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From Kuala Lumpur we flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand where
we spent seven days visiting the local temples, night markets, night
bazaars and learning to cook Thai food.
Our first two days we went to the internationally
renowned Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School owned by Sompon Nabnian,
Thailand's international TV chef. Sompon made a series for British
television called, "Thai Way" and is currently filming another series.
We were lucky enough to have Sompon teach us to cook
some of the dishes on two of the three days we attended his cookery
school, which is based in his "Southfork Ranch" style home about half an
hour outside the city! As well as learning to cook eighteen fabulous
dishes we also had an introduction to Thai ingredients, learnt how to make
the curry pastes and vegetable carving! The Spring Rolls, Tom Yam Soup,
Green Curry, Pad Thai, Panaeng Curry, Roast Duck Curry and Mango with
Sticky Rice were our favourites.
The hardest part of the three days was having to eat
all the food we made (not), although on the first day we put the amount of
chillies into the dishes that they told us to, which
was much less than they put in their own dishes, and I regretted it that
later that day! The other two days we both put much less chilli
into the dishes than they said! There was one particularly cocky girl
from the USA who bragged that she could eat really hot dishes and
chillies, just like the Thai people! She kept asking
for extra chillies so she could put the same
amount in that they used! We heard her in the toilets at the end of the
day and boy was she wrong! Poor little Yankee doodle lost her dandy, big
style! Such a shame!
The three days were really enjoyable and great fun.
The staff make such a difference, making everything so simple and
creating the confidence in you that you need to go home and cook these
dishes. In particular, Ahn was someone who really made the time a
tremendous experience and we also want to say a big thank you to Garn,
Boom, Roong, Peem and Meaw.
After two days of cooking we decided to do something
different, so we went around the home furnishing shops and workshops where
you could see how they make the different products. The most interesting
being the Ceramic, Silk, Lacquer, Wood and Umbrella stores. At one of the
markets we visited we had some paintings done for our family and it was
incredible watching them create these pictures right in front of us.
We also visited Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. Wat Phrathat
being the name of the temple at the top of Doi Suthep, the name of the
hill.
During the reign of King Kuena (1355-1385) holy relics
were placed in a howdah on the back of a white elephant which carried them
to Wat Phrathat where it dropped down dead from fatigue. Where the
elephant died is where they built a seven metre high "chedi.” The chedi
is decorated in a Lanna-style and the current complex that you see dates
from 16th century. Leading up to the temple are 306 steps bordered by a
NAGA balustrade, which looks like a huge serpent and although we took a
cable-car to the top we did walk down them!
The following morning we left the hotel at 6:00am to go
and give food to the monks and receive a blessing of good luck from them
as they walk down from the temple into the town to receive food. This was
an amazing experience and to see how many Budhists
donate food to the monks in order to receive good luck was incredible.
After this we visited three of the most famous temples
in Chiang Mai and were very lucky as nobody else except the monks where at
the temples at that time of the morning. We visited Wat Prasing, founded
by King Phayoo around 1345. Wat Chedi Luang, built in 1391 during the
reign of King Saen Muang Ma and expanded until reached its final form in
1475. King Tilokarat then made it the home of the Emerald Buddha, the
most important cultural treasure in Thailand. At one point the chedi was
144 feet wide and 282 feet tall but was damaged by an earthquake in 1545.
The last temple we visited was Wat Chiang Mun, built in the 1296-1297
period, it was the first royal temple built in Chiang Mai city.
At Wat Chiang Mun we paid money to a local to release a
family of birds that had been caught by her. We later found out that this
is done to get good luck! Personally, I did it because I didn't want to
see these birds stuck in a little cage!
Each evening we
wandered around the night market, where I am certain if you wanted to find
something you probably could, although it was 99% guaranteed to be a fake!
One night we went to see some "Muay Thai" Thai boxing.
These guys were half my size and weight, but there is no way I would ever
get into a fight with them, especially the ones that won! Although
nobody, thankfully, got seriously hurt there were a couple of boxers who
had to be attended to in the ring and then helped back to the dressing
rooms! I had a wager on three of the fights with one of the locals and
lost all three bets! Didn't see that coming!
Another evening we went to the Chiang Mai Cultural
Centre where we had a Khantoke dinner. The Khantoke is a circular wooden
tray set on pedestal that serves as a table, which is served whilst you
are sat on the floor. Western people are not designed to sit cross-legged
on a hard floor and eat!
During the meal we saw some Lanna dances, such as the
Fingernail dance and the Sword dance. The fingernail dance is a
traditional dance used to welcome visitors, whilst the twelve sword dance
is adapted from an ancient martial art. After dinner you then move to
another part of the centre to experience some hill-tribe music and dance.
Two of the groups of people we saw dance that night came from tribes that
we visited a few days later up in Chiang Rai. They were the Lahu (Musur
people) and Akha (Igor people) tribes. |