Ever since we arrived in Thailand, we've wanted to take a cooking class. It's a pretty common excursion for tourists here, and there are classes in just about every city. We were going to take a class in Chiang Mai, but the time slipped by us before we could do it. We thought about Ao Nang, but it never happened. Once we got to Koh Lanta we decided we would wait until Bagkok. But then we found Time For Lime... check it www.timeforlime.net

We were excited to see this place. Their little green brochures are all over the island, and we once read a glowing review on a website that made us think twice about our plans in Bangkok. After checking out the site and seeing their menus, we made our reservations.

The guy on the phone tried to encourage Shaunna to come right away and join some other guests from the Moonlight Bay Resort. We were still enjoying the pool and we had plans to visit the Relax Bay Restaurant (see previous entry), so we declined.

We arrived at the school around noon, 30 minutes early. We figured it would be a good idea to get their, socialize with other students, and maybe have a drink. Their bar boasts about mojitos, margaritas and capirinas - their specialty is lime - so this sounded great. But when we entered, the place was empty.

We walked around the open air cooking area and ventured out onto the beach. The place was beautiful...

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Eventually a Norwegian lady named Juni appeared and casually mentioned, "class will be small today". Sure enough, I looked at a nearby table and saw two placemats set; we were the only students for the day.

Juni proceeded to tell us that things haven't been the same since the tsunami. They are located on the northern end of the beach close to the majority of the destruction. She showed us how high the water got at their place, and she listed the losses.... computers, credit card machine, bungalows, and more were washed out. Her partner, a Thai chef named Noum, had to grab his kid and flee to their water tower in order to avoid the waves.

I could see the dismay on her face, but I could tell that she was thankful to have students still coming... even if it was only two for the day.

She sat us down and explained about Thai customs of cooking and eating. She talked about herbs, spices, and various ingredients. She showed us how to make a killer little appetizer for friends... something that can be set out and friends can prepare on their own. We really enjoyed her hospitality.

Eventually, Noum appeared and told us to take a break. We ordered a mojito from the bar and savored the flavor of limes... we have been dying for our favorite "south of the border" drinks, and we were happy to have them that morning. After ten minutes, we joined Noum in the kitchen and watched as he explained the ingredients and methods of preparing curry. He had us take turns mashing up ingredients with a mortar and pestle to make red curry...

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We used the curry to make a wonderful pumpkin & coconut soup...

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Noum was an excellent teacher with a great sense of humor. He gave us good attention and helped us make some awesome food. We made pan-fried barracuda with a 3-flavored sauce that included tammarine and chili. We also prepared a spicy papaya salad and pad thai noodles. We washed each meal down with margaritas and caparinas. It was a terrific way to spend the afternoon, and I highly recommend it to anyone heading to Koh Lanta. Time For Lime was the best cooking class.

After three drinks and four meals, we jumped on our motorbike and headed into Ban Sala Dan in search of a payphone. We were still kicking around the idea of heading to Phuket before going to Bangkok, and I needed to make a few calls. All of a sudden it seemed like my morning immodium wore off, and I was speeding over bumps and potholes to get back to the resort before the blazing-ass express dropped in my pants. Fortunately, I made it.

We showered and removed the road dust from our bodies. We sat in the AC until the sun went down and shared a large Beer Chang. We weren't too terribly hungry, but I was itching to ride around town again. We had read about a restaurant called The Sanctuary that specializes in Indian and Vegetarian food. We put on our dusty clothes and hopped back on the bike.

At our arrival we were greeted with good music and friendly service. It suddenly occurred to me why the Relax Bay restaurant made me feel uncomfortable: there was no music in the place... only silence and the occasional conversation in French. The Sanctuary, on the other hand, was very cool and laid back.... and we overheard people talking with American accents! What a treat!

After a couple more beers and a terrific dinner of Indian food, we walked a bit on the beach before braving the dirt roads again. I can't stress how dusty the streets are. A single trip to the store on a motorbike rewards you with a pound of dirt on your clothes... notice the dust on my shirt here..

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We ended the night with another drink in our bungalows before passing out drunk on alcohol and high from a terrific day at the cooking class.