Learning to cook tasty Thai food

Since the original Thai cooking school opened two decades ago, many visitors to Thailand have combined their trips with the unique opportunity of learning how to create delicious Thai dishes. Although there are now Thai cookery tuition schools all over Thailand, even after 20 years in the business the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School is still rated the best. Thousands of budding chefs have completed short courses at the school and then gone home and produced Thai gastronomic gems that have wowed friends and family alike.

Proprietor Sompon Nabnian, who has appeared on the UK TV programme Holiday as well as National Geographic, leads a team of adroit cooks who teach students how to create delights that include yam neua (spicy beef salad) as well as the ever-popular gaeng kheow wan gai (green curry with chicken) and tom yam goong (spicy, sour prawn broth). The dessert menu includes khao neow dam piak (black sticky rice pudding).

The classes are not just confined to the classroom as courses include a getting to know Thai herbs and spices section, a trip to the local freshfood market and preparing the dishes in an area more than adequate for the task. Course participants also get to taste their own and other people’s finished masterpieces. An invaluable souvenir is the school’s own recipe book.

Friends over last year opted for the beginner’s course and said it was a fun day that left them feeling confident that they would be able to cook up some archetypal Thai specialities. Full details of Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School courses are available at http://www.thaicookeryschool.com/.

The comfy way of getting to Mae Sai

It was time for a visa re-entry last week and so a couple of days beforehand I went to the Arcade Bus Station on the eastern outskirts of Chiang Mai to buy tickets. It is not really necessary to pre-book tickets, but it does ensure that you get the bus time and seat location that you want. My personal preference nowadays is the Green Bus VIP service.

Standard single fares on the Green Bus to Mae Sai are 212 Baht, slightly more than the regular air-conditioned buses, but well worth it for the extra comfort. The trip takes around 4 hours 30 minutes and stops in Chiang Rai en route. On previous trips the bus only used to stop at the new bus station there, but it seems that this facility is too far out of town as most buses go to the old station in central Chiang Rai as well now.

Once in Mae Sai it is a 15 Baht songthaew taxi trip to Friendship Bridge 1 and the Thai and Myanmese immigration posts. Motorcycle taxis are available for those wishing to get to the bridge quickly. The visa fee for Myanmar should be $US10, yet Myanmese immigration officers usually ask for 500 Baht. This is considerably more at current exchange rates. It is worth offering the greenback as the officers will accept it if you stand your ground and wait for a few minutes.

There is a small market in Tachilek on the Myanmese side of the border where fake cigarettes and DVDs, and cheap Chinese products are among items on sale. Most of the products are also now sold in the market in Mae Sai, which meanders through the back streets on the west side of the Friendship Bridge. After a little shopping, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds are tasty snacks for the ride back, it was time to take a songthaew to the bus station for the last Green Bus to Chiang Mai.

Where to go for Children’s Day?

It is Thai National Children’s Day tomorrow and places normally closed to the general public throw open their gates to provide youngsters with memories they will treasure forever. The annual celebration in honour of Thailand’s youngest generation falls on the second Saturday in January and is known as wan dek. Military camps at Chiang Mai’s Wing41 Air Force base, Kavila Army Barracks and the Thai Army Cavalry base on the road out to Mae Rim are ideal places to head for to enjoy a great day out.

Wing41’s headquarters is located next to Chiang Mai International Airport. This is where I usually head for, not because it is any better than the others, but it is easier for me to get to. Traffic jams on Chiang Mai’s roads on wan dek are usually long and time consuming. At Wing41, the festivities begin right outside the gate with lots of snack and model aircraft vendors doing a brisk business.

On the fields and parking apron before the runway there are usually tanks, aircraft and fire engines which children can clamber over. There are also periodic displays with dog-handlers and parachutists among professionals giving displays of their finely honed skills.

The day’s entertainment is not limited to military bases as Chiang Mai Zoo and Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre are among other popular locations with diverse activities and lots of free goodies for the children. Even government offices usually stage something on the day. There is rarely an entrance fee to Children’s Day events and youngsters and their parents can roam around freely.

Riding the Samoeng Loop

For those who can handle a small motorcycle the Samoeng Loop presents a great day’s excursion. The roughly 100km route meanders through the western mountains above Chiang Mai on a road that offers a pleasant respite from Chiang Mai’s busy city streets and urban highways. The route can be reached on highways either north or south of Chiang Mai and all that is required are basic motorcycle skills, a map and one of the small Hondas that can be hired at plentiful rental shops around the Thapae Gate area of the city.

I usually take the southern route up, which can be accessed by following the sign for Samoeng on Route 1269, six kilometres from the Airport Plaza shopping centre. There are not many petrol stations en route, so it is a good idea to fill up at the PTT (the one with the big blue sign) just before the turnoff. The first 10 minutes or so of riding are easy, but then the 1269 starts to climb up past holiday resorts before heading through verdant forest. Several hilltribe villages are on sideroads off the main drag.

Those wishing to go to Samoeng itself and sample the delicious fare at Supanee’s Restaurant need to stay on the 1269. Riders heading for the Mae Sa Valley and the loop’s exit near Mae Rim should take Route 1096 at its junction with the 1269 near Samoeng. In the valley Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens, elephant trekking camps and the Mae Sa Meo village are among numerous tourist draws. The Samoeng Loop is drivable by car, but a four-wheel-drive vehicle is probably better suited to the at times steep hills.

Chiang Mai Zoo snow dome

When the snow dome at Chiang Mai Zoo opened two years ago it proved an irresistible draw to Thai people. In a tropical country where temperatures rarely drop below 10°C, the chance of frolicking in and holding snow has drawn record amounts of visitors in. For foreign visitors it offers a fun destination during summer and a welcome respite from the humidity and heat.

The snow dome is next to the facility which houses the zoo’s famed giant pandas, Chuang Chuang, Lin Hui and baby Lin Ping. After paying their entrance fee for the snow dome, visitors form a queue and wait to put on the supplied hooded coats and long boots. Gloves and socks are not provided and if planning to visit the facility it is a good idea to bring an eight-Baht pair from the market as snow is cold on bare hands.

Groups are admitted at specific times. An icy blast of snow greets visitors as they enter the dome itself. Once inside there is a small slide for toddlers and a kind of helter-skelter for older children. On the second attraction, riders climb into a donut bowl and slide down a ramp. There is just about enough time to take in a few rides, build a small snowman and roll around in the snow before the allotted period is over.

Entry fees for the snow dome are 150 Baht for adults and 100 Baht for children under 150cms tall. This fee comes on top of the standard admission prices for the zoo. The snow dome ticket prices are the same for Thai citizens and foreign tourists.

Learning Thai massage in Chiang Mai

Although there are a number of government accredited massage tuition schools in Chiang Mai now, judging by the number of glowing testimonials it has received the original one, the Old Medicine Hospital, is still the best. This establishment, also known as Shivagakomarpaj, is on Thipanet Road close to the Airport Plaza Shopping Centre and was established in 1973 by Ajarn Sintorn Chaichakan. The venerated teacher came to Chiang Mai fresh from a stint at Wat Pho in Bangkok in 1962. For a time he practiced massage and medicine at local temple complexes.

Since Ajarn Sintorn opened the Old Medicine Hospital an estimated 20,000 pupils have graduated in various different massage disciplines. Of these, roughly half have been international visitors. Most people study the standard two-week body massage course which teaches participants the fundamentals of Thai massage techniques. This course covers the postures, pressure points and movements required to perform curative and rejuvenating massages.

There is an advanced course at a slightly higher price, which is also a 60-hour offering spread over two weeks. Other massage courses on offer are aroma therapy and foot massage. The courses are taught with a hands-on approach. Students also learn how to prepare herbal ointments used in the healing treatments. The basic two-week course now costs 10,000 Baht, a significant increase on the fees of 4,000 baht in 2004, but many foreign graduates use their completion certificates to gain work in the healthcare field in their own countries. Additional details at http://www.thaimassageschool.ac.th/.

Royal Flora Ratchaphruek expo now open

One of the most eagerly awaited shows on Chiang Mai and Thailand’s events calendar this year has finally opened to the general public. The opening ceremonies for the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011 took place on Wednesday. The flower expo was originally scheduled to open on 9 November, but due to catastrophic floods in the country was delayed until this week.

The floral gardens and covered areas at the massive complex just south of Chiang Mai feature colourful displays of indigenous Thai species, including abundant varieties of the ubiquitous orchid, as well as flowers and plants specially imported from another 30 countries. The last time that the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was staged five years ago, the tulips in the Netherlands Gardens and the traditional Indian and Japanese offerings were major draws.

The participating countries for this season’s expo have been expanded and now include flowers from Yemen, Pakistan and Canada. The latter’s Niagara Falls model and cold climate flora are sure to attract record numbers of Thai visitors. The extremely rare dragon’s blood tree, native to the Socotra Islands, is among Yemen’s diverse exhibits.

Locally themed gardens are being sponsored by various companies and organisations. A highlight is the 30 lily species on display that have been provided by Chiang Mai’s provincial authorities. Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011 runs through until 14 March 2012. Tickets at the gate are 200 Baht for adults; and 100 Baht for children under one-metre tall, students and people over 60 years old. A student card, passport or other ID is usually needed for the lower rate.

Ideal locations for lunar eclipse views

Chiang Mai’s iconic Doi Suthep mountain and nearby Doi Inthanon, the highest peak in Thailand, are probably the best locations from which to view tomorrow evening’s lunar eclipse. The mountains’ elevated positions and current cloudless skies more or less guarantee views of the cosmic happening that will be some of the best in the globe.

The partial eclipse when the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow will commence at around 19:45. The total eclipse will take place shortly after 21:00 and last for 50 minutes. The following second partial eclipse will finish just before 00:30 on Sunday morning. The second lunar eclipse of 2011 coincides with the national holiday that commemorates the country’s Constitution Day. Tomorrow’s total lunar eclipse is the last one shown on the cosmic calendar until 15 April 2014, although there are several partial and penumbral ones on it.

The University of Colorado’s Richard Keen says he believes the eclipse tomorrow will be orange instead of black as there is a fine layer of dust particles encircling Earth at the moment. He told NASA officials that the dust would redirect the Sun’s rays into the blackness and produce copper-coloured hues with maybe even a hint of turquoise on the outer edges.

Enjoying an evening at the new Riverside

Since it opened for business back in 1984 the Riverside Bar & Restaurant has evolved into one of Chiang Mai’s finest wining, dining and live music establishments. For many years it occupied adjacent riverbank premises on the city’s Charoenrat Road. When the lease ran out on one of the bars, the proprietors restored an old mansion sitting on the opposite side of the road as an alternate venue.

Although I had passed the old mansion and it looked inviting enough I had never been in, after all you can’t go to a bar called the Riverside if it is not actually on the riverside. Last week, I went with a group of friends and was pleasantly surprised. It is much roomier than the old bar and has been tastefully adorned with waterfalls, plants and ornaments. Sitting at the bar gives great views of whatever musicians happen to be playing.

Both Riverside bars offer nightly entertainment which kicks off at around 19:00 with piano and guitar performances. From 21:30 until closing time at 01:00, local bands give their renditions of classic Thai and Western songs. The Riverside’s menu boasts around 500 items with a full range of Thai delicacies and international favourites. On the drinks list there are draught and bottled beers, including cider; and a good selection of wines, juices and soft drinks.

Cuddle a tiger cub in Chiang Mai

Tiger Kingdom is one of Chiang Mai’s quirkier tourist attractions. It allows visitors to pet young tiger cubs that are just a few months old and to step into the lion’s den, so to speak, of larger tigers. The bigger felines are no more than two years old, as after that they are too big to handle and are sold off to zoos.

The price for admittance to the tiger pens varies with the age of the animal, but is between 420 and 520 Baht. The higher fee gives the opportunity of playing with a cub. This might seem a little steep, but a thought that consoled me was the fact that it was an experience that would be difficult to replicate in any other part of the world. As I had forgotten my camera, I also had to pay an extra fee for the onsite photographer to take a souvenir snapshot.

I was not brave enough to enter the cages of the big cats, yet they did seem docile enough. One of them allowed a visitor to lie down beside him and did not bat an eyelid. Tiger Kingdom’s proprietors say the big cats are not drugged to keep them under control and are in a natural environment.

Tiger Kingdom is open from 10:00 to 18:00 daily. It is north of Chiang Mai on the road to Fang. Signposts indicate the route just beyond Mae Rim.