We are not allowed to travel at the moment, but we can always dream, can’t we? And by inhaling the delicious scents of Thai cuisine, relaxing during a herbal stamp massage or learning our first words in Thai, we feel close to our holidays while we need to #stayathome!
With these tips, you will not only fight boredom but also perfectly prepare yourself for your next trip to Thailand – and bring Thailand directly to your home. 🙂
The way to the heart is through the stomach
Thinking of our last trip to Thailand, the delicious smell of ginger, rice and curry immediately rises in our nose. Maybe we fell in love with the Land of Smiles because of the food… Do you have a recipe that you associate with your last holiday in Thailand? Pad Thai stands for the Thai Street food scene like no other dish. So why not simply prepare Pad Thai yourself? It’s easy and fast and you only need a few ingredients.
We asked blogger Henrik from Fernweh Koch to share his Pad Thai recipe with us — he brought it home from a Bangkok tour with HiveSters last year. Streetfood chef Piwmiu cooked the classic and traditional dish with him there. You may find the complete recipe at the end of the blog post. Read on Henrik’s blog Fernweh Koch what else he experienced during his tour (in German). 🙂
By the way: If you don’t feel like cooking, but want to enjoy Thai food, just ask if your favorite Thai restaurant is open and can deliver the food right to your doorstep.
Further readings: Sukhothai: En route with HiveSters in the forgotten kingdom
Breathe in, breathe out and relax
One of the positive effects of the current corona crisis is the deceleration it’s forcing us to. When you’re less active, you have more time for yourself and maybe you can try out a few new things. Especially in emotionally stressful phases meditation helps a lot. A good introduction is a guided meditation, for example, Anapanasati – the visualization of the breath, which was already taught by Buddha more than 2500 years ago. During this meditation, you’re always directing your attention to your breath. An introduction and instructions for Anapanasati can be found here on YouTube for free. Just give it a try!
Further readings: 4 tips for your extraordinary wellness vacation in Thailand
Pamper yourself: the herbal stamp massage
Everyone can massage with oil, so how about homemade herbal stamps instead? 🙂 This way you can easily bring the relaxation of a typical Thai wellness treatment into your home. Conversely to the Thai massage, the traditional herbal stamp massage is much more gentle and similar to a hot stone massage. With the warmed herbal stamps you use different techniques to massage the oiled body parts: If the stamp is still hot at the beginning, with a dabbing technique, then later with tapping and stroking movements. This massage is not only relaxing but is also said to promote blood circulation, stimulate the self-healing powers, strengthen the immune system and relax the muscles. Depending on which herbs you use, there are other benefits as well.
Making the herbal stamps is very simple: you only need dried herbs (e.g., lavender, balm, chamomile, …), a square cloth made of cotton, linen or silk and a band about 2-3 cm thick. Mix the herbs well and place them in the middle of the cloth. Then take the corners of the cloth upwards together so that the herbs are pressed tightly together at the bottom and tie the stamp with a ribbon. Fold the ends facing upwards down and tie them with the ribbon as well – and your herb stamp with your favorite herbs is ready!
You can find the step-by-step instructions here on YouTube.
Always a good idea: learn a new language
Do you already know some words or phrases in Thai? Knowing some words in the language of the host country is not only practical while traveling the paths less traveled but also the Thai people are very happy if you can address them in Thai. If at the moment you have a little time to spare, this is the perfect opportunity!
The YouTube channel „Learn Thai with ThaiPod101.com“ shares valuable phrases for beginners and introductions to Thai grammar, writing, pronunciation and more in many short videos. Check it out and Ko Hai Sanook!
#stayathome – wanderlust guaranteed
We are already spending a lot of time dreaming about the next trips – and planning them! If you’re feeling a little bit wanderlust at the moment, check out these blogs and let yourself be inspired:
Annika from The Midnight Blue Elephant blogs about her travels around the world, she especially likes traveling alone (read the interview with her about solo travel here). She is particularly fond of Thailand and so she travels there again and again to make new experiences: sometimes she visits eco-luxury resorts like Tongsai Bay or Zeavola Resort, sometimes she discovers the Thai underwater world while diving and sometimes she explores the different districts of Bangkok. Always with her: a big pinch of humor!
Katie and Ben travel the world in a responsible and adventurous way – and share their experiences on the blog Two Wandering Soles. They’ve already been to so many different places in Thailand and share great tips for your next vacation.
Steph from the blog Every Steph focuses on green and glamorous travel around the world. From Chiang Mai to several islands, she gives exciting insights for your next vacation! By the way, Steph has also visited the Zeavola on Koh Phi Phi – find out more about her stay on the Phi Phi islands here.
Pad Thai – original recipe of a streetfood cook by Henrik | Fernweh Koch
Ingredients
- 3 large prawns
- some firm tofu
- a fistful of shoots
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dried chili
- a fistful of rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanut
- 1 tablespoon dried shrimps
- some leeks
- daikon
- 1/2 lime
- Piwmius special sauce from tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce
Directions
- Step 1 First, mix the special sauce: Mix about 2 tablespoons tamarind paste with 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon palm sugar. Put aside for the time being.
- Step 2 Put the rice noodles in hot water so that they soften, drain them after a few minutes and put them aside.
- Step 3 Heat oil in a wok or large pan and in the meantime dice the tofu into small pieces. How much tofu you take is up to your taste.
- Step 4 Fry the shrimps until they get their pink color. They should be about 80% cooked through. Take the shrimps out of the wok and put them aside.
- Step 5 Fry the tofu cubes while cutting the leeks into larger pieces.
- Step 6 Add a handful of rice noodles and 2 tablespoons of the Pad Thai sauce you have mixed and stir everything well.
- Step 7 Mix in 1 tablespoon each of the chopped peanuts, the sweet radish and the dried shrimps and leave to soak for about a minute
- Step 8 Beat the egg into the pan or wok and fry everything together.
- Step 9 Add a hand of finely chopped leek, a handful of sprouts, the prawns put aside and a teaspoon of the dried chili flakes to the Pad Thai and mix everything again briefly. Then add the juice of half a lime.
- Step 10 As a garnish, you can now add some chopped peanuts and some leek to the Pad Thai and serve it all together. Bon appetite.
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