"We had to make many dishes in a shorter time than I expected, but the staff prepared everything in advance and even cleaned up afterward, so I could just focus on the cooking class. I think anyone, regardless of age, could enjoy it, and it made the trip feel more fun and fulfilling." [Thailand Bangkok/Cooking Class] HOT, SPICY and FUN! Make, taste, and enjoy Thai dishes Choi Eun-young, gapper (31, office worker) / 5-day gap year |
# I signed up for a cooking class for a special Bangkok trip — I''m extremely satisfied!
Hello, I''m a thirty-something office worker. My friends and I arranged our vacations to take about a week and decided to travel to Bangkok, Thailand! I''ve taken short trips while working, but this was the first time I could arrange a long stretch of time off, so my friends and I were discussing where to go.
We ultimately decided on Bangkok, Thailand — often called a backpacker''s paradise. :) Some of my friends had been to Thailand before and some were first-timers, soWe wondered if there was a way to make our Bangkok trip a bit more special, and decided on this projectWe decided to do it.
To be honest, I''m not usually into cooking, so at first I wasn''t keen on a cooking class! Going abroad to learn dishes I don''t even make in Korea?! But, as I said, a friend who had already been to Thailand had already seen most of the tourist spots and wanted to try something new, so I followed their suggestion and signed up. I didn''t have high expectations for the class before participating.
HoweverBut taking the cooking class ended up being the best memory of the Bangkok trip — I''m so satisfied now! :) If anyone is going to Thailand, I now absolutely recommend they join a cooking class!
Before joining, I thought I should at least know what dishes we''d learn, so I looked up the menu online and watched YouTube videos to get a rough idea of how they''re made. I''m not great at English and not into cooking, so I prepared a bit in advance fearing I''d fall behind. But the local instructor was so kind, explaining each ingredient one by one and speaking simply, soI think you can join without any special preparation! :)
If you''re a bit worried like I was, it''s a good idea to at least look up photos of the dishes you''ll be making beforehand. Oh, and if you have any food allergies, let them know in advance — they''ll prepare the dish without the offending ingredient for that person. SoIf you have food allergies, it helps to know what ingredients are used in each menu item before you go.
When I attended, there was a participant allergic to nuts, so the instructor prepared separate versions for that person when making dishes that contain peanuts, like Pad Thai or Som Tam.
# Just follow the teacher, and before you know it, the dish is perfectly delicious and looks great!
The project starts with grocery shopping. Whereas on previous Southeast Asian trips I would focus on buying fruit or accessories at the local markets, this time it was fascinating to buy ingredients like a local. But rather than comparing things and making purchases myself, the ingredients were already set, so they just introduced each ingredient.
So it was a bit disappointing, butVisiting the local market with the other foreign participants and the local instructor to buy ingredients felt like a truly special experience. You really wouldn''t get to do this kind of thing without a project like this.right? :)
After shopping, you learn each dish you''ll make that day. First, the ingredients are neatly set out and you get a short time to take photos, and the instructor calmly explains each ingredient.
Maybe because many foreigners attend, the instructor explains things in an easy, humorous way. You often don''t know ingredient names in English, but surprisingly they knew simple words in many languages, haha — so it won''t be hard.For example, they knew words like ''bean sprouts, chives, gochujang, tofu, eggs, cilantro'' in Korean! So if you''re confused they''ll gesture and say things like ''unnie, chive cut'' to let you know, lol.
They show you step by step how to do each part first, then let you follow along, so even people who have never cooked can just copy. Once the ingredients are prepared, we follow the teacher through each step, and Ifelt like I didn''t really do much, but just following the teacher, the dish was done before I knew it — and it even looked good! It was amazing. They turned my clumsy hands into gold!!!
The most memorable day was probably the first day. I made Thailand''s most famous dishes with my own hands — tom yum goong, pad thai, mango sticky rice — and they tasted exactly like what you''d buy at a restaurant!!!
At first I thought the photos in the project were just staged promo shots, but the instructor actually takes those exact staged shots at the right moments, haha.When taking photos they count ''one, two, three,'' and when cooking they''d ask in Korean things like ''lots of cilantro? a little cilantro?'' for strong-smelling ingredients — I appreciated that, haha.Personally, I''m not a big fan of cilantro so I said ''a little cilantro!!'' — they pay attention to details like that, so even if you can''t speak English well, don''t worry. If you''re visiting Thailand, I hope you''ll try it at least once!!
Also, the cooking area and the dining area are separated. So each time we made a dish, we would go to the table and eat together with the other participants, and there was a place to wash our hands—wash your hands (the teacher even tells you to wash your hands every time haha; just listen to the teacher like a kindergartner!)—then go back to the cooking area to make the next dish and eat again :) While we were eating, the other staff would set up and prepare everything for the next dishes in advance, so the class moved along quickly, which I liked.
We had to make a lot of dishes in a shorter time than expected, but the staff prepared everything in advance and even cleaned up afterward, so it was great that we could focus only on the cooking class.I especially thought I want to come next time with my mom and dad. I felt like anyone, regardless of age, could just enjoy it.It made the trip more fun and richer. You can learn in the morning and do a city tour in the afternoon, so it’s a more efficient use of time! I even took far more photos at the cooking class than around Bangkok—highly recommend the cooking class!! :)
# A special experience learning to cook with a cheerful teacher and friends from around the world
I took part with two friends I was traveling with,and we ended up taking the class with people from many different countries—Japan, Germany, Hungary, Taiwan, the U.S., Spain, and more :)
It’s great to join the project with friends like we did, but even if you come alone you won’t feel awkward at all. Except for us, everyone else came alone while traveling haha. About 30–40% of participants were men, and everyone was really focused during the class, asked questions when curious, and overall it was a fun experience!
When eating, my friend and I and a Japanese woman were given chopstick-and-spoon sets, while guests from Europe were given cutlery sets including forks, and they were eating pad thai with forks like spaghetti haha. It was a funny example of different cultural eating habits!
Above all, the teacher was really pleasant and led the class with lots of energy, so we could easily follow along. It was nice that they gave us a booklet with the recipes after the class.I haven’t opened it even once since I came back to Korea... hahaha
My dad joked that since I learned to cook in Thailand I should make him some bar snacks, so I’ll probably open the book someday haha. The booklet even lists alternative ingredients for items only found in Thailand, so I definitely want to try making the dishes in Korea :)
# Just do it! It will make your Bangkok trip much more fulfilling
Before joining the project I thought, “I’m busy sightseeing, there are so many famous places to visit—why go all the way to Thailand to learn to cook?”Now I want to study English a bit more so I can do more activities rather than just sightseeing and have a trip that dives deeper into local life!
Before, I enjoyed taking the usual tourist photos in front of landmarks, but now I think I’ve discovered the real fun of traveling with locals :)
If anyone is planning to join the project later,Just do it! It will be a truly unforgettable experience in Bangkok :) It will make your Bangkok trip much more fulfilling!
And above all, I liked that it wasn’t just a simple one-off experience but a week-long project. These days many travel activities are just quick experiences where people rush to take photos, but because this runs for a week, they teach everything carefully and thoroughly.
On the first day I was so fascinated I was busy taking photos, but from the second and third days I gradually became familiar with Thai ingredients and how to cook them. By the last day, even when shopping for ingredients I could roughly tell how to slice them and how to cook them! If you take this class you can make Thai food at home in Korea whenever you want! (Actually I haven’t cooked Thai food myself yet either, but mentally I’m already a Thai chef :) haha )
Also, Bangkok has terrible traffic jams, so it’s better to leave much earlier than the estimated departure time. Google Maps said about 40 minutes so we left with plenty of time, but we got stuck in traffic and it took over an hour to arrive. At one point we even decided walking would be faster than taking a taxi, so we walked hard. We arrived a little late, and others were occasionally late too haha.Because of Bangkok’s traffic, people are often late—so take that into account and depart a bit earlier!
# My gap-year tip
(How to get there)
We took a taxi to the area near where the cooking class is held. Along the way, there were signs for the cooking class on every alley, so it was easy to find.
(Language)
Don’t worry about the project being held in English.I wasn’t good at English either so I was worried at first, but they explain things using simpler words than expected, and the teacher even says simple things in Korean :)!!!
Also, since it’s hands-on cooking and you just follow what the teacher demonstrates, it’s not difficult. It was great to be able to participate without worrying about the language.
(Accommodation)
This project did not include accommodation, so I stayed in an apartment in Bangkok with friends using Airbnb. You can find a spacious two-bedroom apartment for about 30,000–50,000 KRW per night, so we were able to stay comfortably. Although Thailand does not officially permit Airbnb, you can easily find a room that fits your dates and conditions through the Airbnb site.
What to bring
The organization provides all the ingredients, so there''s nothing in particular you need to bring. They have a photo time during the cooking process or when all the ingredients are set up, so it''s a good idea to bring a camera or phone for the photo time! The colors are so pretty that every photo you take comes out beautiful.
My gap year
Experience★★★★★
It was an amazing experience to learn world-renowned Thai cuisine!! Especially learning with foreigners and eating the dishes we made together isn''t something that happens often, so it will be an unforgettable and precious memory. The most memorable experience during my Southeast Asia trip!
Learning★★★★☆
Because you learn many dishes in a short time, most ingredients are pre-set and many are pre-prepared. So you don''t get to try every single step yourself—washing vegetables after shopping, precisely measuring sauces, etc.—which is a bit of a shame. However, it''s nice that you can quickly learn many Thai dishes.
Environment★★★★★
The environment where the project is held was excellent. You can really focus solely on the cooking, and the staff immediately take care of the cleaning and tidy things up, which was very convenient!
Safety★★★★★
Because this is a hands-on cooking project, you''ll use knives to prepare ingredients and cook over high heat. They use very strong heat when using flames, and since the place is somewhat open, if the wind blows the flames can flicker and that was a bit scary.
However, the teacher and surrounding staff are always watching, so it''s not overly dangerous—still, always be careful yourself.
Leisure★★★★★
In the mornings I took cooking classes, and in the afternoons I could explore Bangkok city, which was great. Bangkok is especially hot during the daytime, so taking the cooking class then and having free time for outside activities in the afternoon made me feel like I used my travel time efficiently and packed the schedule with worthwhile activities.
