exploring eating capturing
One of my favourite dishes throughout South East Asia was fried morning glory, or Thai water spinach. It grows in abundance and so is a very cheap dish to buy if you are on a budget and eating out. So I was a little bit …
With this trip I had another one of those experiences where on the one hand you feel like seven days has flown by whilst on the other it feels like the trip has lasted for weeks because you have seen so many places and done …
Being on a boat twentyfour seven means your internal clock becomes a bit more regulated to sunrise and sunset. Its quite lovely to work a bit more with the rhythm of nature for a change. Out at sea the sky is huge and changes very quickly from clear blue to clouds and storms to beautiful light shows in the morning and evening,
And my favourite place to be was on the nets at the front with the water rolling underneath. When the boat was on the move on a number of occasions I got soaked sitting there, much to the amusement of the others around, but as a great lover of water I really didn’t mind!
Back to my boat trip around the southern Thai Islands and onto Ko Phi Phi Le which is more famously known as the beach that features in the film ‘The Beach’ from 2000 staring Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a must visit kind of place if …
Right so first recipe using the spice mix in the previous post. You can of course go and buy a Thai curry spice mix ready made just double check the ingredients if you are coeliac like me you might be surprised. You will need: 3 …
So I have started working on some recipes from my Asia trip and firstly realised I need to make my own spice mix. Having been to my local Thai supermarket (which is excellent) it seems that the general Thai curry paste they have has wheat in it for some reason, I find that strange as I rarely came across wheat in food over there. Instead I have been reading up on dry spice mixes as a dry mix will keep for longer in an airtight container.
Thai Curry Powder Mix
You will need:
3 tablespoons cumin seeds, 3 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon cloves, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 11 cardamom pods, 2 tablespoons ground ginger, 3 tablespoons turmeric, 1-2 tablespoons chilli flakes (amount is to your preference of heat)
Railay beach can be found on a peninsular on the south of Thailand which can only be accessed by boat because of the big limestone cliffs that surround it. It has very beautiful beaches and quite a secluded feel. It is also known as a …
The other good thing about being on a boat with a small group of people and an incredibly knowledgeable guide, in this case the wonderfully enthusiastic Willie, is that you get shown little secret places that you would never find on your own, or are …
Day two on the Andaman Sea and our next stop was Khao Phing Kan more popularly known as James Bond island. It was featured in The Man with the Golden Gun made in 1974 and ever since has been a tourist attraction.
One of the great things about sleeping on the boat was that we were able to be on an island very early in the morning before the big crowds started to gather which was fantastic and when the crowds began to come we would sail off to somewhere much quieter. All of these limestone islands are incredible structures made up of fascinating textures, shapes and colours. The limestone is pourous and the moisture it collects slowly seeps out from the rock leaving tiny deposits of calcium behind which over time build into the most interesting forms or at least that is a simple artists understanding of the process!
Something I learnt about this process was that if a human touches an area where something is clearly growing (see image above) the oils from your fingers be that natural or suntan lotion will cause a barrier to the calcium deposits so they won’t stick to the rock any more hence ending the new growth. It occurred to me having seen how many visitors come to these places that the future might look quite different many years down the line as I am certain the majority of tourists do not know this fact and are regularly putting there hands all over these beautiful rocks.
The other part of my adventure in Thailand involved a catamaran and the Andaman Sea. Starting from Phuket I spent a week with a fantastic crew and some great companions leisurely exploring this stunningly beautiful area of South East Asia. The map below gives you …