Had an enjoyable day yesterday at cooking school, only 5 of us there; 2 Ozzie couples so it was great to finally have a conversation with someone.
started off with a market tour, with baskets, to buy ingredients. Boom (means dimples in Thai!) explained all the different ingredients and food that was on offer in the market. all of which we'd previously walked past thinking what on earth is that. she explained all the different kinds of rice and noodles (lots).
we started off by cooking fried cashew nuts with chicken, which was lovely, then prepared spicy noodle salad (all this sat on the ground, of course i can't bend my knee so things were very uncomfortable) and chicken in cocnut milk. we then ate this - oh my gosh it was very spicy indeed. after this we prepared red curry paste by cutting and grinding lots of ingredients up by hand, including lots of red chillis. we used the paste to make red curry - despite me only putting a small amount of paste in it was still too spicy! we also made fried fish cakes to have with it. these were very nice actually, didn't taste like fish at all.
i think i must have drunk litres and litres of water yesterday to cool my mouth down, we all found it a bit too spicy. still we have a beautifully bound recipe book to take awway so now we can make it as mild as we like.
stumbled away at about 3pm after eating 5 dishes since 11pm - very full and only had a salad for dinner last night!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Chiang Mai
this post is all about ELEPHANTS!
first some catching up - arrived in CM 2 days ago - only 2 hours late = 16 hours on the train so not so bad. only had a fan seat so soooo hot during the morning (we arrived at 2.30). found a nice guesthouse only 450Baht for hot water and a swimming pool!
Yesterday I wandered around this walled/moat city and saw a few of the temples that are dotted around - there are over 300 in this city. beautiful outside but a little underwhelming inside. however i am fascinated by the monks. what do they do? why? on friday a local temple hosts a 'monk chat' with monks from the local monastic university so maybe i'll go to that.
yesterday evening i went along to the night bazaar, a couple of streets lined with stalls selling lots of tourist tat and fake brand names, but also some nice stuff too (although none of it i could see a local thai buying, so very tourist orientated) - there's so many westerners here.
now onto today - instead of going for the usual hill tribe trek/elephant ride/bamboo raft trip, i decided to go (at huge expense compared to the other options) to what was described as a 1 day Mahout course (a mahout is an elephant guide/carer).
got up very early this morning and was picked up and taken the 1 hour to the park, north of CM.
we started off the day by feeding the elephants, there were 31 in the park all 'rescued' from one thing or another by the parks founder, each one had a special basket and you had to hold out the food (stood on a platform) for them to grab with their trunk. quite messy eaters. then after our lunch we walked with them down to the river where their real mahouts got them to lay down and we all waded in and threw buckets of water at them and then started scrubbing. after a while of their own volition they got up and wandered away, and we went to see the big male, who was now in Must (like being on heat). we then watched a National Geographic documentary on the founder of the park and the conditions and trauma that domesticated elephants go through before being trained. some not very nice scenes of Thais being horrible to elephants to get them to be docile. i'm not sure i agree with the park's founder that no elephants should work at all; however some laws regarding training and living conditions would help. currently they've got no more rights than a cow, despite being an endangered species.
anyway, the elephants then got another wash in the river before we came home. all this was pushed along by a very nice but heavily tattooed american lady who had been there a long time and was obviously very into her elephants. there were also volunteers there who stay for several weeks and help do all the mucky stuff.
right, tomorrow i'm doing a cooking course so i'll let you know how it goes on saturday. i'll also let you know the website address of the elephant park so you can have a look.
charlotte
first some catching up - arrived in CM 2 days ago - only 2 hours late = 16 hours on the train so not so bad. only had a fan seat so soooo hot during the morning (we arrived at 2.30). found a nice guesthouse only 450Baht for hot water and a swimming pool!
Yesterday I wandered around this walled/moat city and saw a few of the temples that are dotted around - there are over 300 in this city. beautiful outside but a little underwhelming inside. however i am fascinated by the monks. what do they do? why? on friday a local temple hosts a 'monk chat' with monks from the local monastic university so maybe i'll go to that.
yesterday evening i went along to the night bazaar, a couple of streets lined with stalls selling lots of tourist tat and fake brand names, but also some nice stuff too (although none of it i could see a local thai buying, so very tourist orientated) - there's so many westerners here.
now onto today - instead of going for the usual hill tribe trek/elephant ride/bamboo raft trip, i decided to go (at huge expense compared to the other options) to what was described as a 1 day Mahout course (a mahout is an elephant guide/carer).
got up very early this morning and was picked up and taken the 1 hour to the park, north of CM.
we started off the day by feeding the elephants, there were 31 in the park all 'rescued' from one thing or another by the parks founder, each one had a special basket and you had to hold out the food (stood on a platform) for them to grab with their trunk. quite messy eaters. then after our lunch we walked with them down to the river where their real mahouts got them to lay down and we all waded in and threw buckets of water at them and then started scrubbing. after a while of their own volition they got up and wandered away, and we went to see the big male, who was now in Must (like being on heat). we then watched a National Geographic documentary on the founder of the park and the conditions and trauma that domesticated elephants go through before being trained. some not very nice scenes of Thais being horrible to elephants to get them to be docile. i'm not sure i agree with the park's founder that no elephants should work at all; however some laws regarding training and living conditions would help. currently they've got no more rights than a cow, despite being an endangered species.
anyway, the elephants then got another wash in the river before we came home. all this was pushed along by a very nice but heavily tattooed american lady who had been there a long time and was obviously very into her elephants. there were also volunteers there who stay for several weeks and help do all the mucky stuff.
right, tomorrow i'm doing a cooking course so i'll let you know how it goes on saturday. i'll also let you know the website address of the elephant park so you can have a look.
charlotte
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Bangkok
Sleeper train from Chumphorn to Bangkok was pretty fun, the train left an hour and a half late, luckily we were all tucked up inside in our cute little beds so it didn't matter. would have slept much better if it wasn't for my knee oozing stuff all night and the air con made it very cold - i got my sleeping bag out in addition to the pointlessly thin blanket they give you.
got to Bangkok at about 7.30 am and shared a taxi to Khao San Road and found a hotel down a little alley way. air con and hot water!
Khao San Road not at all like i imagined it, more humane and less dirty/dodgy, thank goodness. an atmosphere similar to late night shopping, lots and lots of people, lots of stalls.
Yesterday i walked down to the Grand Palace and associated Wat (Temple), on the way going into the National Museum. First gallery very interesting about the history of thailand and about the different kings - i didn't realise they visited Europe in the 1800s to further relationships with the west and try and modernise Thailand. Nice and cool and in english as well. however after that the museum disintegrated into just a whole pile of boring pots and historic artefacts with no description in very gloomy rooms. however it was nice and cool.
Grand Palace 250B to get in! thats twice my dinner budget! very touristy but beautiful temple and Emerald Budda in the main Wat - you had to sit down on the floor and not point your feet towards it - ie bend your legs which was impossible for me to do with a dodgy foot and bashed up knee so i didn't stay very long. a special little place was reserved for monks, of which there were a few. was amazed to see they had digital cameras in their little handbags. You could only wander round the coutyard of the palace and weren't allowed to go inside, so i got very hot and dehydrated very quickly and was soon templed out. have to say don't think i'll be visiting too many more temples. on Lonely planet's advice i wore my trainers, trousers and a t shirt and was soo hot. plus having to take shoes on/off constantly would have been fine with flip flops and no bad knee, and nobody else seemed to bother with the closed toe shoe thing so i could have worn my flip flops after all. would have made the day much easier.
had a 15Baht Pad Thai for dinner last night, basically stir fried noodles. very cheap! Thanks Chantal.
today i intend to catch the boat down the river to New Bangkok. knee still hurting and i am still limping! hope i make it! Tomorrow i have booked a night train to take me to Chaing Mai, i come back to Bangkok for 1 night before flying home.
got to Bangkok at about 7.30 am and shared a taxi to Khao San Road and found a hotel down a little alley way. air con and hot water!
Khao San Road not at all like i imagined it, more humane and less dirty/dodgy, thank goodness. an atmosphere similar to late night shopping, lots and lots of people, lots of stalls.
Yesterday i walked down to the Grand Palace and associated Wat (Temple), on the way going into the National Museum. First gallery very interesting about the history of thailand and about the different kings - i didn't realise they visited Europe in the 1800s to further relationships with the west and try and modernise Thailand. Nice and cool and in english as well. however after that the museum disintegrated into just a whole pile of boring pots and historic artefacts with no description in very gloomy rooms. however it was nice and cool.
Grand Palace 250B to get in! thats twice my dinner budget! very touristy but beautiful temple and Emerald Budda in the main Wat - you had to sit down on the floor and not point your feet towards it - ie bend your legs which was impossible for me to do with a dodgy foot and bashed up knee so i didn't stay very long. a special little place was reserved for monks, of which there were a few. was amazed to see they had digital cameras in their little handbags. You could only wander round the coutyard of the palace and weren't allowed to go inside, so i got very hot and dehydrated very quickly and was soon templed out. have to say don't think i'll be visiting too many more temples. on Lonely planet's advice i wore my trainers, trousers and a t shirt and was soo hot. plus having to take shoes on/off constantly would have been fine with flip flops and no bad knee, and nobody else seemed to bother with the closed toe shoe thing so i could have worn my flip flops after all. would have made the day much easier.
had a 15Baht Pad Thai for dinner last night, basically stir fried noodles. very cheap! Thanks Chantal.
today i intend to catch the boat down the river to New Bangkok. knee still hurting and i am still limping! hope i make it! Tomorrow i have booked a night train to take me to Chaing Mai, i come back to Bangkok for 1 night before flying home.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Chumphon (again)
A quick post as i'm waiting around in an internet cafe for my train, which leaves in an hour. am loathe to walk to the station as its going to be agony - while walking the 1.5km or so this morning (with bags) to the pier for the ferry (a taxi or taxi boat for one too expenisve) i fell over having turned my foot on a stone. have a huge patch on my knee with no skin and now the top of my foot hurts like hell. all of me plus 20 or so kg of bags lands on one knee, not a scratch on my hands and just a very small cut on the other knee. luckily there were 2 guys behind who came to help me up and lent me their antispetic spray. i cleaned up as much as poss (it was a concrete and dirt road) in the rain and i put a lint thingy on and a bandage. putting liberal amounts of ibuprofen gel and ice on my foot, but i am still limping. think i will rest it for a day in Bangkok tomorrow before setting out to see the city.
ps lots of sympathetic emails please.
ps2 happy birthday to my bro, he's 22 today.
ps lots of sympathetic emails please.
ps2 happy birthday to my bro, he's 22 today.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Koh Tao
Well here i am in Koh Tao, pretty amazing place. got off the boat (no accomodation booked) and was bombarded with people trying to offer me taxis, boat, motorbikes and accommodation. picked one i'd already seen in lonely planet and got there in the afternoon, the other side of the island via a VERY bumpy and rough track. Matt R would have loved it. i honestly thought we were going to have to get off and walk. stayed there for 2 nights but no other solo travellers and very little to do other than sunbathe and snorkel. It was the only accommodationo n that beach and was miles away from civilsation. had a very basic bungalow in the bathroom of which something ate my soap and lip balm.
now i'm back in Hat Sai Ree, the main and busiest beach and staying at Seashell resort, a bit more expensive but no bugs or creatures and no holes for them to get it! great!
just been sat on the beach watching the sun go down with a beer (me, not the sun) and about to have some food, its ladies night in one of the pubs, so cheap food.
booked a sleeper train today to bangkok for thursday night. i have a 2nd class air con top bunk.
see you soon
cx
now i'm back in Hat Sai Ree, the main and busiest beach and staying at Seashell resort, a bit more expensive but no bugs or creatures and no holes for them to get it! great!
just been sat on the beach watching the sun go down with a beer (me, not the sun) and about to have some food, its ladies night in one of the pubs, so cheap food.
booked a sleeper train today to bangkok for thursday night. i have a 2nd class air con top bunk.
see you soon
cx
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Krabi
had a nice time in Hat Karon, yes it was quieter. stayed in a lovely guesthouse with a/c and cable tv! very luxurious. decided to try a few more curries while i was there so had green curry one night and red curry the next. unfortunately both blew my head off so i can't really tell you what they tasted like. the green curry was more of a soup with lumps consistency than what you would imagine a curry to be. on the way back to the hotel on the last night there i patted a baby elephant that was doing tricks outside a resort. very very cute and less than head high. you could buy bananas to feed it and it would bow and say 'thank you' in elephant language (?!)
Got the bus to Krabi the next day and i stayed here 2 nights. Took an island hopping tour yesterday which turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, what with being picked up an hour late, then safety being less than adequate. we paid extra to be on the big boat but it turned out the tide meant we had to use the smaller 'longtail' boats for some transfers to these islands. imagine all 24 people squashed on this teeny teeny boat. on the return leg i insisted that they do two trips as i could just imagine the headlines. plus i could swim but my new camera can't. the beaches were scenic but not so good for swimming, lots of sharp coral or mud. however we did do some snorkelling which was good, although the coral not as beautiful as Fiji. The worst part was the 2 hour drama tryiing to get back to land at the end, the low tide again meant we couldn't get straight off onto the beach and another longtail was called (ie shouted at boat to beach) to pick us up. after one lot had got off, the boat ran out of petrol... anyway finally 1.5 hours late we got off and not a word of apology from the 'guide' who thought he was god's gift to tourists/ women and a bit of a (insert word here). final straw for me was there was no transfer waiting to take me back to krabi. i can't work out surely they have low tides every day? why don't they have things organised for this eventuality? effin useless. at least the water was warm.
anyway decided to go to Koh Tao today and have just gone to the bus station to book a bus to chumphorn - the ferry departure port. next bus in 5 hours (great) and its 2nd class (great, hot, sticky and slow). so i have come back into town to update this and get some cheaper non bus station food.
16 days to go.
oh yes forgot to say the hotel i stayed in in krabi - cold water only and a HUGE cockroach crawled out of my towel as i was about to dry myself last night. spent the whole night in fear of it crawling across the bed.
Got the bus to Krabi the next day and i stayed here 2 nights. Took an island hopping tour yesterday which turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, what with being picked up an hour late, then safety being less than adequate. we paid extra to be on the big boat but it turned out the tide meant we had to use the smaller 'longtail' boats for some transfers to these islands. imagine all 24 people squashed on this teeny teeny boat. on the return leg i insisted that they do two trips as i could just imagine the headlines. plus i could swim but my new camera can't. the beaches were scenic but not so good for swimming, lots of sharp coral or mud. however we did do some snorkelling which was good, although the coral not as beautiful as Fiji. The worst part was the 2 hour drama tryiing to get back to land at the end, the low tide again meant we couldn't get straight off onto the beach and another longtail was called (ie shouted at boat to beach) to pick us up. after one lot had got off, the boat ran out of petrol... anyway finally 1.5 hours late we got off and not a word of apology from the 'guide' who thought he was god's gift to tourists/ women and a bit of a (insert word here). final straw for me was there was no transfer waiting to take me back to krabi. i can't work out surely they have low tides every day? why don't they have things organised for this eventuality? effin useless. at least the water was warm.
anyway decided to go to Koh Tao today and have just gone to the bus station to book a bus to chumphorn - the ferry departure port. next bus in 5 hours (great) and its 2nd class (great, hot, sticky and slow). so i have come back into town to update this and get some cheaper non bus station food.
16 days to go.
oh yes forgot to say the hotel i stayed in in krabi - cold water only and a HUGE cockroach crawled out of my towel as i was about to dry myself last night. spent the whole night in fear of it crawling across the bed.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Phuket
Hi everyone,
a short blog today as i've got to check out in 45 minutes. arrived in phuket on sunday night having not organised accomodation (the hotel i'd emailed didn't reply) but luckily my (expensive) taxi driver stopped off at a tourist info place who phoned around for me. luckily so beacuse most of the places i'd circled were full. so now i'm in Patong, a bit like costa del sol but in thailand. full of english tourists and expats. and everywhere you look fat ugly english blokes with pretty young thais. eurgh, i don't know how they can do it. its like proclaiming 'i can't get a proper girlfriend, i'm going to go and buy one'. sorry, i have a feeling this is going to turn into a ranty email. my room (expensive again) is in the middle of town and wow, has a tv but no windows. would prefer the other way around. although it does have BBC world so have had a dose of proper english instead of northern english i've heard from people around here (sorry Rob).
checking out today and going up the coast (somehow, there's no bus straight there) to a place called Hat Karon which should be a bit quieter. then i'm planning on going straight to Ko Phi Phi, although that will be an expensive place as well. had a really nice Thail curry last night although i suspect it was sweetened up and cooled down a bit to cater to their western clientele.
3 weeks to go today.
cx
a short blog today as i've got to check out in 45 minutes. arrived in phuket on sunday night having not organised accomodation (the hotel i'd emailed didn't reply) but luckily my (expensive) taxi driver stopped off at a tourist info place who phoned around for me. luckily so beacuse most of the places i'd circled were full. so now i'm in Patong, a bit like costa del sol but in thailand. full of english tourists and expats. and everywhere you look fat ugly english blokes with pretty young thais. eurgh, i don't know how they can do it. its like proclaiming 'i can't get a proper girlfriend, i'm going to go and buy one'. sorry, i have a feeling this is going to turn into a ranty email. my room (expensive again) is in the middle of town and wow, has a tv but no windows. would prefer the other way around. although it does have BBC world so have had a dose of proper english instead of northern english i've heard from people around here (sorry Rob).
checking out today and going up the coast (somehow, there's no bus straight there) to a place called Hat Karon which should be a bit quieter. then i'm planning on going straight to Ko Phi Phi, although that will be an expensive place as well. had a really nice Thail curry last night although i suspect it was sweetened up and cooled down a bit to cater to their western clientele.
3 weeks to go today.
cx
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