Our pick up was about 9am today by the ladies from the Chang Mai cooking School. First we stopped by the local market so we could buy the ingredients that we were going to be cooking with - lots of fresh vegies and herbs - it was going to be tasty! On arrival at cooking school we were given and apron and allocated a cooking station... first though we had to learn about the different types of herbs the Thai's use in cooking and how to prepare them. We moved to our stove top and started preparing our first course - a prawn tom yum soup. Lots of instructions were screamed out and I loved the pace of putting it together! After eating it (mmm mmmmm) we made our rice desert wrapped in banana leaf so it could be baked then moved on to cook out green chicken curry and pad thai. Again there was lots of frantic action, heaps of instruction, add this add that stir constantly etc etc but we all were laughing and having a ball! The sit down celebratory meal after was great and we all enjoyed the rewards of our labour! it was worth skipping brekky! It was then time for Miriam and I to make our way to our next adventure - bamboo rafting. After an hours drive we were there and we walked down to river where we were met by our bamboo driver! We hopped on the raft and proceeded to make our way down the river in the most relaxed fashion. Was great to chill and pass through little villages and wave to all the people. At one point we had to hop off as we came to a big rapid. A few Chinese people had hired a raft and were trying to make it down the rapid but kept getting stuck in the rocks.. They didnt have a clue what they were doing, they were on hands and knees but were laughing hysterically (so were we watching them) and having a great time. Our driver managed to make it through the rapids in 1 go, standing up the whole way! Eventually it was time to hop off and make our way back to the hotel and pack as we had a train to catch! We stocked up on snacks then boarded our overnight train back to Bangkok. We also proceeded to drink quite a few beers, get rowdy and play some funny games of UNO. Dinner was provided then pretty much straight after the conductor came around and made our beds. Soon enough we were all tucked in bed sleeping to the rocking motion of the train.
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