr ferry to samui. The ride was quite pleasant with awesome views. When we arrived we stopped for a bite of our first north American meal...Asians "best cheese burger." Matt thought it was awesome and I not so much. We are going to stick to the safer Thai food from now on.
We arrived at chawang beach and found a decent resort there right on the beach. This area was all about tourists! There was no end to the shopping and restaurants of all cultures. Of course since there were the most amount of foreigners we have seen yet, it was the most expensive area yet. We cruised around a bit but mostly suntanned on the beach. To our surprise the beach was very "European" if you know what I mean!
There were so many people and restaurants on the beach it was amazing. As night fell the tables came out all lit up with style and glam. We found a massage parlor on the beach and relaxed as the new year fireworks lit up the sky. After that we decided to have a snack at one of the beautiful tables on the beach. The dining table was comprised of a table and two day beds with candles so we could lay back and eat while looking out at the sea.
Tomorrow we head for Phuket on a very early flight. Talk to you then!
Chelsea and Matt
Friday, April 9, 2010
Day 7: This blog is the only way I know what day it is
We started the day off with a workout at the local Muay Thai gym . We should have just sat outside... We started class already dripping with sweat and we had two more hours of it.
In Canada we show up about 15 minutes before class starts and I thought we lived on island time. We did 15 minutes of skipping with a rope that weighed about 2 lbs. I'm not much of a skipper so when that thing hits the toes... OUCH. The floor was concrete but a thin layer of carpet was over top of it so it can burn the feet... lovely... NOT. We did similar drills but everything we did was different from our teachings, some things I will take back with me other I will not. The end of the session was 2 rounds of 15 minutes each of Pad Work 1on1 with a trainer(in Canada its only 3 minutes rounds). Tonnes of fun. I have only done that once at our gym. Overall it was a great experience. We both have never worked out that hard ever! We are headed to another Gym recommended by a friend on the southern tip of Ko Pha Ngan. Tomorrow will be tough to drag my self out of bed.
After the morning workout we went for our last meal in Thong Sala - Khunpen Thai. We went to the same place three times cause the food was unreal. We had fried pineapple with rice and chicken and my spiciest dish yet. Thai spicy is what I said and that is what I got - 7 red chillies and 2 green ones. Delicious!
Heading to Haad Rin we stopped at Blue Hill Resort. The property is on the side of the cliff. It is so steep they have an elevator that moves at a 45 degree angle up and down the mountain side - almost like a gondola. Food here is expensive $7 for grilled barracuda or shark (should I try it???). We are starting to think of prices relative to Thailand not Canada as we have been eating for $2-3 per meal. Our villa was $15 cheaper as we opted out of the breakfast. Location was key in this resort so we picked closest to the infinity pool and the ocean. We upgraded to the villa for a total of $33!
Tonight we headed into Haad Rin for dinner. The town that is famous for its full moon party was dead and disappointing. The food was great - Chelsea actually enjoyed the Paneng Curry I had that she traded me her dish Basil Chicken - that was good as well.
In Canada we show up about 15 minutes before class starts and I thought we lived on island time. We did 15 minutes of skipping with a rope that weighed about 2 lbs. I'm not much of a skipper so when that thing hits the toes... OUCH. The floor was concrete but a thin layer of carpet was over top of it so it can burn the feet... lovely... NOT. We did similar drills but everything we did was different from our teachings, some things I will take back with me other I will not. The end of the session was 2 rounds of 15 minutes each of Pad Work 1on1 with a trainer(in Canada its only 3 minutes rounds). Tonnes of fun. I have only done that once at our gym. Overall it was a great experience. We both have never worked out that hard ever! We are headed to another Gym recommended by a friend on the southern tip of Ko Pha Ngan. Tomorrow will be tough to drag my self out of bed.
After the morning workout we went for our last meal in Thong Sala - Khunpen Thai. We went to the same place three times cause the food was unreal. We had fried pineapple with rice and chicken and my spiciest dish yet. Thai spicy is what I said and that is what I got - 7 red chillies and 2 green ones. Delicious!
Heading to Haad Rin we stopped at Blue Hill Resort. The property is on the side of the cliff. It is so steep they have an elevator that moves at a 45 degree angle up and down the mountain side - almost like a gondola. Food here is expensive $7 for grilled barracuda or shark (should I try it???). We are starting to think of prices relative to Thailand not Canada as we have been eating for $2-3 per meal. Our villa was $15 cheaper as we opted out of the breakfast. Location was key in this resort so we picked closest to the infinity pool and the ocean. We upgraded to the villa for a total of $33!
Tonight we headed into Haad Rin for dinner. The town that is famous for its full moon party was dead and disappointing. The food was great - Chelsea actually enjoyed the Paneng Curry I had that she traded me her dish Basil Chicken - that was good as well.
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