Som Tum Masterchef Winners

Winners of the golden pestle, along with Miss Bridget and Mr Nick!!

 The teachers team beat the student teams in the Som Tum - green papaya salad mash off today.(Ingredients are mashed together in a mortar and pestle).

Our plating was remarkable.  We had luck with the mystery ingredients, tofu and tro, we just used them for decoration.

The Thai judges liked our flavours, but it was too spicy for the farang (foreign) judges. 

MKRish Our students will be so proud of us!!!! PS No tears!!!

One Chicken please

Dinner for our stay at Doi Inthanon was provided by this roadside stall.
Rotisserie chickens over coal fires in drums dotted the roadside near the park entrance.
Slightly greasy, smoky flavour, but overall a good chicken.  Would you argue with the owner of this knife???

Doi Inthanon

The Royal Chedis, perched on the side of the mountain,  dominate the skyline on Doi Inthanon.  They were built by the Thai Air force to commemorate their Royal Majesties 60th Birthdays.

The surrounding gardens are colorful and lovely, with some gorgeous blue hydrangeas my mother would have admired.  The chedis are modern in design featuring stylistic Buddha images and murals.

Waterfall

This weekend I went on a scooter trip with two friends who teach at the Primary Campus.
We visited Doi Inthanon National Park.
Most of Sunday morning was spent at Mae Ya waterfall.  It was wonderful. We sat under the waterfall just below the tree in the photo and enjoyed the play of light in the flowing water.
The Mae Ya falls are supposed to be the tallest and the most splendid in Thailand.  We thought they were lovely and the many steps of the broad falls would be more spectacular during the wet season.

Chiang Mai, along the canal

A typical Chiang Mai street scene along the canal, A red Song Tiew (taxi ute) passing a fountain in the canal,  as it drives under a tropical tree (yesterdays Queen Crepe-myrtle).

Love a crepe myrtle

Lagerstroemia speciosa, also known as Queen's Crepe-myrtle or Giant Crepe-myrtle has been looking spectacular in the school gardens  and in the streets of Chiang Mai over the past month.  Lovely mauve/purple flowers and interesting seed pods.

Buddha Tree

Many trees along the roadside and in the grounds of temples have pieces of fabric wrapped around their trunk or  thick branches.  This means the tree is sacred, like a monk, and is protected.  This is a Bodhi tree in a Chiang Mai monastery wrapped with pink and orange fabric.