I know you want a bite

Oh what a lovely few days it has been! On our last day in Chiang Mai Lalainia and I took a cooking class (highly recommended). Our teacher had a great sense of humor. First she took us to a local outdoor market to talk to us about the traditional ingredients they use in Thailand. Such a beautiful sight of colors and a variety of “interesting” smells- I think fish sauce may be my new kitchen staple even though it smells quite rank! After that we went to her lovely outdoor kitchen under a 200 year old Bodhi tree. There was a Dutch couple with us as well that were a lot of fun. We learned how to cook Tom Kha Kai (my new favorite), green curry, pad thai and some stir fried veggies. I’ve fallen in love with lemon grass and lime leaves. I’ll have to show off my new skills when get home.

A peek at a Lisu Hill Tribe Village

The next day Lalainia headed off to Laos and I jumped on a bus up to Pai. On the bus I met an American man who pointed out he and his Lisu wife’s listing in Lonely Planet for a home stay in Soppong within a traditional Lisu hill tribe village. The hour bus ride from Pai up to Soppong from Pai was insanely beautiful. Imagine lush, dense forested mountains with fields of rice paddies as the sun sets. Amazing. We arrived in time for dinner which (like most my meals there) consisted of some liver and intestines maybe, cooked up with some veggies, rice and a veggie dish. Pretty tasty actually… We (the couple, the wife’s son, his wife and baby) ate together in their outdoor kitchen on a table low to the floor sitting on little stools. Baby was sleeping on mom’s back with a baby carrier of a long piece of fabric. It’s great to see the moms and grandmas strap the little ones on and go about their daily business! I didn’t sleep well that night as the roosters began crowing at 1am. I also got bit by a bug in my bed and when I got out of bed (and out of my mosquito net) I saw a spider the size of my palm hanging out in the corner. Long story short, after a few minutes of biting my nails trying to figure out what to do, I killed it, after, of course, I let out a ‘lil scream. Anyhow, the next day we went for a walk through the village and had some fruit and tea for breakfast. Did some yoga, meditation, then had lunch. After that we walked up to the fields where they were harvesting kidney beans- I got to see the rice fields, corn, ginger, beans… They work very hard. It was a lovely experience till the American guy made a pass at me and I decided it was time to go! So even though the experience was great, I would not recommend this particular one…

Pai hot springs

Scooterin' around Pai. Harvesting

So I went back to Pai, found a place to stay and made friends with a lovely group of single travels from across the globe. We rented scooters and rode up to the hot springs. The ride was sooo much fun- I’ve never driven a scooter before and the landscape was again, breath taking. On the way back down we stopped at a Wat to watch the sun set. We had a family style dinner at our “Family House” guest house that has the most amazing food- green curry, massaman, panang curry and tom kha kai soup- yum!  The next day as everyone was hung over, I rode by myself up to a waterfall and hiked around there and took a dip in the water. Then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring on my scooter. Seriously one of the highlights of my trip so far!

Now I’m in Cambodia and will be exploring Angkor Wat this week. Stay posted…

Scootering around Pai. What kind of cow is this anyhow?

Tags: Cooking class, Lisu Hill Tribe, Pai, Soppong, south east asia travel, Thailand