Tag: CookingClass

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Yangshuo, China – Cable Cars and Cooking Class

Another busy day in China! This one started at 7:30 when Adam woke up and realized we were both so knackered we had slept right through our alarm. Nothing like a relaxing, refreshing holiday, right? Luckily, we rushed around and managed to be ready in time for the bus to our first activity of the day: a mountain cable car and hike.

Again, this was a Chinese hike, meaning it was along a concrete path and after weeks of our guide telling us about activities that had “loads of steps” only to find out there were not that many, this activity had hundreds of steps with no trigger warning whatsoever!

We first took a cable car up to the top of one of the mountains. It then rose across to a second, slightly higher peak, and finally on to the last one, which was the highest of the three. It was amazing to see the mountains from up that high and to watch all the life below looking miniature between them. Adam was less keen, as he does not like the feeling of being close to an edge or unsecured at great heights. This was the start of a long day for him!

At the top of the cable car ride, we disembarked and climbed higher still, in awe of the scenery and the engineering required to build all of this and haul materials up such sheer mountain faces. We then reached a cable bridge suspended between two of the peaks. It felt quite sturdy, but it was still understandably not Adam’s idea of fun. We debated turning back, but Adam wanted to try to conquer his fear, so we slowly moved onto the bridge. The middle section was a bit hairy because you could feel a slight sway in the breeze, along with the movement from everyone’s steps. One step at a time, we pushed past it. Soon we were closer to the next mountain than the last, and then we were back on solid land, much to Adam’s relief.

There was not much letup for him, though, as we then wound our way up more and more steps all the way to the peak of the highest mountain around. Once again, he conquered his fear and made it to the top. The summit was a wide, flat plateau that felt a bit more like solid ground, so we spent some time walking around and taking photos away from the edge. Michael then told us he had paid for a drone video for the group, which was a fun way to capture our achievement.

By this time, the cool morning air had burnt off and the day was heating up, so we began our descent back down the stairs. The way down presented a choice. One route went straight back to the cable car, while the other went across a partially glass bridge and then a fully glass bridge. Much to my surprise, Adam wanted to really test his nerve and go for option two!

After more steps, we arrived at the start of the partial glass bridge, where we had to put on shoe protectors to prevent scuffing the glass. We stepped onto the metal grate bridge, which contained glass sections you could walk on. Adam took a timid first step, found his rhythm, and in no time we reached the end.

Then came the fully glass bridge, which was much more terrifying. It was made entirely of glass and clung directly to the side of a sheer cliff face. It even gave me a moment of nerves! Adam was committed to seeing it through, so in we went and slowly but surely made it to the end. We even stopped for a photo in the middle, mostly because Adam wanted concrete proof he had done it. He set his mind to it and overcame a massive fear, so it is safe to say I was a very proud wife! After that, it was just many, many steps and a cable car ride back down. Easy work!

You would think after all that we would get a well-deserved rest, but you should know by now there is no time to rest when there are things to see and do. We went straight off one bus and into another vehicle for our next optional activity: a cooking class.

The first part involved visiting a local market. I love having a look around local markets, and this one was as enjoyable as ever. For an Asian market in 30°C heat, it did not smell as bad as others I have visited and was relatively clean, though very noisy. Some people were driving around on mopeds instead of walking, leading to a constant chorus of beeps. It was amusing to watch “drive-by shopping” in action: a scooter would pull up, the driver would point to some vegetables, scan an Alipay QR code, grab the produce, and zoom off.

The market was fascinating. Most of the fruits and vegetables were recognizable, although some were slightly different shapes or colors, and a few were super-sized, including a massive courgette weighing over 25kg! There were also plenty of meat cuts and livestock we are not used to seeing back home, including pig heads and trotters, caged pigeons and chickens, fish, eels, bags of frogs and turtles, and even dried dog and cat meat. (I will include photos right at the bottom of the post for the curious, so anyone who prefers to skip them does not have to look!) It was certainly a far cry from the Morrisons butcher counter.

We did not buy much other than some fresh, delicious oranges as we left, since our guide, Leo, had already been out early in the morning to collect the meat and vegetables while everything was fresh and had not been sitting in the heat.

After finishing at the market, we went back to Leo’s cooking school to give our hands a thorough scrub before cooking. We each had a gas stove, a wok, various cooking utensils, and seasonings like chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and sugar. Leo had prepped the meat for us, but he talked us through cutting the vegetables, ginger, garlic, and chillies using the famous Chinese cleaver.

Once everything was chopped and ready, we started with the cold dish. First, we took out our anger on a cucumber by bashing it to release the water until it split into four lengthwise, then cutting it into chunky slices. We created a dressing from vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and sugar to coat the cucumber.

Next, we prepared my absolute favorite: pork dumplings. We mixed the pork with carrot, spring onion, and spices, then got a lesson on how to fold and pinch them using premade dumpling wrappers. I won “best in class” for this section, nailing it on the first try. That is probably because I have eaten so many of them while we have been here!



Next came the fried aubergine. I have always wondered how they make it so delicious here, and it turns out the secret is a lot of oil, along with plenty of spices and a splash of soy sauce and vinegar. For this dish, we turned on our burners and used the wok, which was a lot of fun. It made me appreciate even more how many lovely dishes we get served with our group meals, as you really have to keep everything moving in the wok. How anyone manages to cook multiple wok dishes at once is a total mystery to me.

The final dish was Kung Pao chicken, also cooked in the wok. This was even more of a challenge to keep moving so it would not stick while simultaneously measuring and adding ingredients. We just about managed it, and finally, it was time to sit down and feast. It was all very tasty, even if I was the chef! There was plenty of cucumber in both the Kung Pao chicken and the cucumber salad (surprise, surprise), which I normally do not care for, but this was so flavorful that I actually enjoyed it and ate a reasonable portion.

After eating, we headed back and finally had a few hours to relax. Naturally, being us, we did not! We headed straight back out to post some postcards we had collected along our trip, followed by another wander down busy West Street. Adam wanted to peek inside the Communism Museum. It actually turned out to be more of a photo-selling setup than a museum. Before we knew what was happening, we were dressed up in costumes with a camera pointed at us! The whole thing was so bizarre that we just went with the flow and ended up with some very interesting pictures.

After that, we headed back to the hotel to cool down and shower before dinner. Michael took us to a shop selling what he called barbecue, but what I would call meat on a stick. We tried loads of different skewers: lemon chicken, beef with peppers, spicy beef, grilled mushrooms, and grilled green beans. Then he decided to order us a variety of nearby street foods as well: a tasty, crispy omelet dish, some wonton soup, and more dumplings. Everything was delicious.

Then we headed back to pack. This will be our final move to our last stop on the tour, Hong Kong, which feels quite bittersweet. On the positive side, we have nothing planned for tomorrow morning and do not have to check out until 10:30. Hello, first proper lie-in of the honeymoon!

Will tell you all about Hong Kong soon!

Lots of love,

Alice x

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Ella, Sri Lanka

We once again hopped on the famous Kandy to Ella train, this time for the final four-hour stretch of the journey. This journey, we were in second class, which was way less crowded, so we finally had the chance to snap some classic Sri Lanka train photos!

Once we arrived in Ella, we walked from the train station through town to our hostel in the hills. The town is buzzing with energy, and the tourism influence is pretty clear—Western brunch spots, souvenir shops, and bars are everywhere. Its a fun town but it was a nice relief to be tucked away a bit in the hills, where it was quieter and the views were amazing.

After checking in, we went out for some local food, which, as always, was delicious. But once again, we couldn’t finish it all. They always ask us why and if something was wrong with the food, but that’s definitely not the case—we just can’t manage three portions of rice each! Although saying that, we did somehow manage to find space for some ice cream on the walk home!

In the afternoon, we signed up for a hostel excursion to Little Adam’s Peak, a smaller version of the famous mountain in Sri Lanka. The climb involved a lot of stairs and a steep ascent, but overall, it was a fun hike.

There were six of us in the group, all from different parts of Europe, which made for some great conversation along the way. It was nice having company while we watched the sunset from the top!

On the way back down, we made plans to grab some drinks later—after a much-needed shower! We met up with everyone at the hostel bar, had a few drinks, and played a couple of rounds of pool before heading out to the local “nightclub” (and I use that term very loosely). It was basically an open-air bar on top of a hill, blasting loud music, but it made for a fun night of dancing anyway.

Around 1 a.m., we called it a night and left the rest of the group to carry on, knowing we had planned an early morning hike.

The next morning we woke up early, in an attempt to beat the heat, and set out for another hike along the Pekoe trail. It was another beautiful walk, and this time, part of the route took us along the railway tracks and past the famous Nine Arches Bridge—a stunning colonial-era railway viaduct.

The locals here just don’t get the idea of walking for its own sake. Every time we head out, someone asks where we’re going and insists a tuk-tuk would get us there much faster. Today, they kept pointing out a shortcut along the main road so we wouldn’t have to wander through all the local villages. They looked at us like we were simple when we explained that exploring the village was the whole point.

On our third day, we hoped to hike to some waterfalls where you could actually swim, but the weather put a damper on our plans. A storm hit in the morning and it rained on and off all day, so we decided to book a cooking course instead—to keep busy and stay dry. The course was held in a traditional kitchen with bamboo and mud walls and floor, and a clay stove heated by firewood.

We got to choose which curries we wanted to make, and since the two other girls in the course were vegetarian, we went with lentils, potatoes, pumpkin, and a type of bean.

Each of us was given different tasks as we cooked the dishes one by one. It was really fun, and we got to learn the traditional way of doing everything—separating rice from dust, grinding ingredients, and grating coconut by hand. Most of these steps aren’t necessary anymore with modern tools, but it was really cool to see how it’s all done the old-fashioned way.

The host was a bit short with us at times—I think she found it hard to believe we were so clueless about things we’d never done before, like grating a coconut (which I nearly sliced my thumb doing, so I definitely wasn’t in a rush to speed up!).

She kept giving vague instructions like, “You watch that,” or “Remove when done,” and then got frustrated when we had no idea what “done” was supposed to look like for something we’d never made or even eaten before.

We also had some very cute but slightly inconvenient company—a six-month-old kitten who loved sitting right in the middle of the cooking area, or even directly on our feet. Luckily, he got distracted by scraps of coconut and was happy to munch on them, giving us a bit of space to cook!

Despite the distractions and all of us being pretty useless in the kitchen, we still managed to put together a seriously delicious meal—probably one of the best we’d had in Sri Lanka and definitely better than the restaurant we visited!

Although we couldn’t make the dishes as spicy as we would have liked, the German girls we did the course with lived up to the stereotype of German not being able to handle spice. During the taste test, they said the curries were at the upper limit of what they could tolerate—at which point our host pointed out that so far, they only contained pepper, with no chilies or chili powder added yet.

She also taught us how to eat the traditional Sri Lankan way—with our hands. The first and most important rule: always use your right hand! The left is for wiping your butt, and no one wants that kind of cross-contamination.

The process goes like this: scoop some rice onto a clear space on your plate, add some curry, and mix it together a bit—breaking down any big chunks and forming it into a sticky lump. Then, place it on the tips of your fingers and scoop it into your mouth without using your thumb.

At least this was one task we could manage without messing up, and before we knew it, dinner was finished.

We spent the evening playing pool again while it rained. I’d love to say we’re slowly improving and on our way to becoming pool pros, but honestly, I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon! We move on to the beaches in the south for our last week in Sri Lanka so hopefully the rain doesn’t follow us!

Tell you all about it soon, love Alice x