...So, as I mentioned before, the weather has not been as kind to us as Colleen and Bob have this week...but has that stopped us from having fun? Hell no!! Cooking, card-playing, massages, drinking, eating, drinking some more...
A refreshing coconut and cool towel awaited us at Colleen and Bob's Ko Pha-ngan resort, and after enjoying these lovely but unexpected gestures, we just looked at each other with a flummoxed look that said 'Right. Now what?'. Soon enough, we were escorted to a golf cart that whisked us away to our villa and a smiling Colleen and Bob- as well as a fair few welcome Singhas! That evening we enjoyed the Thai buffet at our restaurant, to get a better idea of what we'd be learning to cook the following day...There was also some Thai dancing going on, although the set-up of the restaurant meant that persistent returns to the buffet meant a few moments on the stage with the dancers...greed punished with brief humiliation, I suppose!
The next day, Colleen and Bob were able to sample that beautiful Thai tropical weather...the heat, the stickiness...the light rain. No matter, it provided the perfect opportunity to teach me an addictive card game that would become a big part of the days that followed...Euker. I couldn't possibly explain the rules, but let's just say its quick and fairly simple, though I have a tendency to cheat without realizing (I swear!). Anyway, our buffet breakfast followed a quick introductory game, before we decided to check out the other beach. As soon as Patrick and I step onto it, looking for Bob and Colleen, that light rain turned into a torrential downpour- and how did we deal with it? By stripping down to our swimsuits and embracing it- its the only way! The irony was, C & B were back in the resort the whole time!
Considering the weather, that day was probably the perfect day for our Thai cooking school. We had four Thai dishes on our itinerary: first, Kratae (our 27-year old Ko Pha-ngan native chef) & helpers would show us to to make a dish, then two of us would have to make it for the whole group. Pat and I were up first to make our favourite- chicken 'laab'- where I discovered that I'm not the best- or safest- chopper in the world (for the Martz' reading this: almost as bad as I was at making pizza dough in Italy!) Anyway, we successfully made it, and sat down to enjoy it- with a bottle of vino rosso, of course! We were pretty full after this, but there were four more dishes to make! Next up, another of Pat and I's favourites: 'Tom Yam' soup with prawns. Colleen and Bob's turn this time, making one with cow milk, one with coconut milk; the latter was the undisputed favourite. Yet again we sat down, our tingling tastebuds fighting against our bulging stomachs...and another bottle of red was ordered. Third course: Thai green curry. We were introduced to new members of the aubergine (eggplant) family: small aubergines (about golf-ball size), and baby aubergines (just bigger than a pea).The latter tasted great raw with thick chilli paste- another snack idea! It was a mother-and-son team for this one, and the two got a little competitive with how perfect they each were on first taste...both tasted fantastic, though our stomachs were beginning to admit defeat at this point. Still, we sucked it up to make course numero cuatro: stir-fried prawns with cashew nuts. Heaps of chopping for this one- my favourite- but learned I'm a fraction less hazardous with garlic. Speaking of garlic, Bob learned the hard way that his element was far too hot: within seconds of flinging his garlic into the oiled up pan, it was already burnt, and Kratae made him start all over again! His dish actually ended up being a lot tastier and saucier (ooh-err) than mine, so practice definitely makes perfect! By this stage I think Kratae saw that we could barely stand, let alone cook anymore, so she kindly made our dessert for us: the delicious banana cooked in sweetened coconut milk. We had a little chat to her while she we enjoyed her amazing dessert...she had originally worked at the resort's front desk, but had a passion for cooking, so the Head Chef said he'd try her out in the kitchen...now, one and a half years later, she's second-in-command! And she still rings up her grandmother for cooking advice! A lovely chef, and a really fun lesson...though I don't think I've ever been so full in my life by 5pm! Predictably, we had just about enough energy to waddle to the villa for a nap, which then just turned into a huge sleep!
Next up: massages, a mammoth Euker tournament (which is still going on!), a bumpy speed-boat ride, and our jaw-dropping Ko Samui villa!...
A refreshing coconut and cool towel awaited us at Colleen and Bob's Ko Pha-ngan resort, and after enjoying these lovely but unexpected gestures, we just looked at each other with a flummoxed look that said 'Right. Now what?'. Soon enough, we were escorted to a golf cart that whisked us away to our villa and a smiling Colleen and Bob- as well as a fair few welcome Singhas! That evening we enjoyed the Thai buffet at our restaurant, to get a better idea of what we'd be learning to cook the following day...There was also some Thai dancing going on, although the set-up of the restaurant meant that persistent returns to the buffet meant a few moments on the stage with the dancers...greed punished with brief humiliation, I suppose!
The next day, Colleen and Bob were able to sample that beautiful Thai tropical weather...the heat, the stickiness...the light rain. No matter, it provided the perfect opportunity to teach me an addictive card game that would become a big part of the days that followed...Euker. I couldn't possibly explain the rules, but let's just say its quick and fairly simple, though I have a tendency to cheat without realizing (I swear!). Anyway, our buffet breakfast followed a quick introductory game, before we decided to check out the other beach. As soon as Patrick and I step onto it, looking for Bob and Colleen, that light rain turned into a torrential downpour- and how did we deal with it? By stripping down to our swimsuits and embracing it- its the only way! The irony was, C & B were back in the resort the whole time!
Considering the weather, that day was probably the perfect day for our Thai cooking school. We had four Thai dishes on our itinerary: first, Kratae (our 27-year old Ko Pha-ngan native chef) & helpers would show us to to make a dish, then two of us would have to make it for the whole group. Pat and I were up first to make our favourite- chicken 'laab'- where I discovered that I'm not the best- or safest- chopper in the world (for the Martz' reading this: almost as bad as I was at making pizza dough in Italy!) Anyway, we successfully made it, and sat down to enjoy it- with a bottle of vino rosso, of course! We were pretty full after this, but there were four more dishes to make! Next up, another of Pat and I's favourites: 'Tom Yam' soup with prawns. Colleen and Bob's turn this time, making one with cow milk, one with coconut milk; the latter was the undisputed favourite. Yet again we sat down, our tingling tastebuds fighting against our bulging stomachs...and another bottle of red was ordered. Third course: Thai green curry. We were introduced to new members of the aubergine (eggplant) family: small aubergines (about golf-ball size), and baby aubergines (just bigger than a pea).The latter tasted great raw with thick chilli paste- another snack idea! It was a mother-and-son team for this one, and the two got a little competitive with how perfect they each were on first taste...both tasted fantastic, though our stomachs were beginning to admit defeat at this point. Still, we sucked it up to make course numero cuatro: stir-fried prawns with cashew nuts. Heaps of chopping for this one- my favourite- but learned I'm a fraction less hazardous with garlic. Speaking of garlic, Bob learned the hard way that his element was far too hot: within seconds of flinging his garlic into the oiled up pan, it was already burnt, and Kratae made him start all over again! His dish actually ended up being a lot tastier and saucier (ooh-err) than mine, so practice definitely makes perfect! By this stage I think Kratae saw that we could barely stand, let alone cook anymore, so she kindly made our dessert for us: the delicious banana cooked in sweetened coconut milk. We had a little chat to her while she we enjoyed her amazing dessert...she had originally worked at the resort's front desk, but had a passion for cooking, so the Head Chef said he'd try her out in the kitchen...now, one and a half years later, she's second-in-command! And she still rings up her grandmother for cooking advice! A lovely chef, and a really fun lesson...though I don't think I've ever been so full in my life by 5pm! Predictably, we had just about enough energy to waddle to the villa for a nap, which then just turned into a huge sleep!
Next up: massages, a mammoth Euker tournament (which is still going on!), a bumpy speed-boat ride, and our jaw-dropping Ko Samui villa!...
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