So when I travel I try experience everything I can…within reason that is. Whether it be a town, location, restaurant, festival, person or food I try my best to search it out and experience it. I took a trip to Thailand to experience Songkran for Cover-More Travel Insurance. Songkran is quite possibly the worlds biggest water festival celebrated all over Thailand and various other countries. So while I was in Thailand I had heard there were some unusual treats on the overly touristy street of Khao San Rd.
I walked out the front of my hotel, jumped inside a tuk tuk and made my way to what the busiest street in Bangkok. My tuk tuk was decked out with flashing lights, booming music and to top it of the 3 wheeled beast backfired every gear change!
I arrived, paid for my tuk tuk with forced tip and began to wander along Khao San Rd. Now this road is not my favourite area of Bangkok. It’s filled with overly drunk tourists, mainly backpackers. Beats booming from every bar competing for air space and tourist’s money. The bars/restaurants are lined with small stalls selling everything from underwear, music, clothing, bags and of course SCORPIONS!
The Bug Man
So I knew these food stalls existed but I had never sampled their strange unique treats. I wandered up to the ‘Bug Seller’ and asked for 1x scorpion. It was so much larger than I had originally pictured. For some reason I had pictured a scorpion about the size of my pinky finger! This black bug was almost as long as my hand with pincers busting out! It was kinda intimidating but I had come this far and wasn’t going to take a backwards step.
I switched on my camera, counted to 3 and began my Vlog YouTube video. I find once the camera is out and filming it’s as though I have a live audience that I cant let down. I put the scorpion into my mouth in one hit thinking it would be easier to get it over and done with. It crunched…it crackled and then I got to it’s mid section and it squirmed….oooowwwwwhhhhhhh!!! Cold shivers poured down my spine.
The Taste..ohh that taste!
It tasted freakin horrible! The taste is so hard to describe and is something I don’t think I will forget easily! Think of acid, oil, dirt and detergent all mixed together with a hard cracked shell and moist inner body. It was foul! It literally took me 15minutes to devour the scorpion in full before I had a beer to wash the leftovers down.
Would I recommend it?
Sure…of course! Everyone should taste that foul taste. Its not so much about the taste but the action of doing it and having the story to tell. Its an experience I can add to my quiver of life experiences. Definitely not for everyone but worth trying if your in Bangkok 🙂
Over To You: Whats the weirdest thing you have ever eaten or watched someone eat?
