Thai cooking class

Sorry this article should have been posted on the 22nd (to many Singh’s)

Up early first ones down for breakfast. Today we are attending a Thai cooking class. A Song Thaew picks us up at 9 and we drive into old Chiang Mai. First hotel we pick up a Japanese girl, she climbs in to Van not saying a word sits down an immediately gets out her phone. She has a handbag with Gucci on the strap, we have never seen so many designer labels, of course some could be fakes.

Next hotel we pick up two girls, opposite to grumpy. The are from Gallica, so this is good five of us. We arrive at a market. Oh no lots of people. But we saved they split groups into languages, so we have the two Spanish girls, a couple from Germany. We assemble by a stall selling vegetables and we are greeted by Peanut our young instructor. He tells us about the ingredients that we will use today. After we have time to look around the market. Being a fish in Thailand is not good. Lots of big baskets containing large fish, far too many fish all gasping for air, turtles big and tiny and frogs, they are all kept alive. Back to the car.

We arrive at Mama Noi’s the cooking school. Here we are joined by a Canadian lady and her daughter, they are taking a year off and seeing the world and a older Japanese lady. The class is shown round the organic garden. It’s a strange garden it has some lovely plants, but a lot of plastic Disney type characters.

In the hall where we are going to cook Peanut give us a menu to choose what we are going to cook. First job is preparing a curry paste using a pestle and mortar, that gets some perspiration going. Next is the soup, followed by a noodle dish. It’s all very tasty. Three of the class have just booked half a day so after the main meal is cooked they leave. We are thinking of leaving as we are stuffed. The next class is taken by a character what people call a Lady Boy. He is all made up, including pouting lips, just adds to the day. We make Spring Rolls and Bananas fritters. There is no way we can eat them so they pack them up as a takeaway. Before we leave we purchase a chopper 120 Bhat.

This evening we are heading back to  Boy Blue Bar. First we look around the market. The Dame purchases a couple of things and some nice Christmas decorations. Tonight Boy Blue himself is playing. We are surprised not that many people in the bar. The band has a Sax player, drums, organ, bass and Boy on guitar. Boy is a real character, big mop of curly grey hair beneath a huge smile. He plays his guitar in an unusual way and gets a lot of unusual sound. Between Boy and the Sax player they get some good music going.

A really good evening. Back to hotel another early start.