km, I saw the above stats listed but when I added Europe up against the US I didn't see the US as 10x more than the European countries, quite the opposite.....cie la vie

Honestly, I didn't even look at it.. my point... if it's there, try it, push yourself a bit you might have fun. Keep in mind that serendipity is a travelers best friend.

But, if you're too freaked out. It's OK, no problem.


One point we forgot to cover, is that some people are not as interested (obsessed) with food as others. As in, not the focal point of their life.

And in the case of Thailand, they really, really like air conditioning. Yes, AC is enough to get us into a "building restaurant"

In my case, I've never done a bungee jump despite taking photos at one of the highest jumps in the world in South Africa.

What!!? How can we not have taken one of the best-est, highest jumps? Jumps are pretty darn safe.

Scares the *$%^# out of us.
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com...on-earth/13932

You are a wise person, karenmike.

I've eaten from street vendors MANY times and have never gotten sick (yet). I only had it happen when I inadvertently ate Som Tum PU at MBK eatery. The key is to eat at popular stands and make sure your dishes are well-cooked!

Karen, I saw the health "stats." What I said about them is a nice way of saying that they are bogus.

And I don't think I read that anyone was "freaked out." The issue is choices. You are great at pointing out that people travel for different reasons, like different activities, choose to stay in different places, etc. I agree. I just believe that people should make decisions with their eyes open - with good, accurate info - whether it's about where they want to go, what they want to do, where they want to eat.

As someone in the healthcare field, I do feel the need to correct misinformation about health issues.

Freaked out no.

Well informed, yes!

Stubborn to the point of not being able to see the nose on my face? Not as much as some people.

Semantics?
This is not the 70’s
Freaked out – simply afraid and worried at the same time.


Afraid and worried are powerful words, saying, I’ve made a choice, describes nothing.


Most people are used to seeing the negative side of situations, especially things in which they are not accustomed. They may be hesitating to try something because of the potential negative risks involved. So, the fact that they are traveling and street food is ubiquitous and clearly a major part of Thai life is not enough for them to overcome their fears of what could happened should they eat street food.

I used the word, “xenophobia” – The fear of anything foreign. Sure thought I’d get blasted for that.




No one is saying people are wrong, just that they are missing out – big time!

Many posters here made a choice to encourage people to push their comfort zone, to do something they don’t want to do, because we believe they might like it and we don’t want anyone to miss out on something good.

TV travel people have done the same thing.

Anthony Bourdain on street food:

“If you only eat in restaurants (Viet Nam) you missed the point entirely.”
“The true face, the heart and soul of where you are.”
“Often you’ll find the very best of this world.”

This year, Anthony Bourdain did an episode on street food.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Show..._on_the_Street

According to my channel guide, the show will air again, Tuesday September 29 @ 08.00 CDT and 16.00 CDT.

As a street food addict, I thought it was a great watch.






But, the question is still there.

When traveling, why not push yourself to try something that is “quintessentially a part of a country, so essentially a part of all segments of Thai life, and so ubiquitous in nature?”

Is this not what we are “supposed” to do when traveling?






And finally, “FREAKED OUT”

We saw this Som tam vendor near Khaosan Road and ordered up some Papaya and asked to take some photos – that’s the polite way to do it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelt...7622440055732/

Hey, how can you not trust this face?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelt...7622440055732/



While we were doing a “photo shoot” four guys came by and asked us to move out of the way, as we were blocking their photographs.

Whoa buddy, buy your own Som tam and then you can have the front row for pictures.

They FREAKED out.

Yes, totally freaked out. “No way, I’m going to EAT this!”

Setting aside the fact it was street food, they had not tried Som tam in Thailand (see my head spin).

The subject quickly changed to you have to try this food, you must try this food.

How can you desperately want a photo of something that you have no intention of taking part in, like putting on bungee harness and standing there for a photo opt? (I did not do that)

In the end, we convinced one out of the four young guys to literately use their pinky and thumb to pick up one small piece of papaya, He said it tasted good as he shuddered and the other laughed and looked on as if he was crazy.

Anyway, sure hope he did not get sick.



To say this is a discussion about “I’d prefer not” or “take precautions” in my mind is not accurate. It’s about fear and the unknown and the courage to go outside your comfort zone.

When in Rome, people, when in Rome.




NOTE:
Som tam is eaten with a spoon because the getting the mixed juice is an important part of the flavor.

I would never quote Bourdain.. he's only sophisticated to those who are green and his quotes are flaccid and uninspired at best, despite his intent to impress.

It's funny because my husband and I approached our recent first trip to SE Asia with a lot of trepidation, mostly for experiences like eating 'street food'. Looking back on our planning makes me chuckle. We thought we were all set if we took a good first aid kit, alcohol gel, malaria pills (for the next part of the trip) and refused to have ice or salads and only drink bottled water.

But we ended up going to the railway market and then floating market with Tong and she was bought a whole manner of things for us to try from stalls at each. My mouth is watering now remembering the coconut bananas and the yummy satay. Pretty much everything we tried was delicious and no, we didn't get sick. It made us feel a bit silly. I guess the stalls we ate from there had the high turnover you have been mentioning.

The funny thing is that at one point on the trip, in Cambodia, not Thailand, we did both feel a bit ill (mild runs, sorry for the detail) and the whole time there we ate in hotels.....so it just goes to show. We can't decide if us feeling a bit run down there was due to the food or maybe because we were taking malarone as an anti-malarial. So we decided to switch the time we took the drug to jsut before bed and man, oh man, the nightmares we had!

All in all, I think on our next trip we'll be a bit more adventurous. And, we'll save the malarial zone until the end of the trip to minimise time on vacation taking the malarone.

That's my two cents worth.

I always eat street food whenever we travel but I am very conscious of picking vendors that appear to have a constant turnover and always choose foods that are cooked in front of me.
I think that this gives me less chance of getting sick than eating in restaraunts where I cant see the kitchen, or the people preparing my food or eating hotel buffet's from Bae Maries.
A good friend of mine who is a doctor claims that most of the bugs that we contract that we label as "food" poisoning are contracted from our hands or the utensils that we use and not the food itself.

Alot of unpleasant things can happen when we travel. We can avoid all of these by not travelling. But having made the effort to take myself out of the comfort of my own home and country, I choose to immerse myself in the local culture and in most places that I visit, street food is a major part of this.

I totally agree about the utensils and unclean hands. We always clean our utensil prior to eating(despite where eating) and clean our hands.

my main issue with the food is not the cooking of it, or the people who cook it, or the utensils used, IT IS THE TREATMENT OF THE FOOD, ESPECIALLY BEFORE COOKING OR IN TRANSPORT OR IN PREP....

rhkkmk, well you've certainly never experienced <b>THE REAL</b> Thailand then have you? You've wasted your time..... off with your head.

When in Rome eat Chinese, when in China eat Italian......words from a famous panda I know.....

Aloha!

A few thoughts on “food poisoning”....
Is it actually that serious or are you just referring to a bout of diarrhoea?
How did you REALLY get it?
FP can take up days before the effects are felt, so it’s not always right to blame the last thing you ate.
Street food versus restaurants.
In the west, most food poisoning comes from the home but we all know of small restaurants blamed for food poisoning and also the major chains...e.g. Tacobell in the US not long ago.
The problem with a chain of restaurants is that they share suppliers. So if a batch of food is contaminated, it is then distributed to several outlets. This is less likely with small independent businesses.
Hygiene is a problem but as was highlighted a few years ago in the UK the main problem is now storage and distribution.
All food has bacteria on it..........Modern western style food relies a lot on “chill serve” methods. Food is first prepared and then kept at just above freezing (+5C). It is then heated and served. This low temperature does not kill off bacteria; it just holds them in stasis, so they don’t multiply. The problems start when the food is allowed to get above the 5C temperature and the bacteria start to multiply. In hot climates with poorly trained or inexperienced staff, this is a particular problem. Food is removed from the fridge and returned again, left in 30C or over the bacteria have a field day.
From a personal perspective I know with reasonable certainty of 3 separate incidences where friends have got quite seriously ill (hospital in 2 cases) by eating at “western” restaurants...this includes a fast food burger chain on Samui.
It is the toxins produced by the bacteria that cause food poisoning, so they have to colonise your gut and then produce their toxins...this is why there can be a delay between eating and symptoms being felt.
Bacteria generally lie in wait on the surface of foods. If you eat a rare steak, so long as the outside is well and truly cooked, it is quite safe. However if you mince the meat...i.e. for a burger you are mixing the bacteria to the inside of the food....if this is not cooked through thoroughly there is a good chance that the bacteria will multiply to a dangerous level.
With street food in Thailand, you are dealing with quick-fire cooking methods that have been tried and tested for decades, food is killed, quickly cut up and fried at high temperatures...contrary to some peoples observations, it is not left out for hours...it is sold....having been cooked a lot of potential bacteria are dead, so the contamination process is set back. Mince in Thailand is cooked lose so it is cooked through properly. The vendors are dealing with kinds of foods that they are used to dealing with, refrigeration is not a part of the food preparation here, the process is therefore fast, and the chances of contamination reduced.
Westerners look at Thai food stalls and apply their own standards of hygiene to them, this is a mistake from the start as hygiene is not the only cause of food poisoning; it is preparation, storage that will cause the main problems.
There are other ways to get sick....hep A (shellfish), amoebic dysentery (water-borne) liver fluke (fish)....Google them up and see how to catch them......this has little to do with dirty hands and cloths....
Yes, anyone can get food poisoning, from anywhere, but the claims against street food stem largely from ignorance and prejudice.
As others have said, be “street-wise” use some common sense and you will be OK...eat enjoy....and carry a packet of tissues!


One other point...I wouldn’t think taking Imodium as a matter of course is such a good idea....if you DO have the runs, the best thing is sometimes to let it “run” its course and drink lots of (bottled) water; taking Imodium is convenient especially if you a re travelling., Of course, there may well be circumstances where you have to shut down your bottom for a few hours (bus-ride?), but is neither attacks the bacteria in your system or neutralises the toxins.
BTW - Antibiotics should really only be used if prescribed by a doctor.

Brb, getting popcorn..

I love street food.

There was a street food vendor competition in NYC this past weekend, called the Vendys $80 tickets all sold out.

OK I'm going to strangle the next poster who claims that unless you do certain things one does not experience the "Real Thailand"

just for the record...bill tempura is not part of the "real thailand" and neither is phad thai.. phad thai come from issan and issan is not considered the "real thailand", its the place where all "real" taxi driver come from

THis post is WAYYYYYY to long why can't we all agree to differ.

Well anyway, if all of the Asians were eating poisonous food (and the way they cook at home isn't different from on the street), I doubt that it would be the most populous continent.