Thai Cooking Class

Let’s get cooking!

Thailand seemed like the place to try another cooking class!

So, that’s what I did today. It was in the outskirts of Chiang Mai in what I can only describe as a sanctuary. Water, watermills, open pagoda-shaped houses – it looked truly dreamy.
Before we arrived at the place itself, we went to a market where we were told about Thai ingredients. While that was interesting, my attention was much more captivated by interesting culinary souvenirs I could acquire to add to my way too heavy backpack full of other souvenirs. I’m actually struggling to manage with the extra weight and volume… Is that stopping me? Well… 😁

The cooking class, led by a chef named Patty, had you prepare 6 dishes in total. You could choose from a selection of options for each category – appetizer, soup, curry, stir-fry, etc.
After every dish was prepared, you could eat it.

I particularly enjoyed my spring rolls! Though it also didn’t take much to feel completely full. I barely touched my Pad Thai, so that was a shame.

After we had made our curries (we had to mortar our own curry paste – hard work!), we followed that up with some lovely mango sticky rice. Now that I know just how much sugar goes in there… Well, there are things you just don’t think about. 😁

All in all, the cooking class was fun, and the digital recipe book you got afterwards is very well-made.

I can compare it to the cooking class in Bali and will say this: Both were amazing!

The chef in Bali was engaging lots more with people, had a fine sense of humour, and his staff was top-notch at organising the whole class. You ate at the end from a buffet of all the dishes you previously prepared. That meant you could avoid overeating.
However, the location of the class in central Seminyak just wasn’t very pretty. This is where the Thai class clearly trumped Bali.

Furthermore, the Bali class had photographers at the ready who took footage of everyone. This was a truly nice memory, especially the video montage they sent us afterwards.
Yes, they almost went over the top and beyond with that, but it made the experience memorable because you kept being constantly awed. Not to mention the certificate at the end.

If both classes were combined: unstoppable.

My co-cookers were largely Chinese, which meant minimal communication, which is always a shame.

One girl in particular just didn’t engage with anyone at all because she was busy photographing and filming everything. Her chopping, stirring, washing her hands.

Yep…

After the cooking class had finished, I went to chill for another 1.5 hours before I ordered a Grab to the bus terminal.

My bus to Chiang Rai was due to leave at 5 pm.

It was only 5 or so km, so it shouldn’t take that long.

Well, my driver kept taking weird turns that kept adding onto the ETA bit by bit. From 4:50 pm to 4:58 pm.

I told my driver that I’m in a hurry and need to catch a bus. What followed was nothing but Thai, which I just don’t understand.

I made it to the terminal at 4:58 pm. I rushed to the information to see where I had to go.
The information told me to queue somewhere, what I did. I had to wait my turn, and that’s where I got incredibly impatient. I was in a rush, sweating, carrying 30+ kg, having to catch a bus in less than 2 minutes, and both of the staff at the counter were involved in leisurely chit-chats about whatever. It was 3 minutes past 5 pm when I was called on, only to find out I’m in the wrong place. I had to go to the other end of the terminal.

So I raced off, already coming to terms with having to wait another 1.5 hours to catch the next bus.

But, lucky me, the bus was still waiting!

I tetrissed my luggage into the bus, aided by a lacklustre driver, and then hesitantly asked if I could still manage a trip to the bathroom.

I could.

I ran to the loo, haphazardly noticing a lady behind another counter, yelling “3 BAAAAAAAHT” after me – at that moment, I frankly didn’t care.

I intended to pay on the way out, but first things first.

Seeing the state of the toilets, my best intentions shrank to a mere moral obligation.
The bathroom was practically flooded and I don’t wanna know the components. No toilet paper (a rare commodity in all of Thailand and Malaysia previously), no soap, and “subpar” hygienic standards. If any at all.

On the way out, I did pay the “3 BAAAAAAAHT”, but I couldn’t mask the potpourri of frustration, disgust, annoyance, rush, worry that were furrowing their way across my face.
I made it onto the bus – only to realise there was a toilet on board that was actually decent enough. 😁

About 4 hours later, close to 9 pm, I arrived in Chiang Rai – at a really nice and QUIET hostel. After the last place, I was thrilled!Read more