04.01 "Meat Is Murder"(The Smiths)

Asia

Thailand

Chiang Mai->Bangkok

While packing our stuff (again), we listened to The Smith's album "Meat Is Murder" via wonderful YouTube… to my surprise, the song that gives the title to the album was a version I don't have! I am so excited to get it (I liked it even more than the one I have).

Then Basia had an idea: we had just enough time to take a "Thai cooking class" before rushing to the airport, so we booked very last minute and… it was awesome!

Buying ingredients at market before the class
(baby eggplant in basket--new discovery!)

Mechanical fly swatter: the blurred red image above the meat is formed by rotating shreds of plastic. 

Ready to start cutting!

Using the mortar to prepare a curry paste… damn this job is hard!

This was the menu I learned to prepare; Basia's was exactly the opposite

My first two Thai dishes ):)

The funny note for me was that there was a "very vegetarian" Brazilian woman (who didn't even want to smell something that was not a vegetable) and, at some stage of cooking, she was the only one (of 7) who got worms in her small eggplant… I wonder what was the meaningful coincidence here…

We loved the class. We learned to do 8 simple yet delicious dishes (including curry pastes) that we ate with joy!

My only disappointment: the chef confessed to us he looooves McDonald's fries!! Dude, seriously? With the delicious dishes you cook? Seriously?

A reminder from our visit to the insect museum: female mosquitoes loved the food too! Only that they like to suck it "already processed" by us ):)

 Life feeds on life… more about this meditation in a future post. 

Driving fast straight to the airport, Basia took this sequence of pictures that reflect how much I like to pose for pictures:

Candid pic; truly unaware at this point

Aware; grumpily posing

Why is it taking so long to take a $&@#% picture??

At Chiang Mai Airport (CNX)
I forgot I had a can of Coke in my carry on bag. Of course I was told I couldn't bring such a dangerous item, so I "inactivated" it by opening the can and started drinking it… and then walked away, slowing sipping my Coke ):) Smile. Only in Asia.

Nice surprise @ CNX:

Monks are not first in priority seating for this particular airline! Yes! (although they're still more important than pregnant and lactating women):)

Oriental wisdom at its best

Closing comment: Bangkok Airways (Asia's Boutique Airline) has complimentary lounge access for all passengers (yes ALL). It's at the top of our list along with Fiji Airways on this trip so far.