Bread comes in almost every size, shape, and color imaginable, but I will let you in on a little secret, it all starts out the same. The basic ingredients for breads are wheat flour, water, salt, and a leavening agent, most often yeast. Using these four basic ingredients, we were ready to start making some dough. Each bread followed a slightly different procedure. Sometimes that meant changing the method of leavening and others adding additional ingredients. But in the end it always needed a little time to rise. Making the perfect bread starts with the perfect dough, it is all about how it feels. Our bread was beginning to take shape, literally. The most difficult part of the class was trying to keep up with the Chef as he demonstrated the two different steps of shaping the bread. He shaped the bread so fast that we struggled to make our dough look like his. Once again, we were waiting for the dough to rise. While the bread was resting, we weren’t. We were constantly working on something new, another baker’s secret. Now it makes since, how we can make so many breads in such a short time.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Le Cordon Bleu Day 1- Boulangerie
Boulangerie, A real “Pain”!
What rice is to the East; bread is to the West. Not a day goes by where Western’s don’t indulge in a delicious meal featuring our favorite staple food, bread. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a short course specializing in Boulangerie: The Art of Bread making at the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. This course gave me an experience I will never forget, taught me some professional tricks, and gave me a little slice of home while being so far away.
The tradition of Le Cordon Bleu originated with a special group of King Henry’s knights. They received their name from the blue ribbon they wore and established a reputation for excellence for the king that extended to their feasts and ceremonies. Thus, the blue ribbon became a symbol of distinguished cuisine. In 1895, the name Le Cordon Bleu became the home yet again for esteemed cuisine. This time in the form of a magazine. As a result of the magazines success the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school was started. Today there are 30 schools in 15 countries one of which is Thailand. The school here in Thailand was established in 2007 and is the only school to have a program in the local cuisine.
On the first day of the class, each student received an apron, chef’s hat, notebook of tips and recipes, and a breadbox. Little did I know how important this breadbox would be. Every day it was filled to the brim with the decadent pain; the French word for bread. As we walked into the baking room, I caught my first glimpse of the menu for the week. As a foods teacher, I am no stranger to the kitchen, but at first sight, I was overwhelmed. How could we make 15 types of breads in four short days?
What rice is to the East; bread is to the West. Not a day goes by where Western’s don’t indulge in a delicious meal featuring our favorite staple food, bread. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a short course specializing in Boulangerie: The Art of Bread making at the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. This course gave me an experience I will never forget, taught me some professional tricks, and gave me a little slice of home while being so far away.
The tradition of Le Cordon Bleu originated with a special group of King Henry’s knights. They received their name from the blue ribbon they wore and established a reputation for excellence for the king that extended to their feasts and ceremonies. Thus, the blue ribbon became a symbol of distinguished cuisine. In 1895, the name Le Cordon Bleu became the home yet again for esteemed cuisine. This time in the form of a magazine. As a result of the magazines success the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school was started. Today there are 30 schools in 15 countries one of which is Thailand. The school here in Thailand was established in 2007 and is the only school to have a program in the local cuisine.
On the first day of the class, each student received an apron, chef’s hat, notebook of tips and recipes, and a breadbox. Little did I know how important this breadbox would be. Every day it was filled to the brim with the decadent pain; the French word for bread. As we walked into the baking room, I caught my first glimpse of the menu for the week. As a foods teacher, I am no stranger to the kitchen, but at first sight, I was overwhelmed. How could we make 15 types of breads in four short days?
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Activity Specialist
As of today that is my new title. I just sat though a meeting were the head of academics pretty much said I was being too academic in my class. I have just been demoted from teacher to activity Specialist.WOW! I am so glad that I went to university and obtained my degree so that I could teach handy crafts to high school students. Well that was 50,000 dollars well spent. I should have gone the extra mile and done chemistry- what other options do I have to teach if Family Consumer Science was my major-NONE! This new title will really come in handy when they start to cancel classes. Tomorrow's lesson plan: The topic is Family- do a project- due next week!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Happy Birthday!!!!
So it has been a while since we posted because things have been a little overwhelming lately. So I was looking forward to today. It's my birthday and a Wednesday. Which means I normally only have one class and then the rest of the day to get things done. But today my class was cancelled so I had ALL day to do as I please. I still worked, but that's okay. On your birthday, at our school the clock in machine sings happy birthday- its pretty funny. I just finished my grades and realized how many of my students didn't do so hot even though I tried desperately hard this term to get them to pass. I've had one of those months were you work til your heart bleeds and then work some more and still nothing seems to really make the difference and you wonder why are you here and why are you a teacher and if anyone even notices that you are there-literary. No one can see me at my desk (you hear a lot of good gossip that way, but still you would like people to know that you are there) Until this afternoon...
I have kept my birthday pretty quiet (crazy I know I am the queen of this is my Birthday WEEK!) only the song from the clock in machine this morning and telling my Thai teacher a few weeks ago or so I thought. This afternoon Master Jay comes in and says that there was a problem with one of the students in 8 B and if we can all talk...I immediately start wondering who the kid is and that all of them turned in their work and there really should be any problems and then he brings over the kid... Okay not a bad kid one that has improved so much over the last year what could be the problem? Then I see some other kids from his class and I'm like wait we having a serious talk here and then I look up to see that the entire teacher work room is filled with grade 8 and 9 students and they all start sing me Happy Birthday (the Thai version). And my Thai teacher with two huge ice cream birthday cakes. It was so loud everyone got up and were signing and clapping. A few other groups of students came in later for their own rendition. It made me feel really good to know that so many would come in...just to surprise me and wish me happy birthday!
I guess I am doing a little better than I thought. No one else has kids that come to them in such force to wish them happy birthday! I will see if someone got some pictures to show.
Well I think Ed and I are off to a birthday dinner. We have to come to work on Friday for "Sports Day" for the teachers no kids but I think some of us will sneak away for a Pad Thai lunch to also celebrate my birthday - ( I got more of the week to celebrate)
P.S My Thai teacher told everyone I was turning 24...I guess I will really be able to stretch this being 29 thing out for a while!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Cookin' in the classroom
Today (back in March) I set out to conquer spaghetti and meatballs with grade 5 students in their normal class room with no kitchen equipment. I say conquer because this was our second try at the lab. Something told me yesterday that I should stop the lab and try again another day- that something could have been the children yelling things a crossed the room- in Thai of course or the kid bouncing the ball all over the place and asking me every 5 seconds if he could eat a cracker or just maybe the kids chasing each other around the room with gunky meatball hands trying not to lose their meatballs while I was trying to cook (mostly burning) the huge meatballs I had already captured? Not sure which one it was, so you can take your pick. I have really lost my touch here- I haven't cooked with kids in almost 10 months and these kiddos don't understand everything I say so I needed to reevaluate my plan. So today I came in with some new rules and better directions to help win the battle of the meatballs. We added some more spices and crackers to our lumps of meat and finally got them into balls. Then for the cooking. We have one grill/ pot combo hot plate to cook on and twenty plus kids. So I have noddles going in the pot and six kiddos cooking their meatballs on the grill- pretty amazing we had something good to eat at the end and no one got hurt. It only took us two days and four class periods. Mission accomplished- finally. I clearly have some things to work out before cooking during the normal school year!
Check out some of the pictures. Some of them have their chefs hats we made the first day on. They think they are pretty cool when they have them on while cooking- it's pretty cute.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Aftershocks
Found this article while reading the news yesterday. It is just a short Q & A. Some interesting answers.
Another unrelated question from my news reading... why would a kindergarten student need to bring a loaded handgun to school? Why wasn't it locked up? How could a 6 year old have a handgun in his pocket and nobody notice?
Eduardo
Friday, March 25, 2011
Earthquakes
Earthquake in Bangkok? I don't think so. The epicenter of the Earthquake was in Myanmar, 500 miles to the north of Bangkok. Tremors could be felt in Chiang Rai, a beautiful part of Northern Thailand we visited over Christmas. Apparently tremors could also be felt in Bangkok. Christelia and I wish we would have known, then maybe we could have panicked?? Unfortunately we'll just have to take it easy and enjoy the 35+ Celsius weather. The only earthquakes we've experienced in Thailand we bought from DQ.
Yes Mom and Dad, we're safe.
Eduardo
Yes Mom and Dad, we're safe.
Eduardo
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Funny shit... I mean shirt.
Some background to start. We are in the midst of summer school here in Bangkok. During the regular school year, the students wear a uniform, have their hair cut short for the boys, and braided for the girls. No one comes to school out of uniform, and if your hair is not the proper style, Master Jay will see to it that your hair is cut to a more appropriate length. The school uniform consists of blue shorts and a white shirt with your name, id number, and grade embroidered on the left. Summer school is a different beast all together. Students may wear whatever they would like. The Thai's call this "free style." Hair is left as you want it, and you can put on whatever shirt makes you happy.
After school today I was walking my munch-kins down the stairs to be picked up by their parents. I happened to stop and chat with Master Jay while we waited with a handful of students who's parents just don't love them as much. I turned around and to my surprise there was a child wearing rainbow plaid shorts and a bright turquoise t-shirt with fluorescent pink letters that read:
FRANKIE
SAYS
SAYS
F*CK IT
I have to admit, I burst out laughing on the inside. This student went an entire day without a teacher or student commenting on his shirt. I whispered to Jay that he should turn around and look at it. He did a double take and said "uh-oh." Jay spoke to the kid in Thai, and I'm not sure what he said, but I would guess it had something to do with "never wear that shirt to school again." With the kid's t-shirt in mind, I've decided to wear this t-shirt to work tomorrow to see if anyone notices...
Frankie says "have a great day!"
Eduardo
The last one there...
...is a rotten egg. Whoever made up this saying was completely cruel! What an awful thing to say to a person! This leads me to my summer school cooking story... I am teaching grade 5 home economics and we are cooking. The last time I talked about cooking with students was during October course and I had my Thai partner to help and bring in supplies. We were also cooking on the floor- not quite my style so I am trying for a little more sanitation. During summer school however, I am on my own. So this week I have had the pleasure of going shopping not only for food but for equipment as well. I am not sure how much I will be reimbursed for so I am trying to keep things simple and my costs low. While buying food, Ed and I found that eggs are never refrigerated here so we asked our friend why. His reasoning was that eggs move much quicker here. They are in the stores for a few days, then out in the street market and consumed pretty fast there for there is not much reason. But I disagree!!! Not only because of all the things I know about eggs and safety and sanitation BUT as a result of todays lab! We were making French toast (we are talking about food around the world and I am using this for France- I know this is NOT French at all and have explained that to the kids. I do feel a certain level of shame for doing this because I know so much better especially after my bread making class[ more to come on that soon], but I am working with a very limited about of equipment and supplies. We are making French toast in a sandwich maker for peat's sake!) I have the kids in groups working on their desks and we start by breaking their eggs into their bowls and then... This awful smell starts to fill the room and one group is yelling Teacher Teacher what do we do? I rushed over and found the source of the smell... a rotten egg. It had exploded when they broke it. I was all over the kid, the desk, his books. What a mess!!! I have never seen or smelled a rotten egg before so this was quite an adventure. I sent kids to clean and they started over- but the smell stayed. Telling someone they smell like a rotten egg is a pretty server insult!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spinach, Mushrooms, and other fine dining
Last week we finally got to "take" one of our friends out for dinner to give them their Christmas/New Years/ Chinese New Years/ Valentine's Day/ whatever other holiday may have fallen in there since we asked them. We really didn't take them out since they paid- but nonetheless we got to go out with them. This is always an exciting evening because they don't really speak English and we don't really speak Thai- Our friend's wife always orders all the ingredients for us to make the soup in the hot pot, so we eat what she orders. Here in Thailand they have many vegetables that I normally don't eat; and they are always cooked making them even less appealing to me. For example they have bean spouts in almost every soup- and I don't like them- not one bit. (If you do like them then you would love them here-very flavorful) So I usually pick around the things I don't really like like - I'm pretty good at it too. I can pick even the smallest onion out and with chop sticks! But that night I felt adventurous. I decided that whatever she ordered I was going to eat. And I did...and I liked it. They had these neat little nests of spinach and what is called ear mushrooms- they look wrinkly like your ear, but are a dark almost purple color and a little crunchy. I am becoming more adventurous with food- I always let Ed try if first and then if his face is okay I will give it a try. (I learned my lesson in Japan)
Well I tell this story tonight to also share that I am starting a different food experience tomorrow! Tomorrow I start a short course at the Le Cordon Blue - Sawadee. My course is on "The Art of Bread-Making." I am so excited (and scared) to be studying at a real and very well known cooking school. I will try and post how class goes and some of the things I make this week.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Long Overdue
I am currently done with all that needs to be done at school. My finals have been written, all of my unit plans and evaluation rubrics are done, and I am just waiting to finish lessons so that I can mark them and return them. I have no idea what my summer school schedule looks like or even what we are doing next so I am just waiting. As a result, I have some free time to do some things that I have been meaning to do- like edit some videos and update the blog. Here is what our apartment looks like or looked like before we filled it with our stuff. Look forward to more videos, not good videos, but videos nonetheless.
Like Clock Work
Like clock work is how the seasons change here. If the end of the rainy season is the end of October then on November 1 there is no more rain. This has held true for winter. I use that term loosely because I know many of you are still suffering form what a true winter has to offer. It is now February and this starts the building of heat until the rains come back in April. Today has a high of 37 degrees Celsius. Normally I really like things to work like clock work. I am a big fan of schedules and lists, but I am not sure this applies to the seasons. Well if you are tired of winter, know that somewhere in the world (Thailand) is hot- so there is hope just around the corner.
Christelia
Monday, February 7, 2011
Let's Celebrate!
Celebrating has been a theme here in Thailand. The Thai's love to celebrate anything, everything, nothing! This has lead to many of our frustrations, crazy right! Celebrating being frustrating? But it's true. There have been many times that we have come to school or gone to class to find there are no students because they are celebrating something- a brothers birthday, (not a homey- brother but a Catholic brother) the opening of Christmas celebration, the school's 50th anniversary, sports day, and one of the latest a talent show. This bothers me more than Ed- I have a schedule and a plan we need to follow.
For this talent show everyone in the entire school prepared a dance for it. Who knew soooooooo many students were great at dancing? Well they didn't come that way- that type of showcase needs practice! So when do we practice? After school? No way! This is going to take some serious class time to practice for! After all we need to be prepared to celebrate, what else would you use class time for preparing for a test? So that is what happened. For the WEEKS leading up to the the big show classes were cancelled or rearranged (all while teachers were writing finals). One week I only saw half of my classes and still only half of the kids in the classes I has- it's okay they had a pass. All in all it was a big deal- there were 20 rows with 20 tables with 10 chairs at each table. Each chair (ticket) cost 500 baht or about $17.00 USD. OMG!!!! There was a huge stage and lights and speakers like a rock concert. When stuff like this happens you can't fight it! I mean they have the right to P...A...R...T...Y!
Last week was no different- it was Chinese New Year. This of course meant a celebration was in order. It's the year of the rabbit! So they decided that there should be no classes on Thursday, we have many families with Chinese Heritage and so many will not come. Very true! On Wednesday I had one class with 19 students absent and a different class with 16 students absent. I teaching though correspondence now.
So maybe the students haven't learning much the last few weeks but I have or trying to. It is to relax a little and just celebrate anything, everything, nothing!
Chrristeila
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Grocery shopping in Thailand
After our wonderful experience of studying with Homprang at the massage school , we learned how much better we felt if we ate something good for breakfast and ate more vegetables. As a result we decided to start eating breakfast at home instead of at the school canteen. So for breakfast we are eating granola, yogurt, and fresh fruit with snacks of vegetables. This leads us to our story...the adventure of grocery store shopping in Thailand. As with most stories this has a very valuable lesson and some comic relief. Our first experience of shopping went pretty well but recently we have had some different experiences.
Last week we went to the store for carrots and a few other things. Most fresh produce in supermarkets here come packaged up into reasonably amounts, however this day we found some carrots much like you would find at home (select your own) and placed them in the bag and headed to check out. We emptied our items on to the counter. When the lady came to the carrots she began searching for the bar code on the carrots. Finding none she placed them aside for them to be returned to the store. When I inquired about getting the carrots (that was the reason we came after all) she called someone over and they took them away! Lesson: if it doesn't have a bar code you are not getting it! Okay point taken- we'll get carrots next week.
So this week when we went to the store we were sure to only pick up items that had a bar code, but this left us with no less interesting of an experience. We go to check out and there are two young ladies working the cash register. They are wearing university uniforms so this may be the first time they have ever worked. (In Thailand the parents take care of everything until they are out of university and possibly even married- to the point of spoon feeding their kids well into elementary- literary. Their main focus is on school and very few work until they are completely done with school- very different than us) With that being said this is what happened...They started ringing up our items and when we got to the produce something happened- they were ringing the items in but it was not adding to the total. I noticed but they had no idea. Then we get to the bananas, they were in a package with a bar code but they wouldn't ring up. The girls were trying to fingure out what to do and asked a more experienced lady next to them- she must have told them they need to go find another package and try and ring that up because one of them left with the bananas in hand out into the abyss of food in search of more bananas. She clearly had never done this on her own before because it was some time before she returned with more bananas to ring. Then as they were trying to ring them up they closed out the transaction and we had to pay for them separate. While all of theis is going on we notice a sign right behind the girls with the price of the bananas. Moral: two are not always better than one and work experience is really important! Hope you all have enjoyed your trip to the store this week as I am sure it was an experience as well getting stocked up before the blizzard. Don't forget to check for bar codes!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Update
Greetings from Chiang Mai!
I thought I would be polite and post a little something, since you haven't heard from us for a few days now. We successfully arrived back in Chiang Mai. Our poor rental car suffered tremendously for the time we drove it. Everyday we put some serious kilometers on it. When we returned it the entire car was red from dust. (It was originally silver) No dents or scratches though. We have checked into our new accommodation. We have a beautiful traditional Thai house. No pictures at the moment, but I will post some before we leave. What I mean by a traditional Thai house, is that it is on stilts, is completely wooden (with the exception of the hand made clay roof tiles), and consists of one large room. We are lucky to have been able to get the only house with a bathroom on the same floor as the bedroom. Most Thai traditional houses are too fragile to support the weight of plumbing. The only downside is that there is NO heat, insulation, or glass! Meaning the temperature outside is the temperature inside. No big deal right? We are in Thailand! But, the temperature here has been dropping down to the 12 Celsius range, which is quite a shock for our Bangkok adjusted bodies. (In hot weather there is a fan, and they spray water on the roof to keep the house cool). As I write I am wearing a sweatshirt, long pants, and a toque! (Winter hat for you Americans.) Fortunately during the day it warms up, and we have been practicing Thai massage, so we've been working hard.
Our massage class is fantastic! We are both enjoying it very much. Our class begins at 7:00 AM with Thai Yoga. Very easy movements that go along with the massage movements. Very beneficial. I can even touch my toes!! From there we eat breakfast, family style. Yogurt, "Musley," fresh fruit, coffee, eggs, and toast. Massage training is from 9-12, break for lunch, and then back to work from 1-4. Lunch is excellent Thai food, followed by fresh fruit. Usually lunch is a little lighter so we don't fall asleep during the massage.
Everyday one lucky student gets to be the model for demonstration. It feels so wonderful! We watch the demonstration of the positions first, and follow along making notes in our workbook. Then we get to work massaging our partner. Fortunately I brought my partner with me, so it is great fun. Christelia and I have managed to impress our teacher. Massage is hard work! By the end I am worn out and ready to lie down. Fortunately, that is exactly what happens.
Our evening routine is an herbal steam bath from 6:15-7, followed by a short sit by the fire, and finally dinner. After dinner we all sit and talk around the dinner table, and usually everyone calls it a night before 9 PM. Christelia and I usually head back up to our house, sit out on our porch sipping wine and playing Rummy.
Well, enough for tonight. It is late and yoga starts early in the morning. Good night, more to come.
Eduardo
I thought I would be polite and post a little something, since you haven't heard from us for a few days now. We successfully arrived back in Chiang Mai. Our poor rental car suffered tremendously for the time we drove it. Everyday we put some serious kilometers on it. When we returned it the entire car was red from dust. (It was originally silver) No dents or scratches though. We have checked into our new accommodation. We have a beautiful traditional Thai house. No pictures at the moment, but I will post some before we leave. What I mean by a traditional Thai house, is that it is on stilts, is completely wooden (with the exception of the hand made clay roof tiles), and consists of one large room. We are lucky to have been able to get the only house with a bathroom on the same floor as the bedroom. Most Thai traditional houses are too fragile to support the weight of plumbing. The only downside is that there is NO heat, insulation, or glass! Meaning the temperature outside is the temperature inside. No big deal right? We are in Thailand! But, the temperature here has been dropping down to the 12 Celsius range, which is quite a shock for our Bangkok adjusted bodies. (In hot weather there is a fan, and they spray water on the roof to keep the house cool). As I write I am wearing a sweatshirt, long pants, and a toque! (Winter hat for you Americans.) Fortunately during the day it warms up, and we have been practicing Thai massage, so we've been working hard.
Our massage class is fantastic! We are both enjoying it very much. Our class begins at 7:00 AM with Thai Yoga. Very easy movements that go along with the massage movements. Very beneficial. I can even touch my toes!! From there we eat breakfast, family style. Yogurt, "Musley," fresh fruit, coffee, eggs, and toast. Massage training is from 9-12, break for lunch, and then back to work from 1-4. Lunch is excellent Thai food, followed by fresh fruit. Usually lunch is a little lighter so we don't fall asleep during the massage.
Everyday one lucky student gets to be the model for demonstration. It feels so wonderful! We watch the demonstration of the positions first, and follow along making notes in our workbook. Then we get to work massaging our partner. Fortunately I brought my partner with me, so it is great fun. Christelia and I have managed to impress our teacher. Massage is hard work! By the end I am worn out and ready to lie down. Fortunately, that is exactly what happens.
Our evening routine is an herbal steam bath from 6:15-7, followed by a short sit by the fire, and finally dinner. After dinner we all sit and talk around the dinner table, and usually everyone calls it a night before 9 PM. Christelia and I usually head back up to our house, sit out on our porch sipping wine and playing Rummy.
Well, enough for tonight. It is late and yoga starts early in the morning. Good night, more to come.
Eduardo
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Day in Chiang Rai
Christmas day started with a delightful family breakfast on the porch. The same old favorites from the past few days with the addition of Christmas bread. Mmm mmm good. After finishing off my last cup of coffee, we headed off for the day. The plan was to visit the "White Temple," "Black House," and maybe the flower festival that opened today. First the temple and the house...
The White Temple and Black House are both creations of local Chiang Rai artisans. They are just as they sound. The White temple is, well, white. The Black house is, well, black. The story goes slightly deeper in that the creator of the White Temple is a devout Buddhist, whereas the artist of the black house is an atheist. The White temple is essentially just a gallery, whereas we found the black house to be the artists home, studio, and gallery in one. Quite cool. Both locations (which are located on opposite sides of the city as well...) were perfect for pictures. We spent quite some time wandering the grounds taking photos to our hearts content.
From the Black house we decided to check out the flower festival. On the way we discovered it was not what it was cracked up to be and opted for a short 130 km journey out the Phu Chi Fam where there was a "warm waterfall" for swimming. We came back to the homestay to pick up the necessities before heading out again. It was once again a race against time. With masterful skill, we managed to take a wrong turn, and missed the easy chance to get to the waterfall. Perhaps it worked out for the best though, as we were fortunate enough to enjoy yet another amazing sunset in the mountains of Northern Thailand.
Well, enjoy the pictures from the past few days. Tomorrow we travel back south to Chiang Mai for our massage class. Stay tuned for updates and painful stories!
Merry Christmas!
Eduardo and Christelia
Christmas Eve Day
It's Christmas eve. To celebrate, we are sitting outside in the crisp air drinking strawberry wine, eating Gouda, a fresh baguette, and delicious almond filled cookies from the Dutch bakery in Chiang Rai, while we listen to Christmas music. Here is a recap of our Christmas Eve day...
We rose earlier this morning than yesterday and enjoyed our breakfast at the homestay. Eggs, bacon, tomato and cucumber, coffee, French roll, and fresh fruit. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? It is. This morning we ate our breakfast with another Canadian couple here on vacation. Retired Air Canada pilot and stewardess. Nice chatting with friendly people...
We discussed our plans and decided to head off toward Mae Sai and the Golden Triangle (more later). Mae Sai is essentially the Northern most border crossing, so it meant a short drive North to the border. Getting out of the city here is much easier than in Bangkok. Here, 15 minutes. Bangkok, 1.5 hours and that is the Expressway. The Golden Triangle was first on the list. Taking the short cut route through Chiang Saen we traveled the secondary highway. The first stop we made was at the Opium Museum. For those who don't know, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos were all heavily involved in the Opium trade. The museum was rather small but had an extensive collection of Opium weights, pipes, and legends. We learned Opium most likely came to Thailand from the Greeks, as the writings of Hippocrates told of its many benefits. We also had the chance to read about some Hill Tribe legends concerning the origins of Opium...
One tribe had two separate origins for Opium. The first told of a beautiful girl who had seven suitors. One day all seven asked for her hand in marriage. Not wanting to break any hearts, she decided to lay with all of them. The legend went on to say that when she had "had enough," she wanted death. On her grave grew a flower that was very beautiful, but would give both great pleasure and sadness.
The other origin was almost the opposite. Many years ago there was an ugly old lady whom no men wanted. She had never married. She said that when she died a beautiful flower would grow on her grave and they should take care of it, as it would give both great pleasure, and sadness.
Now the government has stepped in to turn the Opium plantations into coffee and tea plantations, which is just wonderful. All over the countryside we passed through plantations. Mostly tea, not sure about coffee, but we also saw a lot of tobacco.
From the opium museum we had a quick bite to eat along the river. Apparently we were at the Golden Triangle, the location where Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet. Unfortunately all I saw was a big river so I assumed we weren't there. We took no pictures. I think the area may more aptly be named the Golden Rectangle, as there was no clear triangle visible. Oh well, C'est la vie.
We took a side trip through a construction zone full of red clay (trying to get the rental car as dirty as possible...). On the way we encountered some cattle on the road. One had a very long leash, and had obviously escaped. The others blindly followed. It seemed a lot like school children in a way... Marcus did always tell me it was like training small animals. Trying to make up for the lack of pictures at the Golden Triangle, we took pictures of these.
Onward to Mae Sai! It seemed like this city was mostly only a border crossing, and a rather busy one at that! We decided it wasn't a good idea for us to head across the border and make more paperwork for ACT and turned around to find a different route to Mae Salong. We opted for Mae Salong to attempt to get some good photos of the sunset. It is supposed to be very beautiful at sunrise, so sunset would be the same right?
Along the way we made a few more detours. First to a waterfall which turned out to be a small stream, next was a hot spring which was nothing more than a big pool under construction, and lastly was another waterfall that truthfully involved too much walking if we were going to make it to Mae Salong for sunset. We got back into the car and continued along the way. Once again the beautiful mountain roads twisted all around and we had stellar views of the valleys below. Finally we arrived in the little village of Mae Salong.
Mae Salong is home to the descendants of Chinese nationalist soldiers, who fled and settled in Thailand in 1940. They were kicked out of China by Mao Tse Tung, escaped to Burma, were kicked out, and fled to Thailand where they stayed and aided the Thai government in the fight against communism for many years. Interesting influence in the village.
While in Mae Salong we found a little tea shop and factory where there were tea leaves being dried. We stopped in for a cup of local tea and ended up buying a small tea set and some of the local tea to go along with it. We enjoyed learning the proper technique for selecting tea, and enjoyed a few cups.
As we left the tea shop, the sun was going down. We hurried up the hill (walking... we can all stand to exercise a little.) and found that the road up was much longer than we anticipated. As I ran back down to the car, Christine was taking some pictures of the landscape. Two ladies from the local hill tribe who cultivate the tea plantation happened to be walking up the hill and took an interest in what Christelia was doing. (Darn Farang!) They happily obliged a few pictures in return. It was amazing to see real hill tribes, as most of them are really just for tourists. Please see the picture below.
At last we reached the top of the hill for pictures, once we got a few pictures it was time to head home (in the dark, back through the mountains...) We finished off the evening with dinner at the night bazaar of salted fish, hot and sour soup, and pork toast, before retiring back to the homestay for our wine, cheese, baguette, and blog.
Merry Christmas!
Eduardo (and Christelia)
Pictures posted this evening... Merry Christmas!
We rose earlier this morning than yesterday and enjoyed our breakfast at the homestay. Eggs, bacon, tomato and cucumber, coffee, French roll, and fresh fruit. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? It is. This morning we ate our breakfast with another Canadian couple here on vacation. Retired Air Canada pilot and stewardess. Nice chatting with friendly people...
We discussed our plans and decided to head off toward Mae Sai and the Golden Triangle (more later). Mae Sai is essentially the Northern most border crossing, so it meant a short drive North to the border. Getting out of the city here is much easier than in Bangkok. Here, 15 minutes. Bangkok, 1.5 hours and that is the Expressway. The Golden Triangle was first on the list. Taking the short cut route through Chiang Saen we traveled the secondary highway. The first stop we made was at the Opium Museum. For those who don't know, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos were all heavily involved in the Opium trade. The museum was rather small but had an extensive collection of Opium weights, pipes, and legends. We learned Opium most likely came to Thailand from the Greeks, as the writings of Hippocrates told of its many benefits. We also had the chance to read about some Hill Tribe legends concerning the origins of Opium...
One tribe had two separate origins for Opium. The first told of a beautiful girl who had seven suitors. One day all seven asked for her hand in marriage. Not wanting to break any hearts, she decided to lay with all of them. The legend went on to say that when she had "had enough," she wanted death. On her grave grew a flower that was very beautiful, but would give both great pleasure and sadness.
The other origin was almost the opposite. Many years ago there was an ugly old lady whom no men wanted. She had never married. She said that when she died a beautiful flower would grow on her grave and they should take care of it, as it would give both great pleasure, and sadness.
Now the government has stepped in to turn the Opium plantations into coffee and tea plantations, which is just wonderful. All over the countryside we passed through plantations. Mostly tea, not sure about coffee, but we also saw a lot of tobacco.
From the opium museum we had a quick bite to eat along the river. Apparently we were at the Golden Triangle, the location where Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet. Unfortunately all I saw was a big river so I assumed we weren't there. We took no pictures. I think the area may more aptly be named the Golden Rectangle, as there was no clear triangle visible. Oh well, C'est la vie.
We took a side trip through a construction zone full of red clay (trying to get the rental car as dirty as possible...). On the way we encountered some cattle on the road. One had a very long leash, and had obviously escaped. The others blindly followed. It seemed a lot like school children in a way... Marcus did always tell me it was like training small animals. Trying to make up for the lack of pictures at the Golden Triangle, we took pictures of these.
Onward to Mae Sai! It seemed like this city was mostly only a border crossing, and a rather busy one at that! We decided it wasn't a good idea for us to head across the border and make more paperwork for ACT and turned around to find a different route to Mae Salong. We opted for Mae Salong to attempt to get some good photos of the sunset. It is supposed to be very beautiful at sunrise, so sunset would be the same right?
Along the way we made a few more detours. First to a waterfall which turned out to be a small stream, next was a hot spring which was nothing more than a big pool under construction, and lastly was another waterfall that truthfully involved too much walking if we were going to make it to Mae Salong for sunset. We got back into the car and continued along the way. Once again the beautiful mountain roads twisted all around and we had stellar views of the valleys below. Finally we arrived in the little village of Mae Salong.
Mae Salong is home to the descendants of Chinese nationalist soldiers, who fled and settled in Thailand in 1940. They were kicked out of China by Mao Tse Tung, escaped to Burma, were kicked out, and fled to Thailand where they stayed and aided the Thai government in the fight against communism for many years. Interesting influence in the village.
While in Mae Salong we found a little tea shop and factory where there were tea leaves being dried. We stopped in for a cup of local tea and ended up buying a small tea set and some of the local tea to go along with it. We enjoyed learning the proper technique for selecting tea, and enjoyed a few cups.
As we left the tea shop, the sun was going down. We hurried up the hill (walking... we can all stand to exercise a little.) and found that the road up was much longer than we anticipated. As I ran back down to the car, Christine was taking some pictures of the landscape. Two ladies from the local hill tribe who cultivate the tea plantation happened to be walking up the hill and took an interest in what Christelia was doing. (Darn Farang!) They happily obliged a few pictures in return. It was amazing to see real hill tribes, as most of them are really just for tourists. Please see the picture below.
At last we reached the top of the hill for pictures, once we got a few pictures it was time to head home (in the dark, back through the mountains...) We finished off the evening with dinner at the night bazaar of salted fish, hot and sour soup, and pork toast, before retiring back to the homestay for our wine, cheese, baguette, and blog.
Merry Christmas!
Eduardo (and Christelia)
Pictures posted this evening... Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Rural Chiang Rai
A lovely day in the country. After a delicious breakfast at the homestay, we headed out for the surrounding country. Our initial goal was the local hot spring, but we got sidetracked. On the way to the hot springs there were signs for "Toy Ngoon." We had no idea what this meant, only that on the blue sign was a white tree. Why not check it out?? We followed the signs are were quickly off the secondary highway onto the one lane local road. Up and down we went as the road twisted around the hills. In time we arrived at a small village. Here we decided to park our car and walk. Walking through the village was worse than a meat market; calls coming from left and right. Resisting the calls of the chickens we continued along the path. As we got to the edge of the village, there it was... the giant tree. It was HUGE! We took some pictures and wandered around the tree. See the pictures below.
On the way to the tree, I saw a sign for a waterfall. When we left the gigantic tree we decided to check it out. More local roads barely wide enough for one car, but very beautiful countryside. We passed through tea fields and mountains before coming through another small village. At the far end was the waterfall as well as a hill tribe village. First we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. Wonderful green mossy boulders, red clay, and very tall bamboo. When we arrived at the top there was a rickety old bamboo walkway over the rocks leading to a large boulder in the middle. We paused for a breather and also some time for some pictures.
The trek down lead us back out to the main road and a sign that read "Hill tribe house 150m." What the sign neglected to say was it was 150m upward. It was a very steep hill that lead to the hill tribe house. It turned out to be a small village, guest house, and satellite dish complete with farm animals. Hiking back down was just as difficult as the trip up... very, very steep. Maybe flip flops weren't the best decision???
Back to the car and out on the road. We stopped for some Som Tam (Papaya Salad, nice and spicy) at the village. We ate noodles, som tam, and had a nice bottle of water all for 50 Baht. There were only two roads leading out of the village... one had a sign placed in the middle. I asked for the best way to get to the hot springs from the village. The lady from our lunch stop told us to o up the road with the sign and turn left at the T. Why not?? If she says we can do it we might as well, right?? WRONG! We made our way up the mountain on a road with no shoulder. One side was mountain and the other was jungle after a small drop off. We got up about 1 km before we ran into construction. They had just poured the concrete for one lane, the other was only sand after a 6" drop off. Needless to say our Toyota Vios (like a 4dr Yaris) wasn't going to make it. What could we do?? The road wasn't wide enough to turn around and I couldn't go straight. I decided the back up... all the way back down the mountain to where we started. It must have been quite a sight for the construction workers and local children seeing two white people backing up down the mountain road... I managed to impress my wife with my driving. Mission accomplished.
We back tracked our way back to our original highway route. Made it to the hot spring and were a little disappointed. We had hoped to swim, but the pool was empty. No problem though, we soaked our feet and headed back to Chiang Rai. There are still more hot springs throughout Northern Thailand, so we will try to find another one in a few days.
Next stop was the white temple. After a few U-Turns and stops to check the map we found it. You need to understand the street signs are all in Thai... not easy when you can only remember a few characters. The White temple is just that... a white temple. We are going back tomorrow morning for pictures, as the sun was making it rather difficult to take good pictures.
Dinner was Hamburgers at "World Famous Burgers." Delicious. I know it sounds like we only eat western food, but you need to understand we basically only eat Thai food in Bangkok. Maybe once a week we indulge in Western fare. So, yes we eat western food, but it is usually things we can't find in Bangkok. Dessert at the same coffee shop as yesterday after a short walk around the Night Bazaar. Just as we finished our dessert a group of children came by and serenaded us with some Christmas carols... what a great way to find some holiday spirit.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Eduardo (and Christelia)
On the way to the tree, I saw a sign for a waterfall. When we left the gigantic tree we decided to check it out. More local roads barely wide enough for one car, but very beautiful countryside. We passed through tea fields and mountains before coming through another small village. At the far end was the waterfall as well as a hill tribe village. First we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. Wonderful green mossy boulders, red clay, and very tall bamboo. When we arrived at the top there was a rickety old bamboo walkway over the rocks leading to a large boulder in the middle. We paused for a breather and also some time for some pictures.
The trek down lead us back out to the main road and a sign that read "Hill tribe house 150m." What the sign neglected to say was it was 150m upward. It was a very steep hill that lead to the hill tribe house. It turned out to be a small village, guest house, and satellite dish complete with farm animals. Hiking back down was just as difficult as the trip up... very, very steep. Maybe flip flops weren't the best decision???
Back to the car and out on the road. We stopped for some Som Tam (Papaya Salad, nice and spicy) at the village. We ate noodles, som tam, and had a nice bottle of water all for 50 Baht. There were only two roads leading out of the village... one had a sign placed in the middle. I asked for the best way to get to the hot springs from the village. The lady from our lunch stop told us to o up the road with the sign and turn left at the T. Why not?? If she says we can do it we might as well, right?? WRONG! We made our way up the mountain on a road with no shoulder. One side was mountain and the other was jungle after a small drop off. We got up about 1 km before we ran into construction. They had just poured the concrete for one lane, the other was only sand after a 6" drop off. Needless to say our Toyota Vios (like a 4dr Yaris) wasn't going to make it. What could we do?? The road wasn't wide enough to turn around and I couldn't go straight. I decided the back up... all the way back down the mountain to where we started. It must have been quite a sight for the construction workers and local children seeing two white people backing up down the mountain road... I managed to impress my wife with my driving. Mission accomplished.
We back tracked our way back to our original highway route. Made it to the hot spring and were a little disappointed. We had hoped to swim, but the pool was empty. No problem though, we soaked our feet and headed back to Chiang Rai. There are still more hot springs throughout Northern Thailand, so we will try to find another one in a few days.
Next stop was the white temple. After a few U-Turns and stops to check the map we found it. You need to understand the street signs are all in Thai... not easy when you can only remember a few characters. The White temple is just that... a white temple. We are going back tomorrow morning for pictures, as the sun was making it rather difficult to take good pictures.
Dinner was Hamburgers at "World Famous Burgers." Delicious. I know it sounds like we only eat western food, but you need to understand we basically only eat Thai food in Bangkok. Maybe once a week we indulge in Western fare. So, yes we eat western food, but it is usually things we can't find in Bangkok. Dessert at the same coffee shop as yesterday after a short walk around the Night Bazaar. Just as we finished our dessert a group of children came by and serenaded us with some Christmas carols... what a great way to find some holiday spirit.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Eduardo (and Christelia)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai
We did it, we left Chiang Mai. To get out of town we rented a little Toyota Vios. Every good road trip starts with a chili dog. If you are ever in Chiang Mai, eat at "Mike's Original" for the best (and possibly only?!) chili dog in South East Asia.
The first part of our journey took us south to Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Driving up the mountain side we stopped at a few waterfalls where Eduardo tried to master the art of shutter speed. We stopped at three waterfalls, each more beautiful than the last. FInally we reached the top for a great view point of the valleys below. The temperature began to drop as we perused the gardens and pagodas. As the sun was setting we began our journey north to Chiang Rai.
On paper the trip from Chiang Mai and Doi Inthanon is just a short 182 Km. Not too long of a drive, just enough to make your ass go numb. However, "on paper" does not account for the twisting, winding roads through the mountains. We overlooked that fact during our planning. The trip which should have taken a mere two hours, took six. What better way to enjoy your vacation than a "leisurely" nighttime drive over the mountain roads of northern Thailand??? The road was barely wide enough for two cars, frequently had hairpin turns, was up and down constantly, and had the added pressure of needing to arrive to get into our hotel. Add to that the lack of road signs, and when there were road signs they were only in Thai. Quite an interesting drive to say the least. At times it felt as though we weren't making any headway, and other times we felt completely lost. Nothing is more disconcerting than arriving at a place you thought you had passed to find out you weren't even there yet. WHAT?!?
As we came up the road to the town of Fang in Northern Thailand, we were supposed to have turned just 14 km earlier. Not knowing how we missed the turn or really where we were, I pulled into a 7-11. Fortunately for us, there was a group of three drunk, young Thai men, eager to give us directions. Speaking in broken English/Thai we managed to communicate enough to discover that we were in Fang, but the place we wanted to turn was in fact further into town, not outside of town as the map suggested. Politely refusing to take the beer they offered me for my drive to Chiang Rai, I hopped back in the car and we drove the last hour and a half into Chiang Rai.
Earlier in the day we had called "Homestay Chiang Rai," and made a reservation. It is owned by a Dutchman and his Thai wife. If you are ever in Chiang Rai, stay here, it is wonderful. We were in frequent communication with Tony about our arrival. The plan was he would meet up with us and we would follow him to the homestay just outside of Chiang Rai. We finally met up with him at 11:30. After a six hour drive through the mountains we collapsed into bed and fell asleep.
We slept in. After brunch we decided to go for a walk into town and ended up at the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. It was originally opened by the Princess Mother and featured a collection of Teak wood artifacts. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the main exhibit. The building was a beautiful Lanna style wooden structure with a 17th century teak wood Buddha in the middle. Words cannot do it justice, as the architecture was just amazing. We wandered around the park and took some pictures, before heading back to our homestay for some dinner. This evening we headed back into town for dessert (Coffee and cake) down by the clock tower. An enjoyable day.
Chiang Rai is very laid back and not as centered on Western tourists. It is a little more like our local village at Assumption, but with MUCH less pollution. Well, off to bed... tomorrow will be a busy day of Hot Springs, Waterfalls, and the White Temple.
Good night!
Eduardo and Christelia
The first part of our journey took us south to Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Driving up the mountain side we stopped at a few waterfalls where Eduardo tried to master the art of shutter speed. We stopped at three waterfalls, each more beautiful than the last. FInally we reached the top for a great view point of the valleys below. The temperature began to drop as we perused the gardens and pagodas. As the sun was setting we began our journey north to Chiang Rai.
On paper the trip from Chiang Mai and Doi Inthanon is just a short 182 Km. Not too long of a drive, just enough to make your ass go numb. However, "on paper" does not account for the twisting, winding roads through the mountains. We overlooked that fact during our planning. The trip which should have taken a mere two hours, took six. What better way to enjoy your vacation than a "leisurely" nighttime drive over the mountain roads of northern Thailand??? The road was barely wide enough for two cars, frequently had hairpin turns, was up and down constantly, and had the added pressure of needing to arrive to get into our hotel. Add to that the lack of road signs, and when there were road signs they were only in Thai. Quite an interesting drive to say the least. At times it felt as though we weren't making any headway, and other times we felt completely lost. Nothing is more disconcerting than arriving at a place you thought you had passed to find out you weren't even there yet. WHAT?!?
As we came up the road to the town of Fang in Northern Thailand, we were supposed to have turned just 14 km earlier. Not knowing how we missed the turn or really where we were, I pulled into a 7-11. Fortunately for us, there was a group of three drunk, young Thai men, eager to give us directions. Speaking in broken English/Thai we managed to communicate enough to discover that we were in Fang, but the place we wanted to turn was in fact further into town, not outside of town as the map suggested. Politely refusing to take the beer they offered me for my drive to Chiang Rai, I hopped back in the car and we drove the last hour and a half into Chiang Rai.
Earlier in the day we had called "Homestay Chiang Rai," and made a reservation. It is owned by a Dutchman and his Thai wife. If you are ever in Chiang Rai, stay here, it is wonderful. We were in frequent communication with Tony about our arrival. The plan was he would meet up with us and we would follow him to the homestay just outside of Chiang Rai. We finally met up with him at 11:30. After a six hour drive through the mountains we collapsed into bed and fell asleep.
We slept in. After brunch we decided to go for a walk into town and ended up at the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. It was originally opened by the Princess Mother and featured a collection of Teak wood artifacts. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the main exhibit. The building was a beautiful Lanna style wooden structure with a 17th century teak wood Buddha in the middle. Words cannot do it justice, as the architecture was just amazing. We wandered around the park and took some pictures, before heading back to our homestay for some dinner. This evening we headed back into town for dessert (Coffee and cake) down by the clock tower. An enjoyable day.
Chiang Rai is very laid back and not as centered on Western tourists. It is a little more like our local village at Assumption, but with MUCH less pollution. Well, off to bed... tomorrow will be a busy day of Hot Springs, Waterfalls, and the White Temple.
Good night!
Eduardo and Christelia
Monday, December 20, 2010
Chiang Mai #2
Day two of our vacation in Chiang Mai.
Tourist traps, Chiang Mai is full of them. I suppose it is not all bad, but what should have been a wonderful day, turned out to be a mediocre one. We spent some time on the Mae Ping river, and had a good meal with entertainment. This evening we walked the "Night Bazaar" and found our way home. Tomorrow morning we are off to Chiang Rai.. on the way we plan to visit the highest point in Thailand, as well as take some beautiful pictures. See you tomorrow!
Eduardo
Tourist traps, Chiang Mai is full of them. I suppose it is not all bad, but what should have been a wonderful day, turned out to be a mediocre one. We spent some time on the Mae Ping river, and had a good meal with entertainment. This evening we walked the "Night Bazaar" and found our way home. Tomorrow morning we are off to Chiang Rai.. on the way we plan to visit the highest point in Thailand, as well as take some beautiful pictures. See you tomorrow!
Eduardo
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