I step out of the airport; Hit with the smells and aromas of Thailand and the visuals of bustling people, all my senses awoke. It was 12.07 exactly and I had to be up at 5.30 the next morning for a cooking class, already excited for my first ‘taste of Thai’.

As the alarm went off I almost feel out of bed. It was up for a 5.30 am wake up call; we are going on a long trip today to the bridge over the river Kwai which is only 150 ks from Burma. We had breakfast as soon as the restaurant opens at 6 am and are collected at 6.20 am. As i have a problem with coach travel sickness they have reserved me the front seat for the day. The guide is very informative and dressed in hello kitty merchandise; in fact she doesn't stop talking for most of the time, repeating herself over and over so that everyone understands what she is saying. It takes us 2 1/2 hours to get to Kanchanaburi where the infamous bridge spans the Kwai River.

Kanchanaburi is beautiful; I exited the travel coach with glee. Kaeng phet pet yang or roast duck in red curry was the dish we made, the process was long, and I won’t ramble on about it, but it was burst or aromas going up your nostrils, a taste full of spices filling your mouth and a full and satisfied stomach. A meal I will always have embedded in my taste buds.

We ended up spending the night in the local villagers thatched houses right on the river, it was the most peaceful, serine, experience… until my $350 photography camera fell into the river. In all this heat and panic, I happened to forget it was waterproof up to 10m deep. I brought it up and out of the water, drying it on my loose shirt. I turned it on and went through photos I had taken, my first day in Thailand, and my did I get a big ‘taste out of Thai’

Liv