Super Saturday...Thai Style

Yes i made this tonight all by myself!

Hello everyone once again for my final update from Chiang Mai.

Super Saturday here saw myself and the delightful Sabrina partake in two very different activities. Mountain Bike Riding and Thai Cooking.

This morning we made our way out from our excuse of a hotel and made our way 1600 meters above Chiang Mai. Now i haven't been one to really push myself on the bike over the years. The closest i've come to 'extreme' riding is coming back from the supermarket with six plastic bags on my handlebars.

Our ride was downhill all the way and on sealed roads. It was an excuse to let go of the brakes and speed down a mountain at 40 kmh. I haven't actually ridden a bike for over 2 years (not counting the gym) so getting back on that horse was a bit tricky, especially with all the padding that went with the territory. I looked like i was about to take part in the NFL rather than take a nice leisurely ride down a hill. The yellow sunglasses were cool though. Well i thought they were...i kept them.

Look out Chiang Mai...Here come Captain Spazmo!

The ride was fantastic and it also included a visit to my favourite place in the world...another temple. It was mothers day here today so the temple was crowded and rather than go inside i just walked around the outside watching the people. Thailand has such a magical feel to the place that no other country can ever achieve. The ride continued downhill and into the city. Sab was having a bit of trouble with her seat and she took a more cautious approach to the ride where as i just wanted to go faster...it's the boy racer in me!

By the time we got back to the bike office, we were all covered in sweat and looking forward to sitting on something wider than a bike seat. After a quick shower and change of clothes it was time to visit the "Cook Smart Cooking School."

Now last update i mentioned that i wasn't too crash hot on cooking and here is an example why. One evening a few years ago, the family was having dinner. My brothers girlfriend (now fiance) Narelle was over as well. I was given the easy task of making a salad. I couldn't do it. Not only did i forget half the ingredients of a salad but also tried to 'marinade' the lettuce in pineapple juice..true story. As a result of this when Chris and Narelle were holidaying ni the north of Australia one year, they actually made a video of how to prepare a salad especially for me. Now when people say they can't cook...i can say i really can't f#cking cook!

But after tonights course i really want to (and in all seriousness have to) expand my cooking capabilities. Our night got off to a shaky start when out guide to the local market was a ladyboy called "Wawa." She/He explained to us (Me, Sab and two Irish ladies) the ins and outs of rice, chillis and Thai vegetables...exciting stuff for all. Oh why oh why do all Asian markets smell like crap?

Looks good, Smells really bad.

The night improved when we started cooking. We had to cut all the veges and i was very nervous as we had to use a very big knife and i'm not very good with instuments that can casue harm. So after preparing our food we made 5 pretty easy to make dishes but the one that stood out like Dolly Parton were the spring rolls. They were the best springers i've ever tasted in my life. They were so light and the inside had only vegetables and they weren't soaked with oil like springers in Oz or China but lightly fried just to seal the freshness in.

After a bottle of beer i loosened up a bit in the kitchen and really enjoyed cooking these dishes. At the end of the night we receievd a cookbook with 20 recipies and plenty of photos to remember the night which you can see at chiangmaismartcook.com (look in the August 2006 section. 12th August).

All in all Super Saturday was fantastic. In fact our time in Chiang Mai has been sensational. With our previous visits to Thailand concerntrating on Koh Samui and Bangkok i felt that we were not seeing the full picture of this great country. After a week here and various courses and activities i feel that my eyes have opened up a lot more. I knew that Thailand was a great country but after being up north it's officially a brilliant country.

Remember that we were going to stay in Chiang Mai for four days...we ended up staying seven.

So tomorrow we make our way to Laos and another set of adventures there.

Hopefully access to the internet isn't too bad and i can keep you all updated from there.

Take care everyone and love to all.