Roaming Brood

 In Siem Reap, we took a cooking class at a restaurant called the Paper Tiger Eatery. It was super fun and we had so much food at the end, we couldn't finish it all! Our teacher took us to the market down the street to show us the ingredients we would be using. We had about ten people in our class. For the food, we got to choose one appetizer, one main and we all did the same dessert. We actually did the class at the restaurant so we chose the food off of a small menu. We got to peel all of our vegetables for the appetizers with this cool peeler. We actually bought one to bring home because it was so good!!! We all made the things we chose... Nathan made fresh spring rolls and beef lok lak. Parker and my dad worked together. They made fried spring rolls with chicken and fish amok. My mom made green mango salad and chicken amok. I made fried spring rolls with pork and chicken curry. Here are the dishes!!

Ruins from the Khmer Empire Siem Reap, Cambodia was a pleasant surprise!  We arrived after a short, 50 minute, flight from Bangkok.  We only planned for 4 days in Siem Reap to give ourselves a few days to explore the famous temples of Angkor Wat Archeological Park.  Within a few hours of arriving, however, we were all wishing we had allotted more time for Cambodia. Exiting the plane right onto the tarmac No shuttle buses like Bangkok- the kids were excited to walk on the tarmac Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up Tight squeeze- 3 suitcases piled up and held with a bungee cord Our hotel was situated about 1.5 km from the Old Market area and city centre.  After dropping our bags and having a quick swim to cool off, we set out on foot to explore. Exploring Siem Reap River walkway There were several wats in Siem Reap- we only visited one Like Thailand- ornate and colourful Pub Street at night One of the surprising things about Sie

After a month in Thailand, we noticed the following things: Great beaches Baby jelly fish in water sting us without us knowing....until later! Thai people are friendly- most smile at us and some even touch us Thailand is not as cheap as we initially thought- it depends on the items Lots of crafts and handiwork at markets 7-elevens are everywhere Very few branded stores You need to take toilet paper with you before you go into the stall You need to pay to use some public toilets Most prices are negotiable People eat out a lot Street food is EVERYWHERE Purified ice and water was more available than we thought Safety is not important- no helmets on scooters, crazy drivers Tuk tuk rides are even crazier than we thought they would be There are markets everywhere Cheap massages During a thai massage, the masseuse stands on people! Massage parlours and nail salons on every corner ...sometimes lining an entire street We liked Phuket best because of the beaches. We liked C

 The kids were thrilled to discover that our plane from Phuket to Bangkok was a double decker plane! We actually get to go on a double decker plane! As we were working out the itinerary for this trip, I was not keen on visiting Bangkok.  Stories of its chaos and pollution intimidated me.  Mike, however,  had visited briefly as a young child and wanted to go back, even just for a few days.  Thus, we agreed to spend 5 days in Bangkok to finish off our month in Thailand. Pedestrians, cars, scooters and tuk tuks- a gamble as to who has the right of way! Well, Bangkok certainly was as polluted and as chaotic as I expected.  The air was heavy and there was a thick haze hanging over the city.  We wandered out our first morning but learned quite quickly that staying indoors in the air conditioning during the heat of the day was the only way we would make it through.  It was 34 degrees but felt like 38 degrees every day and January is the coolest month of the year! FInishing o