Cooking, Culture, Food and Drink, Travel

Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan 2023–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน

I originally published this post (which I've since very lightly edited) almost two years ago, in June 2021.  I'm reposting it today because, when I went looking for inspiration on the web, I discovered that April 21, 2023 is the 241st anniversary of the founding of the city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok. … Continue reading Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan 2023–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน

Cooking, Culture, Food and Drink, Travel

Suwanee’s Cooking School, Chiang Rai, Thailand: Revisited

It's been exactly four years since a day I remember with great affection, the day on which my friend and I attended a full-day cooking school in Chiang Rai, Thailand and--with a lot of effort, hard work, and a great sense of fun--made some of the loveliest and most delicious food I've ever eaten.  A… Continue reading Suwanee’s Cooking School, Chiang Rai, Thailand: Revisited

Culture, Plain Speaking, Travel

Photos, Or it Didn’t Happen: Part Two

I wrote recently about my visit to Thailand in 2018, and of a visit to Chiang Rai's spectacular White Temple. Competing for the role of "most famous Chiang Rai tourist attraction" (unless you're a golfer, in which case it's probably the Santiburi Country Club, which is also quite lovely--and the food is very good too--even… Continue reading Photos, Or it Didn’t Happen: Part Two

Cooking, Culture, Food and Drink, Travel

Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน

The title of today's post, Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan, means, in English, "A Procession Poem Admiring Sweet and Savory Dishes," and refers to a poem written by Siam's (now known as Thailand) Prince Itsarasunthon--later King Rama II--in 1800. The opening stanza, translated by Heather Arndt Anderson, goes like this: Massaman, a curry made… Continue reading Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan–กาพย์เห่ชมเครื่องคาวหวาน

Culture, Plain Speaking, Travel

Photos, Or It Didn’t Happen

That's a saying we have on Ricochet.  It may have been intitated by a former member known as Simon Templar; I'm not sure. In any event, it's become a popular phrase, and we generally try to oblige. One of the must-see sights in Chiang Rai, Thailand is Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple.  It's… Continue reading Photos, Or It Didn’t Happen

Cooking, Culture, Travel

Suwanee’s Cooking School In Chiang Rai, Thailand

This post fulfills a promise I made in July of 2018 to a lovely lady, Ms. Suwanee Kwan Cheablam, that I would write a public review of her cooking school in Chiang Rai, Thailand.  I'm sorry it's taken me such a long time.  However, as Allen Saunders said (in a quote which is frequently mis-attributed… Continue reading Suwanee’s Cooking School In Chiang Rai, Thailand