​We called a rest day for Sarina’s birthday and headed off for a gentle cycle across Ko Lanta and down the east coast of the island. 

The west coast is well developed with tourist resorts, but the east coast is all about fishing and rubber farming and dramatic views across the straits to the mainland. ​

We rode down to the end of the road, past a village of semi nomadic fisherman whose village had bee destroyed in the 2007 tsunami. They still live in their rebuilt, much stronger huts on the water’s edge, but there is an early warning system and evacuation signage now, which saw none of the population hurt by the 2010 tsunami. 

We also swung by the old town and Sarina found herself a very nice necklace and pair of earrings as a birthday present. They are made from “Shiva” shell, named after the Hindu god. 

The evening was  the main event, with a cooking course where we are staying. A great teacher, Noi, took us through the basics of Thai cooking as we assembled our meal for the evening. Spicy fish salad with spring rolls followed by tom yam soup and mussaman curry. 

It was a very entertaining evening which also taught us a great deal about Thai food, how to cook it and how to eat it. 

Biggest learnings -  

1. “Killing“ a clove of garlic with a blow from the side of a cleaver is much easier than chopping  

2. Prepring all the veg takes much longer than cooking, and you have to get all the prep done so you don’t overcook the food

3. How to tell which ingredients are intended to be eaten and which are just there for flavour.  

4. Tiger has picked up a lot of knowledge about wine.