3 days and 18 dishes later

Our first three days in Chiang Mai mostly concerned cooking. Cooking and eating. We were picked up at 9.30 in a tuk-tuk (my first since arriving in Thailand due to various warnings I'd read about tourist scams involving them). Quite a different experience to the autos in India, and not as much fun in my opinion. We were taken to the main office for the cooking school where 25 odd other Westerners were sat, clutching at their free recipe book and waiting patiently to begin the cooking at the Chiang Mai cookery school.

We were introduced to all manner of beautiful Thai girls with names like: Baloo, Garn and Beer and then we were all off in three "Songthaews" (taxis which are like trucks, open at the back with two rows of seats running down each side - you hold on to a bar on the ceiling).

The cooking began with a trip to the market to be told about Thai ingredients and to buy all the necessary bits and pieces for the day's cooking. The market was amazing and we learnt all about rice, fish, herbs, spices (who knew turmeric was a root that looks just like ginger and can be used to soothe insect bites? Not I) and various other things that I forgot almost immediately but were infinitely useful.

Then off to cook. Cooking began after the market and outside of town, during the day we cooked and ate almost constantly. Probably eating more than is necessary for one person in that amount of time, and consequently upon getting back to the hotel a post-class nap was unavoidable.

This went on for three days - the course cost 112 pounds for two people and considering the amount of food you eat and all the things you cook that's not bad. You certainly don't need a meal in the evenings (though a fresh ginger tea from the food stall on the back to the hotel was very welcome and incredibly spicy - good for digestion). I will endeavour to make as much Thai food upon my return as possible, and you can hold me to that.

Overall, I highly recommend doing a cookery course (though perhaps 3 days was a little much as it only really left 2 days to explore Chiang Mai), we met some great people and we learnt a lot. All the people at the cookery school were friendly and good at what they do, a couple had a wicked sense of humour which made the day that little bit more fun. So, dinner in 2009?