Yesterday, we woke up and finally were able to take our time in the morning. As far as getting ready, that doesn't mean much - as soon as you leave the comfort of your air conditioned room, humidity destroys even the minimal amount of work you put into looking semi-presentable. After enjoying the simple (free) breakfast of eggs and toast the guesthouse had to offer, we went on a hunt for some fresh fruit. The fruit here is amazing! The mangos are the best I've ever had! Of course, I had yet another banana smoothie. It's already been decided I need to buy a blender when I get home to continue with my smoothie addiction.
After breakfast and second breakfast, we bummed around and did a little more shopping before heading back to the massage parlor for a traditional Thai massage.
All of us had a slightly different massage experience, but all of us agree that it was painfully interesting. These girls use their whole body to induce a moderate amount of torture to you. Dana and I were upstairs, and at the point I felt my girl kneeling on top of me on all fours, I opened my eyes a bit to see Dana's girl standing on top of her, bouncing. Oh, if only I had a picture of the experience! It's your chiropractor, combined with a massage therapist, with a little cirque du soleil, and a little bit of catholic school marm with a ruler and a vengeance added in. I think we all agree it's better to stick with the foot massage. That being said, the face, head, and neck portion of the Thai massage was heaven.
After being roughed around a bit, it was time to take our Thai cooking class. As many of you know, I don't cook. Ever. I can bake, but the art of cooking has been bestowed upon my sister and cousin, and left me with limited capabilities. Needless to say, I was excited to see how I would do, and if I succeeded, to have a couple of things I could add to my repertoire (which currently consists of grilled cheese and scrambled eggs). All I can say is, Great Success!!
We took our seats at our table, and were shortly joined by a couple from Houston and another couple from Sweden. Our instructor, Meow (🐱) joined us shortly after. After running down the menu with us and describing our options (stir fry, soup, appetizer, dessert), our group decided to make a stir fry and an appetizer, along with the curry course that everyone must do. My personal menu was Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, and Panaang Curry. These were all, by far, the best things I've ever made. I was surprised at how easy it all was! I now need to add a food processor and a Thai wok to my "must purchase when I get home" list! Before cooking though, Meow took us to the local market to show us some native ingredients and educate us on Chiang Mai cuisine.
This is some of the rice at the market. And below is a fresh vegetable display out in front of one of the stands.
Anyway, after the market, we were taken into the garden and shown the veggies we would be using for our menu. 
After we had learned all that we could, it was time to cook! First, of course, was food prep.
Next came the stir fry. Quick and easy, to my surprise. Then can the true test: tasting the finished product.
CRUSHED IT. Repeat for the appetizer course.
Perfectly crunchy spring rolls.
Making the curry was a bit more labor intensive, as it involved finely dicing a number of herbs and spices, then pummeling chiles and those herbs and spices into a smooth paste. Actually, it was a good workout for those arms! But the end result was amazing, which is why I don't have a picture of my Panaang. It was so damn good, I forgot to stop eating to take a picture like a good American. So instead, here is Shana working that curry like a pro, with our instructor Meow.
I highly, highly recommend taking a cooking class if any of you make it to Thailand. And if you're lucky, you just may have a fun-loving Swede man who insists on making a beer run in the middle of class, making the whole experience just that much better.
- Julie, Panaang chef extraordinaire 🔪
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