You may have figured out that we're back in the US now. The trip back was uneventful, but the first night back in Cleveland it snowed. Jet lag doesn't compare to that kind of shock.
I doubt we'll be updating this any more (as the US is boring), but thanks for your interest, and as soon as we do something new and cool, we'll post it here.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
Richard and I have spent the last couple days in Chiang Mai. We took it easy two days ago, wandering around the artsy university neighborhood, reconnecting with some friends we made when we were taking our course, and checking out the Chiang Mai Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders, which was weird quirky and seemed to exist mostly to convince visitors that mosquitoes are wonderful, benevolent creatures. Yesterday, we took a cooking class, which was amazing. We got to spend the whole day with this guy:
He should have his own cooking show. He is endless entertainment, and taught us how to make some great stuff. We started off the class with a trip to the market where we learned about all the different vegetables and herbs that we would be using:
Then we chopped:
We massaged ground coconut with water to make coconut cream:
Then we cooked! We each chose five dishes, so we got to see at least 15 different dishes prepared throughout the day.
Some of Richard's and my handiwork:
We also learned how to make roses out of tomatoes, which was way too hard, but looked really cool:
One other student and I picked som-tam, the spicy papaya salad, so I finally got to try out a mortar and pestle:
Mmm, som-tam:
I was really impressed with the class. The food tasted great, and if I can recreate it at home, it will certainly help ease the transition back to American cuisine.
He should have his own cooking show. He is endless entertainment, and taught us how to make some great stuff. We started off the class with a trip to the market where we learned about all the different vegetables and herbs that we would be using:
Then we chopped:
We massaged ground coconut with water to make coconut cream:
Then we cooked! We each chose five dishes, so we got to see at least 15 different dishes prepared throughout the day.
Some of Richard's and my handiwork:
We also learned how to make roses out of tomatoes, which was way too hard, but looked really cool:
One other student and I picked som-tam, the spicy papaya salad, so I finally got to try out a mortar and pestle:
Mmm, som-tam:
I was really impressed with the class. The food tasted great, and if I can recreate it at home, it will certainly help ease the transition back to American cuisine.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Cooking Class
Laura and I just wrapped up a cooking class here in the foreigner-friendly area of Chiang Mai. It was a lovely experience. We went to the market and bought fresh veggies. We were expertly guided through a battery of curries, soups and stir frys. After a needed digestion break, we came to the curveball of the day, decoration. This involved making a rose out of a cut up tomato. Sound impossible? Well, let's just say everybody but me got the hang of it quickly but one. One named Richard. I made such a mess of this tomato that the other people at the table couldn't help but point and laugh. The instructor with the help of a more capable student managed to turn my fiasco into a frankensteinish abomination of a rose. I believe Laura took pictures, and maybe she'll post them if I let her. The rest of the class was great, and the people were lovely, and I fully recommend the Eagle House Cooking Class to anyone near Chiang Mai.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Chiang Rai
Richard and I spent the last few days in Chiang Rai, the northern-most big city in Thailand. I really like it here. It's similar to Chiang Mai, but smaller and more laid-back. The night market is way less obnoxious than the one in Chiang Mai, and there are two stages with live music and dancing. It's pretty nice. We walked around a lot, hit the market three times, ate at some fun restaurants and went on a day-long trek. Two days ago, we went to the restaurant "Cabbages and Condoms," which was started as part of an effort to raise awareness in Thailand about birth control and STD prevention. The first restaurant was in Bangkok, but now there are locations all over Thailand. It has lots of great condom paraphernalia, including the Santa Claus made out of condoms!
We were browsing in a local bookstore when we learned that Richard has written a book about Thailand!
Because there are a lot of hill tribe people still living in villages around Chiang Rai, a lot of people come up here to do treks, where they hike out to hill tribe villages with a guide. Richard and I knew some people who had gone on treks and loved them, so we figured we might as well do it. We checked out the Chiang Rai hill tribe museum first, which made us a little wary about the whole operation. It gave lots of good information about the different hill tribes, which include the Akha, Lahu, Karen, Hmong and Lisu, but it also made sure to point out all the ways that trekking contributes to the destruction of their way of life. That gave us pause, but we decided we'd regret it if we didn't give it a try. We did a trek with the Akha River House, which was the guest house where we were staying. The guest house and trekking business are all owned and run by Akha people, and profits all go towards their village fund, so it seemed like a pretty socially responsible way to do a trek. We just went on a one-day trek, and it was a lot of fun, but the hill-tribe interaction was definitely disappointing and kind of pointless. We walked through or around four different villages, most of them located in a national park, and the people either ignored us or aggressively hawked their goods. I feel like we've gotten a much better glimpse of the Thai traditional way of life, just by walking around the neighborhoods where we teach, or in any town a few blocks away from the tourist center. So, that whole part of the trek felt silly, and I did feel a little bad for contributing to the whole business. On the other hand, the hike through the national park was beautiful and our guide was awesome. He knew a lot about the plants and wildlife, gave us a few edible plants to try, and explained a lot of the hill-tribe farming methods while we were walking through their planting areas. We saw and played in a beautiful waterfall.
All in all, it was a fun day, but not worth the hype. All the people we know who loved their treks did an overnight trek, where they stayed with a hill tribe, had dinner, drank their homemade whiskey, etc. Perhaps an overnight trek is more exciting. Speaking of exciting, and to change the subject a little, Richard and I went to see the coolest wat today, Wat Rong Khun.
Because there are a lot of hill tribe people still living in villages around Chiang Rai, a lot of people come up here to do treks, where they hike out to hill tribe villages with a guide. Richard and I knew some people who had gone on treks and loved them, so we figured we might as well do it. We checked out the Chiang Rai hill tribe museum first, which made us a little wary about the whole operation. It gave lots of good information about the different hill tribes, which include the Akha, Lahu, Karen, Hmong and Lisu, but it also made sure to point out all the ways that trekking contributes to the destruction of their way of life. That gave us pause, but we decided we'd regret it if we didn't give it a try. We did a trek with the Akha River House, which was the guest house where we were staying. The guest house and trekking business are all owned and run by Akha people, and profits all go towards their village fund, so it seemed like a pretty socially responsible way to do a trek. We just went on a one-day trek, and it was a lot of fun, but the hill-tribe interaction was definitely disappointing and kind of pointless. We walked through or around four different villages, most of them located in a national park, and the people either ignored us or aggressively hawked their goods. I feel like we've gotten a much better glimpse of the Thai traditional way of life, just by walking around the neighborhoods where we teach, or in any town a few blocks away from the tourist center. So, that whole part of the trek felt silly, and I did feel a little bad for contributing to the whole business. On the other hand, the hike through the national park was beautiful and our guide was awesome. He knew a lot about the plants and wildlife, gave us a few edible plants to try, and explained a lot of the hill-tribe farming methods while we were walking through their planting areas. We saw and played in a beautiful waterfall.
All in all, it was a fun day, but not worth the hype. All the people we know who loved their treks did an overnight trek, where they stayed with a hill tribe, had dinner, drank their homemade whiskey, etc. Perhaps an overnight trek is more exciting. Speaking of exciting, and to change the subject a little, Richard and I went to see the coolest wat today, Wat Rong Khun.
It was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat, a Thai artist who does a lot of melding of Thai traditional Buddhist art with modern pop culture, and this temple definitely did that. Every part of the temple represents something important in Buddhism. I won't get into much of the symbolism, because I didn't actually grasp all of it. One of the unique elements was what seemed to be a depiction of the underworld, but I think actually represents the evils in the mind:
Then there was a bridge, symbolizing the path to the Abode of the Buddha. But first you had to get past this guy:
Inside the wat, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was amazing. Along with the standard Buddhas was a huge mural of all sorts of pop-culture, sci-fi elements, all mixed up with the images of demons that you see in many other wats. There were some star wars pictures, Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, and even a picture of a plane crashing into the twin towers. According to Wikipedia, the pictures represented an "escape from the defilements of temptation to reach a supramundane state." I'm not really sure what that means but it was awesome. Chiang Rai has been tons of fun, now we're heading back south a few hours to Chiang Mai.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sukhothai and Lampang
After Ayutthaya, Richard and I headed to Sukhothai, which was the capital of the Sukhothai kingdom when it ruled Thailand in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Sukhothai era is sometimes seen as the golden age of Thailand, a time of peace and prosperity. We rented bikes and pedaled around the ruins. While the Ayutthaya ruins tower over the modern city of Ayutthaya, the Sukhothai ruins are located in a park. It's a little less awe-inspiring, but more peaceful.
These little kids are kneeling in front of a statue of Ramkamhaeng, the most famous king of Sukhothai. I feel like he's regarded a little bit like we regard George Washington. He united a lot of Thailand under Sukhothai rule, promoted the arts, and created the first version of the Thai alphabet. The kids, barely more than toddlers, ran up, took their shoes off, carefully climbed up the stairs, and gave their offerings.
Old ruins are cool and all, but after two days of them, Richard and I started to get a little goofy.
After Sukhothai, we took the bus to Lampang, a town that's a little farther off the tourist path. Its mascot is a chicken, so there are statues of chickens all over the place. We were pretty excited to find little shops selling local artwork and crafts near our guest house, instead of the usual knick-knack junk vendors. It was very refreshing. I also got a lovely hour-long, three-dollar massage that hurt much less than the one I got in Chiang Mai. We rented a motorbike, and had fun riding around the city and to the sites a little ways out of town. We visited the Wat Phra Tat Lampang Luang, which is possibly the oldest wooden building in Thailand. Here's a picture, featuring the famous Lampang horse-drawn carriages.
We got some delicious food at a restaurant called Aroy One Baht (Delicious One Baht) which was delicious and cheap, living up to its name. And then we stumbled across a bar with a weirdly awesome dinosaur theme.
This morning, we went to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, which has an elephant hospital and provides free medical care to ailing elephants. We wanted to ride an elephant while supporting a worthwhile organization, and I think we succeeded. There's a lot of space, the elephants seem to be well treated, and the hospital is definitely providing a good service. The elephant ride was great!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Ayutthaya
Richard and I kicked off our travels two days ago by zipping to Bangkok, running some errands, and then taking the train to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya was the capital of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1350 until it was invaded and destroyed by the Burmese army in 1767. Most of the ruins of the city lie on an island-like piece of land that is bordered by three rivers. The modern city of Ayutthaya has grown up and around the ruins, so you really just stumble upon them in some parts of the town. Richard and I rented bikes and rode around all day. Without further ado, Ayutthaya:
Monday, March 2, 2009
Goodbye Hua Hin!
Richard and I finished teaching on Thursday, so we've been hanging out around Hua Hin, but will leave as soon as we get our last paycheck. Our plan is to travel back up north and see some more of the country before we come back home, probably on the 17th or 18th. I'm going to miss teaching here so much! I just wanted to put up a few more pictures of my school. But first: hanging out with our co-teachers! Richard and I took Chrystal and Noi out to dinner and it was tons of fun! We should have done it more often. Here are some more pictures of my school and my kids. The ones where they're holding flowers are from Maka Puja, a Buddhist holiday they celebrated in February.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)