Ko Samui

Ever hear of Ko Samui? Not me, but I am am happy to report I love this little island in Thailand!

This is one of those places, relatively unknown, not very touristy (yet), clean, beautiful, and well worth a visit. I am happy to report there is something for everyone here (my family at least). Listen up: English speaking, takes US dollars, tons of FRENCH BAKERIES (Andy), Massage places and Spas galore, Thai food , Steak houses, Hawaiian restaurants, Pizza places, outdoor bars/cafes overlooking beautiful clear turquoise water, sand beaches, long stretches of shallow beach water, restaurants everywhere, more cars then mopeds, beautiful beaches, local markets with beautiful food I would buy things in, perfect size, still unspoiled, 5 star resorts .... How does that sound? Who's in?

This stop was a last minute replacement for Bangkok. I don't think many cruise ships anchor here. Anchoring was a problem. The water was choppy and the dock was a tough one to disembark passengers. We needed a gang plank of sorts with four men holding on to it while one passenger at a time crossed the tiny plank to get on the pier. My tour was an hour late, waiting for tenders to get people to shore. We anchored off Na Thron. The island is tiny. It is the second largest island after Phuket. The island today is fast becoming a haven for jet setters from Russia and Asia. But with the five star resorts popping up, there is still the feel of quaint small villages and coconut plantations. 

Today I was taking a cooking class at the Nora Beach Resort. It was a 45 minute drive from the pier. We stopped at a local market, then spent four hours at the resort. The resort is lovely. The class was we'll organized. We were given chef hats and an apron (always a plus for me :) . The chef did not speak English well but we had plenty of assistants that helped us with each dish. Each station accommodated two people. I cooked with my friend Georgette, the Acupuncturist on board. Everything was set up on the tables and ready to go, spices, vegetables, chicken, crab, ground pork. Coconuts were cut and ready to use as bowls for our soup. Pots, pans and dishes were ready to go..... We had tickets for two drinks. I chose a local beer. I found it helped in understanding the translation of Thai to English while I cooked... :)

We made Deep Fried Stuffed Crabmeat in a Crab Shell, Tom Kha Kai (Chicken soup in Young Coconut, and Fried Noodle Shrimp Pad Thai. I liked that I was 'in charge' of the ingredients. We ate our own cooking. I chose no mushrooms for my Coconut soup, more lemongrass, more coconut milk (the assistant had to take the can away from me...:) ), less coriander, more chili. I will definitely make this at home. They told us to put the vegetables and chicken in the coconut shell first followed by the broth. This left some broth in my pan making me not happy. If I made it at home, I would skim it and just leave the chicken with the broth. Maybe I misunderstood but chewing the galingale and lemongrass was too chewy and fibrous for me.... too heavy a taste. I wanted to find my pan and devour the left over coconut broth. It was that good. In my Pad Thai I used 2 shrimp instead of 4, fewer dried shrimp, more ground peanuts, more sweet palm sugar, less tamarind. Delicious!!!! After each dish we sat down and ate ..... I may have to re think my love of Thai food. Fun day, BEAUTIFUL setting overlooking the ocean.

 

Freshly made tofu, Meghan!! So many things here I have never seen before. I was so tempted to buy
dried spices here. Wasn't sure I could get them through customs.

  



 Shark soup Andy?
 
 live eels....

 Has anyone figured out yet how much I love visiting local markets?
 AND if you don't want to cook....
 Nora Beach Resort and cooking class....

My Chicken Coconut Soup.   Can you tell I tried to get every drop of broth in my coconut?
Didn't work, but I gave it my best...

my Pad Thai


Singapore is up next......