Being back in the UK is still strange, I was only away for 8 months in the end, and didn’t realise that I would get so disconnected from the lifestyle here.
I have come back to doing lots of work around the house, looking for a job, trying desperately to get my cycling fitness back, sorting through the thousands of photos I took out in SE Asia, catching up with friends , learning new skills and one thing I found unbelievable, that is, I forgot how to cook!!
Now, when i say this, I don’t mean I forgot how to boil an egg and ended up trying to grill it, what I mean is that when I was in SE Asia if I ever cooked, I was using one frying pan for everything and maybe a pot if I was lucky, I was restricted to to what I could do, and frankly I was sometimes having a hard time trying to get to grips with a whole host of new flavours and textures. Living and having to cook for a veggie was a challenge as well, he liked to eat in, because he could have control and knowledge of what he was eating, I liked to eat out because of the variety and cheapness of the food, and oh, did I love the food so much.
But after about 3 weeks now of getting my head back into having access to everything I want <within reason>, I am getting back to cooking up a storm, and again am loving creating in the kitchen!
In Luang Prabang in Laos, we were directed to a back alley loaded with food stalls, we took advantage of this place every night, it was that good!!