Tiny Bars, Thai Idol, Tom Yam, Tokyo & Takeaways

Yesterday Afternoon, we noticed that the little bar beside us (which is not at all little, its very large, and usually empty... and our endless source of entertainment) was setting up for a serious party. They built a stage, put up a screen? Bed sheet? Curtain? At the back of the stage and set up a monitor and video recording equipment. A truck came to drop off some very large speakers and rental equipment, and a Thai man was busy putting signs with arrows all down the street. We have no clue what is going on, so we decide to keep a close eye. Eventually, what looks like “Chiang Mai Idol” begins. There is three or four performers, each get a substantial block of time where they sing popular pop hits. The quality of the singing is likened to karaoke. Anyways, from our vantage point, we see simply the performers silhouette through the sheet? And we can hear everything do to the bumping system. At one point, during the second performer, three Thai men go outside and decide to light some firecrackers in the parking lot. Almost immediately, the straw roof of the restaurant catches on fire. The man on the mic gets wind, says something in Thai, and the restaurant evacuates. Every one runs into the parking lot, where one of the culprits is standing on an SUV swatting out the fire with his jacket. I love the little restaurant next door. The Thai guy who waters the gravel all day, the Women that look up here at us. How they all bolt upright when the tour buses pull in. We watch them all day long.

Last night we met up with Guillome and Jennifer at the Tiny Corner, on Moon Muang Soi 2. And not just a clever name. The bar has 3 tables with a couple plastic stools, a very tiny bar area and a toilet. It is possibly 8sq m. At one point, Jennifer abandoned her stool for the stoop of the business next door (which had closed), and the under the half raised metal door, a thai woman slipped out a pillow for Jennifer to sit on. I love the Thais. The bar has a toilet as well, in which the walls are very neatly covered with Thai women in lingere and sexy poses. The attention to detail was impressive. exactly spaced, cut very preciously, all straight and and like sized images along side each other. The other notable mention of the toilet was the 4 cups labelled S, M, L and Thank You respectively. The S and M cups held condoms, and of course, the L cup was empty.

We enjoyed some Singha and talked with our friends for quite some time. They are very well travelled, having spent some time in various countries all over the world. Both are originally Canadian. They had a remarkable story about trekking through Indonesia – Sumatra. The two of them were with a guide, while the guides wife goes into labour. The guide continues the tour and then invites them back to his home directly afterwards to meet the new baby, and his family. They enter his home, and the wife and newborn are still in bed, although she offers to get up and make them coffee. The family then prepares a special meal of rice and goat with peanut sauce, and offers it to their guests. Jennifer is vegetarian, but understands the significance of this offering, and eats it happily. The grandmother watches the two enjoying her meal and beams. Afterwards, the family asks if Jennifer and Guillome will name the newborn. They give her the name Laurie.

Both of them agree that Indonesia is the most incredible place that they have visited, and that the scenery is mind-boggling. They also say, that you have to dedicate a fair amount of time in order to appreciate the country, its seventeen thousand + islands, its rich culture and incredible geography, and of course, tumultuous weather conditions. These two are for more adventurous than me, and it is truly inspiring. I am working myself up, slowly. Hehe.

Today we awake early and head to May Kaidee's for our cooking class. As we arrive, there is a man waiting in the restaurant enjoying a coffee and fruit (our complementary Thai breakfast) His name is David, originally from Birmingham, Living in Tokyo. He is a vegan, and also excited about the dedicated vegetarian nature of this course. May Kaidee's sister Duan, offered us some coffee with soy milk and a fruit plate as well, and we enjoyed our breakfast while we chatted with David. He had just returned from several days in Cambodia and he had some excellent advice. I had heard that a Cambodia can satisfy in four or so days, and David confirmed. Two days in Siem Reap and two days in Phomn Pehn is plenty if those are your only destinations (the tourist attractions). He also commented on the loveliness of the Cambodian people, and said that visiting the killing fields is well worth the visit. Cambodia is both beautiful and sometimes painful for visitors, as it is impossible not to feel intense compassion for the people.

We then were escorted to the market, where the three of us were schooled on Thai herbs and spices. The market is known as the “cooking class market” and its set up as such. One vendor sells fresh coconut milk, cream and grated coconut along with fresh chili pastes and dry ingredients. Another sells fresh rice noodles, tofu and dried noodles. Another sells mushrooms and herbs, and so on. Many other westerners were being led through the market with cooking class groups, all larger than ours, and baskets of fresh herbs and supplies in their baskets. We learned that shitakes are very expensive in Thailand, and we were introduced to a jelly-like mushroom that looks like, and is referred to as “mouse ears” We sampled the aromatics of various thai basil's, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal. We returned to the restaurant and began cutting up our vegetable mix to use in our recipes, and two more classmates showed up. Rachel from England and Jane from Los Angeles joined our class, although late, ready to learn. The class flowed very well, much like Brigita's yoga classes, with each recipe picking up on elements from the last - and at the same time introducing a key concept that flowed into the next recipe. I was very surprised how easy everything was to make, and how delicious everything turned out. May Kaidees is also known for using organic ingredients from the family farm, and not using MSG. I was very happy we took a dedicated vegetarian course, as most chili pastes have shrimp paste and oyster sauce is often used. I wanted the vegetarian experience. The course was 1200 baht, or $40 each, lasted until about 1:30 from 9am and included our breakfast, lunch and then dinner in the form of takeaways. My favorite thing we made was likely Somtam, Peanut sauce (exceptional) or the Tom Yam.

After the class, we chatted some more with our new friend David, who has invited us to visit him in Tokyo, as he has an extra room.

Incidentally, we figured out how to eat like the Thais. All of their takeaways are in plastic bags with elastic bands sealing in the curry, soup, etc. Trying to figure out a way to reheat my May Kaidees takeaways, I fastened the elastic band to a plastic spoon, and immersed the soup in my kettle and let it boil. Hooray! Warm dinner. I am so proud of this moment. lol.