We're back in Melbourne!

The time has finally come to start making our way back home. Instead of just taking a direct flight back to the States, we are following our tracks backwards making week-long-ish stops in Australia and Hawaii. So yesterday/today we made our way from Chiang Mai to Melbourne.

The quick summary of our travels is that it was a very long day. We had to get a taxi to the Chiang Mai airport, catch a flight to Bangkok, switch airlines, go through security again, kill time in Bangkok's airport and spend the rest of our Baht, catch a very long overnight flight to Melbourne, and then navigate the public transit that we already know and love to our Australian home away from home in Altona. It all went very smoothly other then our long flight to Melbourne being miserable, and possibly the worst flight we've had yet, due to some bright entertainment screens that were stuck on the whole flight and due to being seated in front of a very loud/rambunctious/drunk group of people. A quick PSA: Don't ever be those people cuz I feel like there must be a special place in hell for those that inconsiderate. That may be way too harsh, but we were not able to get much sleep, and I am still very cranky about it. 

But most importantly we have arrived safe and sound. And of course the first thing we did after dropping off our bags was to run over to Coles just down the road and pick up groceries so that we can finally once again cook/bake for ourselves. 

Katie was so excited to bake again!

p.s. Katie shared her cookies with some of our fellow Airbnb guests. The Italian guest was impressed as well even though he said that Italian baked goods are renowned, so his standards are pretty high. Katie considered this quite the compliment. 

Random Leftover Pictures from Chiang Mai

After writing several blog posts about Chiang Mai, we still had a few random pictures to share: 

Our home in Chiang Mai for a few weeks

A very rainy afternoon in Chiang Mai 

A particularly beautiful day at the Chiang Mai moat

How to put on the pants they provide for a Thai massage

So many motorbikes! 

A silver plated wat

Intricate silver plating for the wat

Brandon at a garden restaurant 

The Night Bazaar

Random parade of high school students on our last day in Chiang Mai

Super fancy

Chiang Mai metal map with the temples rising out of it

Three Kings Square which we passed a lot 

In a red taxi to the Chiang Mai airport to leave! 

Food in Chiang Mai

Finding and trying food is a huge part of our stay in Chiang Mai. It's also a big deal for Thais. There are restaurants that Thais go to just for Pad Thai (we happened to stumble upon and eat at one of these our first day here). At markets, people find their favorite stall for each of their favorite dishes and regularly return there. 

Street food and our favorite banana smoothie place near the Chiang Mai Gate

Eating out is cheaper than making your own food, which makes restaurant and street food even more cultural. It's easy to find a big plate of rice or noodles and stir fry for just 30 to 35 bhat from a street vendor or pop up restaurant. Some times both Brandon and I have eaten for as little as 60 baht total (less than $2 USD). What?! Our favorite stir fry vendor is located on Khang Ruan Jum Rd, just one street over from us. It's the cheapest street food we've found, the chicken is better quality than the other street places we've eaten, and a delicious broth soup comes with your meal! It also has a special place in our hearts because it's where we had a friendly interaction with a Thai man who unexpectedly treated us to lunch (read about it here). 

Flavorful soup with cilantro and green onion that comes with the stir fry and rice at our favorite street food place near our house 

Pad See Ew (stir fried soy sauce noodles) 

Gaeng Joot Woon Sen (glass noodle soup) with moo (pork)

Pad Thai from the a Pad Thai place we frequented on Arak Rd

Adding on a fruit smoothie or shake adds just 30-40 baht, though we have found a street vendor with the best banana shakes for just 20 baht! Another bonus is that street food places usually provide water. The water is in a jug and you ladle it out into a cup and grab a straw. Everyone uses straws here. 

Banana smoothies and passion fruit smoothies were our favorites

Stir fry and rice or noodles is cheap, but we can't eat it all the time. While it does have some veggies, it also can have a lot of sugar, salt, MSG, cheap oils, and cheap meat in it. Eventually we tire of it and want something fresher. There are some simple, fresher Thai restaurants with more nutrient rich rice, better variety of veggies, and rich curry soups to enjoy. These places usually cost more like 70-80 baht per person, but that's still less than $5 USD total. The shakes are usually more toward the 50 baht end and water is often not provided. However, we just carry our own water with us all the time, just in case.  

We found the best curries we've had in Thailand at Miss Cornery

Red curry with gai (chicken) and multi-grain rice 

Green curry fried rice from It's Good Kitchen

Chiang Mai is an interesting mix of Thai, tourists, and expats, so there are also a lot of Western style restaurants. You can find granola and yogurt, salads, paninis, and Thai fusion dishes in these. Costs are higher at Western restaurants, but water is usually included. Brandon and I pay around 300-500 baht ($9-15 USD) for both of us to eat at these places. We can't justify this as often when we could get four to seven street meals for this price. 

Brandon especially couldn't resist eating at Taa Peng Cat 

Taa Peng Cat has the best strawberry yogurt smoothie we've had in Thailand. Tripadvisor says their brownies are amazing too, and we mostly agree. They're amazing for Thai brownies (there aren't many baked goods in Thailand quality or otherwise), but not as good as mine. 

Chicken curry panini (with cheese!) also from Taa Peng Cat. So satisfying. 

Available at Beer Republic was pizza and an summer stout from Spain. Sometime you just can't resist a good beer and something with cheese

Fish tacos (a rare find in Chiang Mai) with dragon fruit salsa from Rustic and Blue

Chicken and cheddar waffle from Rustic and Blue

Eating at Western restaurants is still arguably cheaper than making your own food. Brandon and I found a grocery store and it was nearly 600 baht ($17 USD) just to purchase bread, peanut butter, and Nutella. Yikes! But, it will last for a lot of breakfasts, and it's a needed splurge for some comfort food. It was also admittedly the largest Nutella you can buy. 

Eating out is cheap and convenient, but occasionally we want to do some of our own cooking. We do have access to a kitchen at our Airbnb with a burner, toaster oven, sink and refrigerator. With your own cooking you have to go to a grocery store or market and scout out the food you want and ask around to determine the prices. Produce needs to be washed to your comfort level. The kitchen gets pretty hot in the hot weather. So, we've only done this once thus far. And, it was totally worth it because we made tacos! Tacos are pretty much non-existent in Chiang Mai, so our host had been craving them as much as us. She shared her delicious mango salsa recipe with us and managed to find tortillas at an expat store. It was a great Mexican feast. 

Tacos and Leo, a classic Thai beer 

Sadly, Thai kitchens do not have ovens, and I have been severely missing baking. When I get home, I'll be doing a ton of baking, especially with pumpkin, since I've missed out on the fall season. 

No oven here. But there is a burner, sink, toaster oven, dish strainer, and toilet paper (toilet paper is commonly used for napkins in Thailand)

When traveling in Thailand tourists are always concerned with getting sick from the food or drink. I mentioned that street vendors and western restaurants often provide water. You can trust it, because everyone, local or tourist, needs clean water. As a general rule, you're going to be safe eating anywhere, because once again everyone needs clean food. Despite the heat, sticking to foods cooked or boiled right at that moment is the safest option. Banana shakes are also safer than other fruits because of the protective peel. But sometimes a little bit of extra spice, a little bit of contamination, and a little bit of body fatigue from traveling can add up to some gastrointestinal issues. Brandon has been fortunate this far, but I have had to take antibiotics for a few days. And, based on what I was eating at the time, I'm pretty sure the bad bacteria came from a western restaurant, not street food. It just goes to show that street food often doesn't deserve the bad rep it gets and care is needed anywhere. Thankfully, everything cleared up well, and I'm enjoying authentic Thai food everyday! 

Finding Community in Chiang Mai

It has definitely been harder to find and forge a community in Chiang Mai, but we did our best. We had many interactions and times to share stories with people in Chiang Mai, like while climbing at Crazy Horse, or while doing our cooking class, or meeting a stranger at a street food place who paid for our meal, or selling our rope to a fellow climber. These were enjoyable but were all just brief bits of community. 

We have been able to spend some time with our host, Alana. She has been pretty busy living and working in Chiang Mai, running her blog and doing freelance work. But, we have been able to have some memorable times, like chatting over wine, making Mexican dinner, and meeting some of her friends. It is nice to have an English oasis to return to after wandering about Chiang Mai all day. Swapping stories and hearing about her experiences in Chiang Mai have provided wonderful community for us. 

We have also had the pleasure of meeting, Pam and Larin, friends of Brandon's aunt. They have been living in Chiang Mai for around ten years, raising four boys and working in a Chiang Mai school library and at Chiang Mai University. They have kindly taken us out to dinner and welcomed us into their house to play cards and hang out. It has been interesting to hear about their cultural experiences in both China and Thailand. They have introduced us to new foods and informed us about things to do in the area. We feel like we have gotten a unique view of Chiang Mai from them. It has been wonderful to spend time with such real, warm, and welcoming people. We hope we will be able to connect with them again. 

I suppose when you are only in a city for two to three weeks, you cannot expect deeper community. However, we feel very thankful to have had longer, more meaningful stretches of time with Alana, Pam, and Larin. 

Mama Noii Thai Cookery School

Baking is more my passion than cooking. But I have wanted to cook more and use more interesting flavors and spices. All the food we've had in Thailand has been flavorful and amazing. After reading several travel blogs mentioning Thai cooking classes, I decided this was a must-do for me in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai probably has a hundred different cooking schools. They all seem to have the same cooking menu, but locations are different. I really wanted to do a cooking class on a Thai farm. I felt it would be nice to get out of the city for awhile. I also wanted to see what some Thai produce actually looked like outside of the market and on a plant. 

After contacting a few places, I found Mama Noii Thai Cookery School. It was on an organic farm, cheaper than some of the other cooking schools, and still had the same menu. Brandon decided to come with me, and we were to be picked up from our house on Monday between 8:30 and 9:00 am. We waited, but we weren't picked up. Alana kindly called the cooking school to intervene. As usual the Thais who were picking us up were confused because we weren't at a hotel or guesthouse. Despite having an exact address they couldn't find us. This has happened to us a few times before and is frustrating. I cannot understand how having an exact address is less helpful than having just a hotel name. Argh. 

We were eventually picked up and deposited at a local market where we met up with the rest of the group. We were in time for an explanation of different types of rice and then permitted to look around the market. Despite the rough start, we enjoyed the wandering the market and had hope for a good cooking experience. 

An explanation of different kinds of rice

Little turtles waiting for their demise

Live fish in tubs. We saw a woman take one out, weigh it in a bag, and than smack it hard against a wooden table to kill it for a customer. 

Fresh raw meats

Cooked meats and fish on sticks

Wandering down a produce aisle

After exploring the market we were transported to the cooking school on an organic farm near Chiang Mai old town. The farm was so green, peaceful, and beautiful. We sat at a table under the outdoor cooking pavilion and chose what dishes we wanted to cook from different categories.  

Brandon chose to cook: 

• Tom Yum Kung (hot and sour prawn soup)
• Pad Thai
• Spring rolls
• Khao Soi (Chiang Mai curry noodle dish)
• Bananas in coconut cream

Katie chose to cook: 

• Tom Som Kai (sour chicken soup) 
• Pad Kra Prao (stir fried chicken with hot basil leaves)
• Som Tam (Thai papaya salad)
• Massaman curry
• Sticky rice with mango

Choosing one dish from each category to make

After making our decisions we donned Thai farm hats and were given a tour of the farm. We saw the differences between Thai basil and Hot basil. We tried mini Thai eggplants that raw tasted like raw peas. We were introduced to several types of peppers, the most common being the Thai Bird's Eye Chili. There was a dark, wood and straw hut to grow oyster mushrooms in. The farm also had about four piglets and a dozen chickens to collect eggs from. 

Walking thru Mama Noii's organic farm

Eating a Thai mini eggplant

Eating a more normal sized eggplant

Learning about Thai Chilies from our cooking instructor, Kim

Lemongrass plant

Papayas

Feeding fish in the farm's pond

Oyster mushrooms growing in plastic bottles 

Brandon collecting an egg from the chickens. 

We enjoyed some cold water and watermelon and then started prepping for cooking. Donning some aprons and picking a chopping block we began cutting up ingredients for our first two dishes, a Thai soup and a rice or noodle dish. One of the most valuable things we learned was the three types of ingredients put in Thai food: non-edibles for flavor, vegetables for eating, and garnish for added seasoning and presentation. It was particularly helpful to know the non-edibles (tumeric root, ginger root, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, cloves, other leaves), since we'd been trying to eat them out of our dishes for the last few weeks. Now we know just to remove them when eating! 

Chopping, chopping, chopping

Everything chopped and prepped for cooking soup and rice or noodle dishes

After chopping we started cooking. We learned that when cooking Thai food you always put the non-edibles in first on high heat, then the meat, then the vegetables and lower the heat, then taste and see if there is a proper balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy and make changes if needed, finally turn off the heat and add the garnish. 

Ready to cook with our burners and woks

The balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy is vital in Thai dishes. Sweet comes from cane and palm sugar. Sour is from lime, tamarind, and mango. Salty comes from sea salt, fish sauce, and seafood pastes. Spicy is associated with chili peppers and peppercorns. 

Learning from Kim

We took a break to eat our soups and stir fries. Both of our soups, Tom Yum Kung and Tom Som Kai were spectacular. My chicken hot basil stir fry tasted as good as our favorite street food place. Brandon's Pad Thai was good, but didn't have the same great flavor we love from the Pad Thai place we frequent. 

Tom Som Kai and Pad Kra Prao

Tom Yum Kung and Pad Thai

Just as good as the street food we've had

Delicious success! 

Next was the curries and appetizers. We mixed our own curry paste with a mortar in pestle, which was a lot of work. Our group made three different curry pastes, and it was surprising how similar they were. They all had garlic, lemongrass, tumeric, ginger, kaffir lime peel, shallots, coriander root, red chiles and shrimp paste. But then there were a couple extra ingredients depending on the curry type. The massaman curry had addition of cloves and cinnamon. The khao soi curry had the addition of curry powder, and the panang curry had crushed peanuts. 

Pounding the ingredients into Massaman curry

Using his strength to make yellow curry

Our curries turned out really well and were probably our favorite dishes of the day. I was surprised at how quick it was to actually cook the curry, only about 5 minutes. The longest part of the process was making the paste and cutting up all the ingredients. I ended up taking all of mine to-go, because I was too full at that point, and Brandon took most of his home as well. 

Making massaman curry

Rich, fall tasting massaman curry with rice

Cooking Khao Soi

Classic Chiang Mai dish, Khao Soi. Even better tasting than one we tried before in Chiang Mai. 

Rather than making out appetizers first, for some reason we made them midway through our day of cooking. I put together my appetizer of Som Tam (Thai Papaya Salad) with ease. Brandon had chosen spring rolls as his appetizer, so he had a lot more work to do. 

Making Som Tam

Som Tam (Thai papaya salad)

Brandon learning how to roll and seal a spring roll

Deep frying the spring rolls

Artistically presented spring rolls made by Brandon

Then it was time for desserts. I had selected mango with sticky rice and was really looking forward to learning how to make my favorite Thai dessert. I was disappointed to find that I didn't get to make the sticky rice. I only was allowed to take pre-steamed sticky rice and mix it in a wok with coconut milk and sugar. Really simple compared to making the rice. Sticky rice is a specific type of rice and it must be soaked overnight and then steamed for 20 minutes or so, not cooked. 

Traditional Thai sticky rice steamer

Mixing the rice with coconut milk and sugar. The green plant thing is Thai vanilla

Plating the sticky rice and mango for eating

Brandon made bananas in coconut milk. The bananas were small and they had a surprisingly sour taste. So by being bathed in a sweet coconut milk with addition of some salt, the Thai balance of flavors was present even in dessert!  

Slicing the bananas before boiling

Making the sweet coconut milk broth

We collected our to-go bags were given a cookbook with recipes and pictures of all the dishes the school makes. I am looking forward to trying to make a Thai dinner for friends and family when we return to the States. The ingredients were more everyday and dishes were easier to make than I expected. We also chatted one last time with our cooking group. Our group of six really made the experience. There was one girl from Washington DC and a mom, dad, and daughter from England/Scotland. We all clicked really well and swapped stories and compared cultures. Brandon even got to talk shop since the girl from DC was an avid user of some of the products he's worked on at TechSmith and the other family was quite interested in his work as well. It was a lot of fun and a great time of community. 

Eating with our group of six

Mama Noii Thai Cookbook

Eventually we made it back to our house. But, we had to explain at least three times again that we were not at a hotel or guesthouse, but at a private house. And, the driver went the wrong way thinking she knew best, despite Brandon giving clear directions through the old town toward our accommodation. Not the most pleasant way to end our cooking day, but alas. Such is Thailand. 

We're now Thai chefs (-ish)!