My new bike and cooking part 2

So I am skipping a post on the candle parade because it is taking a while to get the pictures organized--hopefully I will get it posted within the next day or two.  I will say that it was a truly amazing experience, probably one of the best in my life.  Definitely worth skipping the trip to Vietnam!

Today (Monday) and tomorrow are vacations from school for Vassa, or Buddhist lent.  For 3 months (during the rainy season) the monks stay on the monastery grounds.  In the old times the villagers would offer candles to the monks so that they could see and continue their work during this time of sequestration, hence the candle parade preceding Vassa.  Now the candle parade is a more elaborate/ornamental ceremony, but candles still are offered to the monks for Vassa.

Anyway, last week was really exhausting, so Saturday I spent a lot of time sleeping.  Then my weekly chores (cleaning, laundry, etc.) before my trip to the walking market.  It was, as always, a wonderful evening.  I even had a cheeseburger, although I think it might have actually been made of pork.  Doesn't matter much, it was delicious.

Yesterday morning I also accomplished another task: purchase a bicycle.  I have been meaning to do so for some time, but didn't want to unless I had a native Thai with me to help with the bargaining.  In the end I got a new (as opposed to used Japanese) bike with a nice basket.  Also a bell and lights, etc.  It was funny, the bike shop seemed convinced that I would want a huge cruiser type bike, since all foreigners seem to prefer them.  I didn't really know how to respond to that--they were gigantic and twice the price.  Definitely a sturdier bike, but I'm still not really sure why that would be the go-to bike for foreigners.  I opted for the Thai-manufactured bike (the seat had to be raised all the way to fit me).

Pretty snazzy! (and yes, I know it is locked wrong in this pic)

So today Rhea and I took our bikes to Wat Phumin.  I was feeling bad for not having visited in the 3 months I have lived here--all my Thai friends are shocked by this fact.  But I shouldn't have felt bad.  Rhea hadn't been in 1 year + 3 months, and Gina hasn't been in the 4 years she had lived in Nan.  They have seen it driving by, but never stopped by.

The temple is quite pretty, but the most impressive part of it is inside: the murals.  They are not nearly as old as the original temple, but are of great interest since they depict the old style of daily life in Nan.  Also, some of the murals tell the story of the founding of Nan province.  The details are fuzzy to me (since they were conveyed to me by one of my students), but the story goes that there was a Burmese prince that fell in love with a local Thai girl, the daughter of a farmer.  As all stories go, their parents did not approve of the match: a prince and a farmgirl!!  Fighting ensued.  Sadly the remainder of the story is a bit of a mystery to me.  I will have to ask for some clarification.

The most famous mural: "The Whisper"

I really liked this one.  Not sure what it means, but it was pretty

Edit: according to my father, there's no mystery to the "mystery mural": it's the chicken race teaching the humans the Chicken Dance!

I had a very nice time with the visit.  I would have liked to spend a bit longer, but it seemed that Rhea was anxious to leave, so I figured I would come back some other time.  So we headed out and went to the market to pick up food for dinner.  My plan: finally attempt to cook green curry.

Green curry was probably one of my more despised Thai dishes before actually coming to Thailand.  For some reason it always had a smell to it that reminded me of rotten food.  It smelled decidedly bad.  Like something that would make you sick if you were to eat it.  So much so that when my dad would order it at restaurants, my mom and I would have him put the dish on another table so we wouldn't lose our appetite.  But somehow green curry is different here.  It doesn't have that dirty smell/taste.  In fact, it is probably my favorite curry here--it has the best balance of sweet, salt, and spice.  And so I endeavored to try my hand at green curry.

First of all, I didn't make my own chili paste.  I have done it before (in my Chiang Mai cooking class), but it is a pain in the ass to make and it has to age once it is made.  Plus most Thais don't make their own paste either--they just buy the paste and go from there.  Another thing that will surprise you: those aren't peas.  They are tiny little eggplants.  I was shocked by them the first time I encountered them.  They do taste a bit like eggplant, but they are more bitter and not as soft.

Fairy eggplant + Pea eggplant.  Big eggplant don't really exist here

Most of the prep.  See our new dish rack! I love it.

Adding the chicken...chopped breast would have been better

About time to add the Kaffir lime leaf

Time to eat (with rice vermicelli)

Close up (and classy tupperware lid/trivet)

Well, I would say it was a success.  I think in the future I would definitely use chicken breast and chop it rather than legs/wings--this is due to cooking time and ease of eating.  Otherwise things went well.  The recipe called for some sugar, but I thought it had enough with the coconut milk.  Also, they had me add water, but it got too thin so I needed to add some extra coconut milk.  But mostly it was pretty solid.  With a few tweaks I think it would be quite successful.  Messy in our "kitchen," but that is to be expected.

Anyway, it is time for some sleep so I don't sleep through my entire day off.  I am happy with how the last few days have gone.  Tomorrow I plan to work on my candle parade blog entry, and in a few days I might make some pork with holy basil--a very tasty stir fried dish.  See you all later!