Spicy and Sweet

Greetings from Thailand. I can't believe we've been here almost two weeks already. On 28 June, we embarked from Berlin, stopped over for 8 hours in Helsinki - where we caught closing time at the fish harbor market and scored a plateful of delicious fish - and then got the overnight flight to Bangkok. We stayed two nights in Bangkok to relax and recuperate from the flight, and then took an overnight train north to Chiang Mai.

Part of our reason for coming to Thailand before showing up for work in China (other than great eats, of course) was so that Matthias could try out fruit and vegetable carving. He had seen ads for lessons last time we were in Chiang Mai (about two years ago) so we thought we'd check it out. We went to one of the many cooking schools here and were able to book private lessons. The teacher, Aor, was great. Not only is she a skilled carver, she is an English teacher at the University here, so her English and her teaching skills were excellent.

They started by making a lotus flower out of a small tomato, then moved on to pumpkin butterflies. Not too difficult (for Matthias) so far. Next was a pumpkin rose...a bit more difficult. But Matthias did well, and really enjoyed the class. That is, until he came home and tried to do it again!

Matthias completed four two-hour sessions, during which he made various flowers out of pumpkin and two pretty amazing watermelon carvings. The next challenge (should he choose to accept it) is to practice without teacher's guidance. They both made it look easy, but it most certainly is not!

In between lessons and practicing (I was the official photographer) we did a lot of walking around Chiang Mai, visiting temples (Wats) shopping malls (to escape the heat and humidity) and markets. The weather is indeed hot and humid, with rain showers almost every afternoon. Fortunately, markets and food stalls are prepared with canopies and umbrellas, so the rain hasn't 'dampened' our enjoyment of local food - noodle soups, curries, and spicy salads. My new favorite is a local dish called Kao Soi - chicken curry with egg noodles - YUM!

Tomorrow we're off to our next destination - the mountain village of Pai. We're ready to leave Chiang Mai, but not so keen to vacate our comfy hotel room, complete with A/C, cable TV and unlimited internet access. Not sure what we'll find in Pai, which is supposed to be a more laid-back backpacker/nature-lover's retreat (I sure hope there are some A/C and cable TV lovers there as well!)

Link to trip photos on left and here.