Cooking up the perfect storm

We took a break from eating marvelous Thai food with a class to (hopefully) learn how to make it. The class we chose -- of several on offer -- was through May Kaidee's vegetarian restaurant. May's original restaurant (which is very good) is in Bangkok; her sister Duyan runs one in Chiang Mai.

Dayun was a ball of energy. First thing in the morning, while we were still blinking and peering around for coffee, she fed us fruit and yogurt, supplied the needed caffeine, slung baskets over our arms, and headed out for ingredients.


To market, to market

At the market, she introduced us to all sorts of vegetables and made key distinctions between types of chilis, mushrooms, eggplants, etc. We did actually (thank you, caffeine) learn a lot from this.


Lesson 1: the smaller, the hotter


Buddhist vegetarians eschew garlic and onion because they supposedly make you greedy. Could be right.

After the intro, we picked up what we needed: jelly and oyster mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, and tofu (she had the rest back at the restaurant), and went back to the restaurant.

(At the market, we remarked upon some curious-looking purplish slabs at the market, but didn't get them. They might look like chocolate pudding, but actually, they're bricks of chicken blood. Hm. No thanks.)


Chop chop!

Some quick cutting up of veggies, and then we trooped upstairs to the kitchen, where two burners and two woks awaited us.


Lesson 2: do not be afraid of oil

Lesser mortals might have been perturbed when the electricity went out a few minutes into the cooking, but Dayun was unfazed. We made two dishes by candlelight. The dark did not make up for the lack of a fan; it was hot. But we cooked on.


Carving some coconut


Check the noodles? Don't mind if I do

After an hour or so the lights and fan returned. We kept mixing, adding dashes and spoonfuls, stirring, tasting, serving, and starting on the next recipe.

We made, in all, about 10 dishes each in about 4 hours. We only realized the extent of it when we saw all the dishes laid out. The picture below shows probably half of it.

Alarmingly, we were then expected to eat what we'd made.


A mere fraction of our handiwork



It was good, no doubt about it. There was just an awful lot of it. We did our best -- and it had been a long time since that yogurt and fruit, so we were hungry -- but we slowed and finally stopped with a lot still on the table. Meanwhile, Dayun had already rounded up a new class and charged off.

We bagged the rest up for dinner and went back to our guesthouse to sleep.

Hands to the sun for baby elephants!

There, I've said it. There is no creature alive cuter than a baby elephant.



Well, maybe baby red pandas, or lemurs. But they're in a category all their own.

For tugging at the heart-strings, elephants might have the rest of the mammals beat. And we just had to get our hands--literally--on some pachy-derm during our stay in Thailand. Enter the Elephant Nature Park outside Chiang Mai. Unlike myriad other elephant attractions in the country, E.N.P. does not offer rides or elephant painting exhibitions. Each of the elephants here--34 in all--have been rescued from lives of service and given a new home on an expansive, cruelty-free compound in the jungle.

Last week, we checked off one more entry on our life "to-do" list: bathe and feed elephants. Below are some photos from the day.


This basket of fruit vanished in just minutes


Who knew elephants were herders?

Each elephant at the park has a story. Some were used in the forest before logging was outlawed in 1989. Others were rescued from the streets of Bangkok where they are used as a tool for begging. They're all given a new life here, where the only concerns are jockeying with other elephant for a basket of fresh fruit, or keeping off the feet of the many dogs that live at the park.

One elephant had an injured foot from an exploded landmine on the Burma-Thai border while another had been blinded by its former mahout (handler). The stories will break your heart and the documentary film that is played during your visit pulls no punches. Thankfully, the founder, Sangduen "Lek" Chailert, and her staff have created a refuge for these sensitive, endearing animals.


Both the mahout and these elephants were in need of a quick dip in the river


Scrub-a-dub-dub


Bucket brigade


Z makes a new friend




The circle of life

If you have the chance to visit Thailand, avoid tourist attractions that feature elephant performances and rides. The methods used to break an elephant are savage beyond imagination and their service and performance is anything but natural. Volunteer at the park if you can, foster an elephant, or make a donation. Funds are tight for all non-profits and Elephant Nature Foundation is no exception. Also, encourage Thailand to outlaw elephant begging. And finally, encourage them to continue protecting the elephants' habitat; their numbers have shrunk from 100,000 a century ago to only 5,000 today -- and only 2,000 in the wild. It's a sad fate for Thailand's greatest symbol. Hopefully the animals, not just their images, will survive.

Chiang Mai monuments

On our first day in Chiang Mai, we wandered through a market and were awed by what we saw. Here, people take their curry seriously.


Serving size?

We're used to getting a little container of curry paste and hanging onto it for months (years?) and we now understand what true amateurs we are.

The red curry comes in different flavors, thus the three red mountains -- the green curry just comes one way (see minor mountain below, at the back, on the left).


Curry by the kilo

We did tear ourselves away from food long enough to visit a few wats (temples); this one had interesting details both in and out -- including some great guardian creatures out front.


Wat Phra Singh

Let's get a close-up of that one on the right.


Straight out of Lewis Carroll

The hall here was covered with wonderful murals from (I think) the mid-1800's -- not particularly old, but very evocative, full of details about daily life --for people and monsters alike.
(We didn't want to use our flash so apologies for the dark photos.)


Battle scene


Got a light?


Regimental dress


Not so regimented... or dressed


And a few more temple guardians

More Sukhothai Please!

The Buddha peeks over


Everything has its place


Slinky shoulders


Chedi at Wat Mahathat


Thais doing the slow ride

Slowing down in Sukhothai

After nearly missing our bus from Bangkok to Sukhothai we were in no mood for any funny business. All seemed well -- powerful AC, passable seats, roadside coffee served up by three bemused kathoey ("lady boys") -- until the video entertainment kicked in. We'd been hoping for a heart-wrenching tale of country girl pushed into the city when her family's water buffalo died, or perhaps some saccharine sweet Thai pop videos. What we weren't expecting was a gory slasher film in the style of The Ring. Anyhow, slightly shaken, we arrived in Sukhothai, six hours north of Bangkok, and settled in at our guest house bungalow.

The main-strip of Sukhothai reminded me of sleepy towns in California's Central Valley -- warm summer nights in a small village with a bit of American Graffiti-style cruising going on, only here it's done on motor-scooter.

After indulging in an evening of ice cream with Dutch chocolate at the fine restaurant Poo, we awoke to clear skies and rented bikes to do some wat cruising ourselves.


Zagat rating available upon request

Elizabeth scored a sweet ride, evidently French, and we set off.


Can you say vroom! Or just cheese


Z getting the hang of the reversed brakes and strange seat height

First up was Wat Mahathat which was the administrative and spiritual center of old Sukhothai; Sukhothai, in turn, was the capital of Thailand in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Wat Mahathat is guarded by a moat that is said to represent the boundary of the universe. Inside, we found a very human scale to the place and were delighted to see so many Thai visitors and even some orange-clad monks posing for pictures.







Calorie intake is never far from our minds and we found some great pad see ew (fried wide noodles with vegetables) along with a refreshing coconut with little effort.



One of the highlights of the day was making our way to Wat Sri Chum. This wat housed a wonderful Buddha statue with elegant, long hands. This was one of the most peaceful parts of the day and we were able to catch our breath amidst the daunting humidity of an impending storm.







We nearly ran out the clock with our final stop at Wat Saphan Hin. This part of the park had actually just closed when we arrived but a friendly policeman said we could run up the hill to take in the view and snap a few photos. Here I really got disoriented -- the scenery is eerily reminiscent of the North Shore of Oahu, minus the surf and slackers.





Trying to beat the clock, (our bikes turned into pumpkins at 5) we pedaled madly back through the outer streets of the heritage park. Resisting the urge to pull over and buy a sturdy bag of local mushrooms, racing an ice-cream tuk-tuk driver, and probably breaking a few Thai traffic laws, we made it back to the bike rental stand just in the nick of time.


Proper order of significance


A fine addition to any family


Since when is cock fighting worthy of world heritage status?



Thoroughly knackered, we returned by tuk-tuk and staggered toward some Dutch chocolate and a sound night's sleep.

Rain like the sound of trains

We've left the intermittently monsoon-drenched and sun-baked Bangkok metropolis for cooler climes in Northern Thailand. We thought it best to use the fast internet connection of Chiang Mai to bring things up to date.

First off, an observation: if there is one thing to compete with the intensity of the humidity in Bangkok it is the power of Thai air conditioning, particularly in the hundreds of 7-11 convenience stores that litter the capital. Where else can you experience a 40 degree temperature differential and get a full complement of thousand calorie snacks?

The following photos are not in order but should give a view into some of the wats we visited and meals we indulged in.


At Wat Pho this little guy was tasked with holding up one of many ostentatious stupas


Here, restoration is done on a small panel within the massive wall paintings illustrating the Ramayana


Mr. Yim serves up some of the best vegetarian cuisine street-side in Banglangphu


Z sips a delicious bowl of tom kha while we wait out a torrential downpour


At Wat Arun, the first step is a doozy...and the next and the next...


Outside the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho


Possibly the best single meal we've had the whole trip: shredded mushrooms fried atop eggplant and ginger and red rice at Than Ma "housetaurant"


A view across the Chao Praya river toward Wat Arun


Z in front of more temple bling


Able-bodied protectorate (Thai chiken-hawk?)outside the Reclining Buddha complex


An artist, catching a ride into history on a vessel more lasting than himself


Grrrr...


The truly massive Reclining Buddha


Intricate gold doorway at yet another wat