Waiting to take you away...
Okay so more details on the Thailand leg of moonbug's magical mystery tour...
Chang Mai was really lovely, the sort of town where one can just sit, grab a smoothie and chill out. It caters extensively for both monks and tourists, there are lots of Wats, over 500 tour guides and heaps of vegetarian places to eat. It's a lot quieter than Bangkok and also a lot cleaner. Other than going to see the elephants (and meeting the hippie geek tour guide) we also went up to the Wat on the mountain (the name of which I have forgotten right now). The views of Chang Mai from there were great (lots of photos) and the Wat is where the Emerald Buddha statue was originally held. Lots of pretty sculptures and statues as well as very detailed teak carvings and murals. Our tour guide Ping Pong (yes that is her name, no I am not making it up) was great and could tell us lots of stuff not only about Buddhism but also about the Wat's history. I particularly liked the story of the hen called Pho who lived in the Wat and used to attack anyone who did not remove their shoes before entering.
Also did a cooking workshop. There are literally dozens of different places you can do them in both Chang Mai and Bangkok. The place we went to had an open air kitchen on the river which was lovely, I thought the green snake that slid by whilst I was washing my hands was great- the lady from Belgium did not. It also offered about 6 or 7 options as to what you wanted to learn and were really sensitive to allergies and picky food people. We did the Thai Vegetarian Cooking course and learnt how to make Pad Thai noodles, fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, mushroom and baby corn stir fry, sweet and sour vegies, black rice pudding and fruit carving. The first hour was spent walking through the garden with a crash course on Thai herbs- what they look like, where to find them, how to use them and what to substitute. Very much worth doing for this alone. The fruit carving (okay vegetable carving- we practiced on carrots) was really amusing- I made a flower and a butterfly and Simon made a mockery of the art (his words not mine).
After Chang Mai we went down to Ayuthaya which is about 150km north of the capital. This is after our plans to go to Sukothai and Lopburi were dismissed due to rain and timing. For more information on being thrown off a bus in the rain, see Simon's blog. Adventures are fun!
After two nights in a gorgeous 80 year old teak guesthouse in Ayuthaya we caught the train back to Bangkok. Also got the chance to meet up with Monge, one of the many people also part of the main Vegan mailing list I'm on. Was pretty cool and he introduced us to the best falafel in the world. Yes it's strange after eating some of the best Thai food I have ever eaten over the past 10 days, it turns out that a stall on Khon San Road has the best falafel I have ever eaten. Khon San Road is also incredibly touristy- the only Thai people I saw were the vendors and Tuk Tuk drivers. Lot's of neon as well, though not as much as Hong Kong.
Monge also explained the road rules for us- they are just a suggestion rather than a requirement. This is something we gathered when walking across pedestrian crossings and realising that the cars weren't slowing down in the slightest (thankfully the buses did). Motorbikes tend to be a law unto themselves often running red lights, and traveling in a Tuk Tuk is something everyone should experience. Interestingly we didn't witness any road accidents in the time we were here.
I'm sure my posts from Europe will be less food orientated as I will only be able to afford two minute noodles from now on.
Waiting for the plane...
Chang Mai was really lovely, the sort of town where one can just sit, grab a smoothie and chill out. It caters extensively for both monks and tourists, there are lots of Wats, over 500 tour guides and heaps of vegetarian places to eat. It's a lot quieter than Bangkok and also a lot cleaner. Other than going to see the elephants (and meeting the hippie geek tour guide) we also went up to the Wat on the mountain (the name of which I have forgotten right now). The views of Chang Mai from there were great (lots of photos) and the Wat is where the Emerald Buddha statue was originally held. Lots of pretty sculptures and statues as well as very detailed teak carvings and murals. Our tour guide Ping Pong (yes that is her name, no I am not making it up) was great and could tell us lots of stuff not only about Buddhism but also about the Wat's history. I particularly liked the story of the hen called Pho who lived in the Wat and used to attack anyone who did not remove their shoes before entering.
Also did a cooking workshop. There are literally dozens of different places you can do them in both Chang Mai and Bangkok. The place we went to had an open air kitchen on the river which was lovely, I thought the green snake that slid by whilst I was washing my hands was great- the lady from Belgium did not. It also offered about 6 or 7 options as to what you wanted to learn and were really sensitive to allergies and picky food people. We did the Thai Vegetarian Cooking course and learnt how to make Pad Thai noodles, fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, mushroom and baby corn stir fry, sweet and sour vegies, black rice pudding and fruit carving. The first hour was spent walking through the garden with a crash course on Thai herbs- what they look like, where to find them, how to use them and what to substitute. Very much worth doing for this alone. The fruit carving (okay vegetable carving- we practiced on carrots) was really amusing- I made a flower and a butterfly and Simon made a mockery of the art (his words not mine).
After Chang Mai we went down to Ayuthaya which is about 150km north of the capital. This is after our plans to go to Sukothai and Lopburi were dismissed due to rain and timing. For more information on being thrown off a bus in the rain, see Simon's blog. Adventures are fun!
After two nights in a gorgeous 80 year old teak guesthouse in Ayuthaya we caught the train back to Bangkok. Also got the chance to meet up with Monge, one of the many people also part of the main Vegan mailing list I'm on. Was pretty cool and he introduced us to the best falafel in the world. Yes it's strange after eating some of the best Thai food I have ever eaten over the past 10 days, it turns out that a stall on Khon San Road has the best falafel I have ever eaten. Khon San Road is also incredibly touristy- the only Thai people I saw were the vendors and Tuk Tuk drivers. Lot's of neon as well, though not as much as Hong Kong.
Monge also explained the road rules for us- they are just a suggestion rather than a requirement. This is something we gathered when walking across pedestrian crossings and realising that the cars weren't slowing down in the slightest (thankfully the buses did). Motorbikes tend to be a law unto themselves often running red lights, and traveling in a Tuk Tuk is something everyone should experience. Interestingly we didn't witness any road accidents in the time we were here.
I'm sure my posts from Europe will be less food orientated as I will only be able to afford two minute noodles from now on.
Waiting for the plane...
posted by moonbug @ Sunday, September 26, 2004
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