Monday, 22 July 2013 – Siam Rice Thai Cookery School, Chiang Mai, Thailand

We enjoyed our last cooking school experience so much that we decided to book ourselves into another cooking course.  This time we chose an all day course.

Our course started at the food market at the edge of the old city. Our teacher Yuii took us to a couple of stalls and gave us some detailed explanations about various herbs and vegetables.

Thai ginger/finger ginger

Thai flavour package – lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, galangal and turmeric root – can be purchased for 5 Bath

Then we were taken to the cooking school, a ten minute drive away where we spent the next few hours preparing, cooking and eating a six course meal. We each made soup, noodles, curry, salad, stir fry and dessert. The really great thing about this course was that we were able to make different things and in so doing learn how to cook more dishes.

Chicken coconut soup

Spicy soup with sweet basil

Keith cooking pad si ew (fried big noodles)

Suzie cooking drunken noodles (very spectacular with a flaming wok due to the addition of water to the hot oil)

Ingredients for curry paste

Khao soy (special Chiang Mai curry noodle dish)

Jungle curry

Papaya salad

Green mango salad

Fried holy basil with chicken

Fried ginger with chicken

Sticky rice with young coconut and banana in coconut milk

As we cooked each dish, we sat down and ate it – so by the time we finished cooking, we were all totally stuffed full. At the end of the course Yuii presented each of us with a Certificate and a recipe booklet. It was a really fun way to spend the day.

17 – 18 July 2013 – Slow boat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai

Our time in Laos was at an end and we needed to start making our way back to Bangkok for the next leg of our trip.  We had a couple of options – fly straight from Luang Prabang, Laos to Chiang Mai, Thailand; or take a boat up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai on the Laos-Thai border (with an overnight stop in Pak Beng). 

After much debate we decided to take the two day slow boat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai.  We were worried because there were reports of it being very uncomfortable and cramped with too many passengers.

However, the boat trip turned out to be an amazing experience!  As we were heading in the opposite direction to most travellers and it was low season, the boat was only half full so there was plenty of room. We had cushions on our bench seats with a table, plenty of room and because it was overcast and rainy, it was cool. It was a relaxing and wonderful trip with beautiful scenery.

Boat similar to the one we travelled on

Pak Ou Caves

11 – 16 July 2013 – Luang Prabang, Laos

The old quarter of Luang Prabang is located on a peninsula bounded by the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan River on the other.  The UNESCO listed peninsula is a patchwork of Buddhist temples, Indochinese mansions converted into guesthouses and hotels, and French colonial buildings.

One of the nicest things about Luang Prabang were the night markets in Sisasangvong Street.  Every night this street is closed off to traffic and rows of stalls are set up and strung with coloured lights.  On sale are a range of hand made handicrafts – silverware, textiles, lanterns, paper and art.

Tuesday, 15 July 2013 – Tamarind Cooking School, Luang Prabang, Laos

We booked ourselves into an evening cooking course at the Tamarind Cooking School which was held in a beautiful out of town location overlooking a lily-filled dam.

The cooking school was really well organised with all ingredients washed and prepped.

On arrival we were issued with an apron and handtowel and then we made our way to a fully equipped workstation. Over the next couple of hours, our teacher demonstrated each dish and then we pounded, chopped, grilled, peeled, wrapped and stuffed our way through each course.

We were first shown how to make sticky rice (white and purple) in Laos bamboo steamers.

Then we made a couple of dips (Suzie made a smoky eggplant dip, Keith made a Lao tomato salsa), fish steamed in banana leaves, chicken stuffed lemongrass and finally dessert - purple coconut sticky rice served with fresh local fruit.

Charcoal roasted ingredients for eggplant dip and tomato salsa

The finished product

Fish steamed in banana leaves

Chicken stuffed lemongrass

Purple sticky rice served with fresh local fruit

After cooking all the dishes, we all sat down together to eat. In addition to the dishes that we had made, on the table was bamboo soup, sour peanut dipping sauce (for the stuffed lemongrass), steamed pumpkin salad with sesame, and a minced buffalo and herb salad.

It was all totally delicious and even though we had been to a couple of really nice Laos restaurants in Luang Prabang, we felt that it was the nicest food that we had eaten in Laos. Just before we were transferred back to Luang Prabang we were each given a little cookbook containing recipes for everything we had eaten and more.  We were really pleased because all of these ingredients are readily available in Australia so we should be able to reproduce these dishes.

Saturday, 13 July 2013 – Kuang Si Waterfalls, Luang Prabang, Laos

It was a really hot day so we decided to cool off with a swim in the Kuang Si Waterfalls, 30 kms outside Luang Prabang. 

The waterfalls were set in a lush green park. Near the entrance were a couple of enclosures housing Asiatic black bears that had been rescued from poachers.

We stayed to watch them being fed before heading to the falls for a swim. The waterfalls were really stunning – water cascaded from multiple levels and tumbled over limestone formations into menthol green pools.

We climbed up to the highest pool without a “No Swimming Area” sign and clambered in over the slimy mud and rocks for a swim. We got a shock because the water was icy cold and then we found ourselves being nibbled by hundreds of small fish – just like the Dr Fish Spas!!

We spent a pleasant couple of hours swimming, talking to other travellers and watching the young backpackers (braver than us) diving off the falls and playing on the rope swing.

Saturday, 13 July 2013 – Tak Bat Ceremony, Luang Prabang, Laos

This morning we got up early so that we could watch the ancient Buddhist ritual of Tak Bat – the morning alms giving ritual. At sunrise silent saffron robed monks (with the oldest in front) walk in single file along the main streets of Luang Prabang carrying large lidded urns attached to their shoulders by a strap. Lining the streets waiting for them are locals and tourists (men standing and women kneeling) with offerings of sticky rice, crackers and incense sticks. As each monk files past, he receives a handful of sticky rice which is dropped into his urn. There are around 80 temples in Luang Prabang and over 2,000 monks so we saw several “batches” of monks coming from all directions. However there were only a few devotees with offerings in the street outside our hotel, so the monks moved quite fast and the ceremony was over in around 15 minutes.