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Professional Mountain Guides Thai Cooking School It is said that the Thai are great eaters. A recent survey placed Thailand fourth after France, Italy, and Hong Kong in the perceived excellence of its cuisine.
After freshening up, we head to the open-air
kitchen for the cooking lessons. We
will learn about blending fresh herbs and spices, practice new skills
while using traditional utensils and benefit from authentic recipes.
We also visit an outdoor market with our instructor and learn to
be even more discerning while shopping for ingredients. After class on the second day, we return to Bangkok the "City of Angels", and spend two nights at The Oriental Hotel, one of the world's most luxurious stomping grounds. Our day will be spent exploring the city, looking at famous Buddhas (jade, reclining, golden and otherwise) going through some markets (flowers, Thai silk) and probably a gem store or two. There will even be time in the afternoon to indulge in an indescribable Thai massage. That evening, Thai boxing, anyone? The next day we leave for Laos. Laos "The Vietnamese plant rice, Laos, seasoned travellers claim, is the true essence of Southeast Asia. The Lao think that unless an activity, whether work or play, contains an experiential element of muan (fun), it will probably lead to stress. Following the Laotian concept fun we land in the capital Vientiane, the "City of the Moon".Vientiane offers an intriguing mix of Lao, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, US and Soviet influences. Its tree- lined boulevards and ancient temples impart an atmosphere of timelessness. After lunch at our hotel (Lao Hotel Plaza) we spend the afternoon walking the old part of town, visiting That Luang, the most important national monument in Laos, and taking in the ambience of this old city located on a bend of the Mekong River.
After the cruise we fly to Luang Prabang a World Heritage site and the best preserved city in Southeast Asia. Magnificent historic temples are interspersed with French Colonial buildings. In this dramatic setting, members of the Hmong, Mien and Thai hill tribes are often seen on their way to market. Luang Prabang enthralls even the most jaded Asian travellers. We spend two days here then fly to Cambodia. Cambodia
Arriving at dinner time in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, we head for Le Royal Hotel, a true throwback to the days of luxury Asian Hotels. The next morning, we visit the Royal Palace and the National Museum, where we will see some of the treasures of Angkor, giving our imaginations a boost for the days to come.That afternoon we fly to Seam Reap and to the Grand Hotel d'Angkor. About the time the French were laying the corner-stone of Notre-Dame, the Khmer Kings were finishing the great temple complex of Angkor Wat, an architectural triumph whose central tower is as tall as the spires of Notre-Dame. Sacked and abandoned to the jungle in the mid-15th century, AngkorWat, and the nearby royal city of Angkor-Thom remain among the world's greatest treasures. Designated as a World Heritage site, the ruins cover approximately 120 square miles. We will spend three days with John Sanday, a premier restoration architect with the World Monument Fund as our guide. Each night we dine at our hotel, The Grand Hotel d'Angkor; we lunch at three different restaurants.
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With
that in mind, on arrival in Bangkok we take a boat upriver (approximately
45 minutes) to our cooking school at The Thai House. This elegant,
golden teakwood hotel is traditionally designed and is surrounded
by a grove of fruit trees and fragrant herb gardens. The unmistakable
wing-shaped rooftops of the structure are inspired from temple buildings.
It was thought that these wings are a means for those who stay there
to reach heaven. 
Along with
brief lectures and hands-on demonstrations, we enjoy eating and
then discussing the dishes we have prepared. And, when we aren't
cooking and eating, we can lounge around in our sarongs that were
handed to us on arrival, or bicycle the surrounding area or float
the canals. 
The
next morning, we fly to Pakse and start our Mekong River cruise.
Laos boasts one of the least disturbed eco-systems in Asia due to
its overall lack of development and population density. Our three-day
cruise will offer fascinating glimpses of tranquil, river oriented
village life, more detached from time than from the riverbank. With
luck, we'll spot some rare fresh-water Irrawaddy dolphins. The Mekong
River is one of the world's last remaining untamed waterways. Until
1993 no bridge spanned it, and it is not dammed as of yet. And except
in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, no large city or industrial zone is located
anywhere along its banks. 
"Go
to Angkor, my friend, to its ruins and to its dreams." -P. Jeannerat
de Beerski, Author, 1924 
On
the fourth day we fly back to Bangkok and return to The Thai House
for our final two days of cooking lessons. Our palates, having been
sharpened on two additional countries' subtleties, are ready to
venture further into the art of Thai cuisine. The next afternoon
we travel back to Bangkok and fly home.