THE FOOD!!!

THE FOOD!

If there is one part of this trip that hasn't failed to disappoint, it is the amazing variety and ubiquity of flavors and food.  By far the best way to get amazing food in Southeast Asia is right off the street.  And I'm not talking New York or LA-style fancy food trucks that sell tiny tacos for $10 apiece.  I'm talking about one long-haired dude with two whiskers and a propane burner sitting on the sidewalk with a bunch of ingredients, a lot of which I can't identify.  

It took me a few days to get used to the idea of eating from a cart off the street that never in a million years would I have considered eating from back home.  But, armed with a bounty of antibiotics and some recommendations from people I've met, I gave my first food cart a try in Bangkok.  I wasn't totally sure I was ready to eat street food, but I walked by something that smelled amazing and sweet and roasty and it stopped me in my tracks.  I could tell it was coming from a big bowl of (what looked like) beef.  The guy selling it didn't speak a lick of English, but he gestured toward the meat with a big smile on his face.  I gave the universal sign of "feed me" (thumbs up followed by drool) and the guy started pointing at a bunch of other stuff (an egg, some noodles, some bean sprouts, some other stuff I had no idea what it was.  When in Rome...

And it was absolutely the best meal I've had this year.  Sweet, slightly salty broth, a tad flavor of coconut, and perfectly cooked noodles.  I paid the equivalent of about $2.50 and began my love affair with Southeast Asian street food.