Where I took a cool dip and tried to get a natural massage haha...
I love waterfalls. Their power and yet grace always astounds me.
Then rode further through a forest of rubber trees.
Rubber is one of Thailand's largest natural resources. Every morning the farmer comes and slices back one strip of bark, which allows the rubber to flow. Later in the day, the farmer comes back to collect the 1-2 cups of rubber that has pooled.
The farm then mixes it with a chemical that causes it to coagulate and stomps on it until it becomes malleable into sheets of rubber. This farm has about 1,000 trees. With the market price, the farmer makes about $100 USD every day, which is a good living for Thailand.
We rode to some temples, but because had to stay on the road since we were not dressed in long sleeves.
Apparently, about 70% of Thailand is Buddhist, the remainder mostly Muslim. Mee said other religions have entered into Thailand as well. He explained that there was a "cult" of Christians near the banana trees we had passed - but I told him maybe what he meant was "church"! :) I hope it was a church haha.
On our way back to the hotel we saw a monkey and his master harvesting coconuts! I'm not sure if you could see him, but man - this monkey was smart! And what a setup for the master - all the coconuts, no work. Haha! I need a monkey!
I ordered some room service and while I ate, a butterfly came to quietly keep me company. So I thought, "Oh, God must have sent me a friend so I won't have to eat alone. Hello, butterfly." Soon thereafter, a little bird came and I thought, "Oh, another friend! Hello, birdie." And then... The bird casually ate the butterfly. Oh so sad! I guess that's the circle of life, my friends...
In the afternoon, I went to my private cooking lesson with the hotel chef!
His English was limited, but when you're cooking you don't need a lot of words.
So, together we boiled...
We mashed...
We sautéed...
And ta-da! Tom Yum Goong.
Somtam (green papaya salad)
Pat See Ew
Kluy Buad Chee (banana in coconut milk)
Yummy! Unfortunately, I was too full to eat it all!
Then I headed to the Biang Niang Wednesday market. Jason - They had mangosteen!!! I meant to buy some, but I got distracted and forgot to come back :(
Oink oink!
Fish is another top resource and export for Thailand.
I saw my first Thai she-boy today, though he is not in this picture. He had bigger boobs than me - sigh. Haha.
Street food!! I wish I wasn't so full!! I actually didn't have a a chance to try any, bc just as soon as I was about to...
I ran into my new friend from the concierge desk, Ha, and her husband, Arthur and their friend, I forgot his name. Arthur is originally from Australia, but grew up in London and Germany and came to thailand originally 5 years ago to help after the tsunami and then ended up marrying Ha and staying :)
They were such a nice couple. They invited me to dinner at Lek Loba, which is the local restaurant Ha had recommended yesterday.
This was chicken and green beans over rice. And holy moly it was delicious but my mouth was ON FIRE.
This is a vegetable called Morning Glory, sautéed in soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and some I think soy beans. It was delicious!! Ha is also a chef, so we talked more about cooking and here dream to own her own restaurant one day :)
After dinner, they gave me a ride back to the hotel on their motorcycle!
If Ha's boss allows, we may go for dinner again today. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, umm ... at least you have these pictures to give to the police. Hahahaha. I'm joking, don't worry. They're very nice :)
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