Friday was one of the most enjoyable days in my travels – cooking class! I’d decided to go with Thai Farm Cooking School since my Lonely Planet guidebook mentioned that class was actually on the farm outside of the city, and the website was good. They didn’t disappoint!

I was picked up in their song-theow and met the other participants: three folks from the US, a lady from Hong Kong, and two young Dutch women. Personalities meshed pretty well, especially when adding our charming young teacher to the mix.

We started out at the market where we learned about the difference between coconut milk and coconut cream, jasmine rice and sticky rice. Then out to the farm where we got to see the plants we would be using. Who knew that turmeric was a root that is shaped a bit like ginger but is – surprise – yellow inside.

First up was making curry paste – easily the most difficult part of the day since you need to use a mortar and pestle. I don’t think I minced my ingredients finely enough, or I’m a weakling when it comes to blending in by hand!

After the chili paste was ready, we moved on to Tom Yum soup and chicken with hot basil so we could eat something.

The afternoon continued with the green curry and pad thai, wrapping up with mango and sticky rice. (I should note that everyone got to choose what fish they made per “course” and I’ve just listed what I picked. Others chose red curry, for example, for the curry course.)

I had an amazing day, and my pad thai looked good enough that the instructor asked for me to send a photo if I’d taken one!