As an impromptu activity, Chris expressed interest in taking a Thai cooking class on our last day in Chiangmai before we leave to go back to Bangkok. I was not very excited about this, as I had previously looked into cooking classes to see what was available and was severely disappointed in the lack of variety in the menus. Yes, all the programs offer a trip to the market, all of them offer hands-on experience with cutting and chopping and sautéing, and all of them include a full meal including beverages. But every single menu was exactly the same: papaya salad, a yellow, green, or red curry, pad thai, Thai iced tea, sweet and sour chicken (really?), and sautéed vegetables (that could have been any Asian cuisine, so thanks for being generic). I’ve already made pad thai on several occasions and pretty much have my method down, though I’ll never be able to recreate the “wok hay” flavor since I don’t have an industrial stove with the crazy flames. I’ve made plenty of curries and have faith I’d be able to create a general Thai one. And papaya salad? All I need is that incredible papaya salad julienne tool I picked up at the market for $3.50. But why are these classes all focusing on the generic dishes of Thai land? What about the diversity of the northern Isaan cuisine, such as grilled and spicy pork laab salad, sai oua sausage infused with kaffir lime, chilies and lemongrass, or aeb pla – spicy herbed fish? I don’t want to take a cookie cutter cooking class. That’s why when I was in Mexico, I took a cooking class specifically on Oaxacan cuisine in the city of Oaxaca. I did not want to take a generic class catered toward ignorant white Americans on how to make tacos and enchiladas. I wanted something specialized and specific.

When I booked our day trip to the Doi Inthanon National Park for today, I asked the travel operator at the booth if there were any specialized Thai classes on Isaan cooking, and she said they didn’t exist because there was no demand for it. “Foreigners want pad thai and som tum (papaya salad),” she said with a smile. “It’s what they came here for!” She was very intrigued that I even knew what sai oua was.

No demand for it? Travel really needs to change.