This was super cool to learn and try! We’ve never tried this form of clay kneading before so it was really cool. We had to pound, sift the soil and then after we had a bunch of sifted soil we poured water into it to start making it into clay. Then we did handbuilding from there and then sent it to be fired. It was quite therapeutic and it took us about 2h for the whole experience. All the meals were so yummy and authentic.
Our guides during the raft experience were also very nice! It was also a very relaxing journey. We rafted to a spot where we could forage for food, and they would share more about each of the plant then help us pluck or let us pluck the plants.
For the dinner prep, we got to cut up the ingredients, fold banana leaves for the omelette dishes, and then make tom yum soup in bamboo boats. It was really interesting to learn how to cook that, and relatively simple. Didn’t require much cooking knowledge. The tom yum soup turned out great and delicious. We could also configure the spice level as we had 2 soups, so we had one with much less spice.
The yoga class was relatively chill, and it was more of a stretching exercise. We could also tailor it to our preferences e.g. if we wanted more back stretching. It was nice to have done it outside in the sun, and thankfully the weather was still cooling enough to not feel like we were burning outdoors.
They made fresh coffee afterwards in moka pots for us, and it was delicious! We sat around the campfire (it was still burning our pottery pieces) and enjoyed it before our breakfast. Super good coffee!
Overall one of the most unique experiences we had in Chiang Dao, but definitely be prepared to rough it out a bit!
Tiffany L.
