A night flight to Phuket, Thailand on Boxing Day luckily worked in our favor. I’m not going to lie, I was worried about having cranky and restless children so late at night!
The kids woke fresh and ready to play the next morning.
Jade was anxious to hit the pool; she thought she could help move things along by applying my sunscreen for me. For the record: my left foot did not get burned.
For this vacation we decided to stay at a really family-friendly resort with amenities geared toward families with kids.
Complete with baby bed, high chairs, children’s plates, and flower pancakes! Quite the perks when traveling in Asia, I promise.
To be honest, we tend to like a more authentic and secluded experience than what a big resort inclines to offer.
We came to really appreciate the luxury of its conveniences though. Especially popping into the kids’ play area during rain or in between tours. I think with two kids we are beginning to understand why people take child-friendly vacations.
This was our third time to Thailand, and each time I have wanted to take a Thai cooking class. Unfortunately, it never worked out with having a young child along on the trip. By staying at a larger resort, I was able to take a class right at the hotel while Cody stayed with the kids. We all swam in the morning, then at lunch I headed off to class while Cody and the kids ate lunch at the pool. 
After going with Daddy, Jade even got brave enough to go down the slide by herself!
They retired to the room for naps as I enjoyed learning the art of Thai cooking!
I am not exaggerating when I say I was absolutely giddy as I learned the ways of Yam Nua Yang, Phad Thai Goong, and Green Curry.
I am constantly trying to figure out authentic Asian cooking. I even have a Thai store run by a Thai man in my local market. I buy basil there for pesto. Lame. I’ve wanted so badly to communicate with him and use his products, but I didn’t know what they were and he speaks Thai. But oh, how I love Thai food!
Finally! I had two real life Thai chefs to communicate with in English. At the end, Chef Ja even commented on how focused I was and how he could tell I was really interested in Thai cooking. I think that made him pretty happy. He even translated the ingredients list in my cookbook into Thai and gave me his email if I have future questions! Oh my, I am excited about my new found knowledge!! 
A very nice English lady and her son were also in the class. 
The spread of ingredients was absolutely gorgeous.
This is our little class at the end of our session—after we finished devouring the delicious food we made for ourselves for lunch. I’m not lying when I say it was probably one of the best meals I had this trip! 
I must tell you I am so so so grateful to Cody for making this possible for me. I have been wanting to learn Thai cooking for a really long time, and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to take this fun course in Thailand. A silly little dream of mine come true. I love you, Cody!!!
Ridge ended up sleeping the entire time I was off cooking, so Jade and Cody were cooped up watching cartoons in the hotel room. Jade was so good to be patient. She really wanted to get her face painted at the kids’ club, but Ridge slept so long, we got there too late. Jade started crying she was so disappointed. I guess the men running the play area felt bad, so they painted her face anyway. I made sure to tell them how she had waited so patiently for her brother to take a nap and how much we appreciated them accommodating her.
The paint job turned out to be a bit comical. They had no idea what they were doing. One guy started out by giving Jade a green mustache/beard…
Finally the second one stepped in. He washed off the beard and started over. Then he took what felt like 20 minutes to paint her nose and and add whiskers.
But I think he was having a little too much fun because then he kept going…and turned her nose into a strawberry. So I guess she was a kitty with a strawberry nose. Unique, if nothing else.
After dinner at the hotel, we headed down to the beach to watch the sunset. Then it was off to bed!
3 comments:
How fun and so awesome you got take that class! :)
Ok I'll admit, a tiny part of me is going to be sad when you don't live in Asia anymore and have all these funny stories! A strawberry nosed kitty! That is just amazing! But your class looked so fun! I'm glad you enjoyed it! You are gonna die when I tell you I've never had Thai food... but I am more than excited to try it when you make it for me!!!
That face paint is hysterical. I am so happy that you got to go to that cooking class! It looked amazing, and I especially like the British boy in your class. He looks so enthusiastic in all your pictures. :) I am very jealous, as I've always wanted to do the same thing. The closest I've ever come is taking a Thai cooking class from a Thai woman who owned a top rated Thai restaurant in Utah. It was delicious, but even she admitted, very Americanized. That Phad Thai looks to die for. You must teach me to make it! Glad you had such a fun trip. Your adventures always look so fun!
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