Chiang Mai
Wow, we have had quite a busy week! We arrived in Chiang Mai last Wednesday which was the King’s 80th Birthday. This was quite a celebration here in Thailand and the plans have been in the works since we arrived at the end of November. He has been king since age 18 and is really loved by the Thai people so the celebrations were huge. We headed out of our guesthouse around 7pm to find out where the party was and walked by a local Wat (temple) that was lit my many small candles that beckoned us to go in and look around a little. We were delighted when a small gathering of novice monks and Thai people invited us in to help light lanterns and lift them into the night sky. It was great to be involved in a small group of local people taking and laughing and having a great time. Lighting the lanterns was no easy task though, as you had to wait for it to fill with heat and smoke and gently coax it into the sky, mine landed in a tree and I was horrified that it would burn down! They just laughed at me a little and all enjoyed throwing stones to coax it down.
We then had a day of Thai food cooking lessons at a farm that was about 20 minutes out of town. We headed there after first going to a local market to get some supplies and learn more about Thai food ingredients. They use many different seasonings here and each dish has a little spicy, salty, sour, and sweet. I never imagined some of the ingredients that they used to make those four flavors. When we got to the farm, we had a tour of some of their crops and saw the natural ingredients that they use like lemon grass, ginger, beans, eggplant, lime leaves, cilantro, and garlic. It was great to get out of the city for a day and enjoy the fresh air and peace and quiet. Our group was about 7 people and we each had our own cooking station. Our teacher, Sue, went through how to make a number of different Thai dishes with us after demonstrating first. The best part was eating the fruits of our labor at the end. We promise to have a Thai food dinner party when we get home, there is no excuse not to as we received a great cookbook at the end of the day.
Miss you all tons! Sara (and Jarrod)
sara on December 11th 2007 in Vacation
Joe responded on 11 Dec 2007 at 11:19 pm #
Hi Sara and Jarrod,
Glad to see you getting some practical cooking experience on your trip. Can’t wait to taste your first Thai meal when you get back home. Hope you can mix in some steak and shrimp and make it a Thai surf n turf.
Loved the picture of the young monk…it’s reaqlly great you are able to see another culture so up close and personal.
We all miss you terribly back home….continue to have a great time!
Love,
Dad
DEVO responded on 14 Dec 2007 at 2:05 pm #
Jarrod I hope you learn some good recipes and stop by the fire station to make lunch, Hope your having fun nothing but DAMN snow here. Have a cold one for me
DEVO
cashman responded on 21 Dec 2007 at 3:20 pm #
well looks like your two are haveing fun…you are both missing all the snow 24″+…merry xmass and be safe
bill
wfd
jarrod responded on 22 Dec 2007 at 5:08 am #
We are having a blast and I’ll have a cold one for each and every one of you. Tell everyone at the department to have a safe and fun Christmas.
Jarrod