Tour Guide Talk...

THE STRANGEST MEALS ...EVER

Intrepid Travel's guides spill the beans

Birthday celebrations always seem to revolve at least a little around food, no matter where you are! This week Intrepid Travel asked some staff members to let us in on the most unusual meal they have had on their travels, whether is was on their birthday or not...

QUESTION: Tell us about your strangest meal ever.

Aaron - Intrepid leader (Japan/China)
'A while ago I ate live octopus in a small Japanese fishing village. It was a contact sport rather than a culinary experience. It bit my tongue but I guess I would do the same. I had the last laugh though!'

Pete - Indochina Operations Manager
'I once shared Pig's ear salad with an Intrepid group at the end of a trek in Cau Bang province, northern Vietnam.'

Bridget - Intrepid Accountant
'Last year I ate bamboo worms in Laos. They are very slimy white grubs and they were really revolting! I recommend adding a lot of chilli sauce!'

Tom - Operations Manager
'A contract negotiation banquet with a Vietnamese hotel owner proved to be my strangest meal. After each and every course, the owner would enthusiastically leap to his feet and have his helpers pour the next round of Johnny Walker shots for everyone. Twelve courses in and I was absolutely sloshed and was close to agreeing to anything!'

Claire - Intrepid Leader (India/Cambodia)
'A couple of monks from Hemis Monestary in Ladakh, India took me through the Monestary to the kitchen where a huge vat of salted butter tea was brewing. It sounds disgusting, but after a day in the sun at such high altitudes you welcome the butter that soothes your cracked lips and the salt that replenishes lost minerals.

One of the kitchen crew presented a pack of instant noodles, snapped them into segments and distributed it amongst our small gathering to be dunked in our tea. Coffee and chocolate biscuits bear no comparison! This was topped off with a hearty wedge of yak cheese which can only be described as somewhere between a rock and a hard place and about as tasty.

Fantastic combination and it covered the breadth of most food groups. More than that, it was a meal given with the warmth of spirit that satisfies more than just the stomach.'

Lee - Intrepid Travel Consultant (UK)
'I tasted dog at a plastic chair restaurant while drinking the local and cheap home brew called Beer Hoi in Hanoi. I wouldn't rush to try it again but it was an experience!'

Alison - Intrepid Sales Representative (New Zealand)
'My weirdest meal would probably have to be left over Mongolian mutton stew from dinner the night before, served at breakfast in a 'yummy' meatball concoction!'

Find out more about Intrepid Travel, an Australian Tour Company, by visiting them at www.intrepidtravel.com

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