street food
 

I am finally off to Bangkok on Friday! One question - I have read that many people get sick eating street food from vendors. Have you found that to be a problem? I always ate off the streets in cental America - just nothing raw or uncooked - and did fine. Same in Thailand? thanks!
Also, do you think that going on the tour to the River Kwai is worth the day?

Street food safety is a topic of many opinions, none of which are wrong I don't think.

You don't really know how sanitary it is....however, the same is true in restaurants, really.

You might get sick from it. I was hospitalized for food poisoning in Japan after eating in a department store restaurant that is always crowded and is considered to be excellent...and Japan is thought to be sanitary.

A few years ago I was sick on the airplane on the way home to Japan from Bangkok...really sick. On that trip we ate in the Peninsula restaurants, and once in an Outback Steakhouse in a mall. Wherever I got sick, it wasn't from street food.

We used to avoid street food...for 3 trips to Thailand...we just ate with our eyes. Then we went to Bali and ate very carefully...and all came down with Hepatitis A, though mildish cases as we were partially through the vaccine series when we went. Next trip to Thailand we ate whatever we wanted, and my daughter got seriously sick...but that was probably from swimming with the elephants at elephant camp.

What's my point...you never can tell what will make you sick and what won't (well, I kind of expected her to be sick after being in that water but it was too late to stop her, so we let her enjoy). It never hurts to err on the side of caution, but even being cautious might not prevent an illness.

What will we do? We will eat street food if it looks and smells delicous, is freshly cooked and steaming hot...it's a risk we will take. I have been back to the restaurant that made me so sick in Japan, we are going back to elephant camp. When next in Bali, we will be less picky about where and what we eat and maybe won't get sick...who knows.

It's really up to you...are you willing to take the risk of being sick...knowing that the risk may be slightly more than the risk if you ate only in upscale restaurants? For us, the risk is fine...in fact, we don't really see it as more risk, as my own experiences have shown me that food borne illnesses can happen anywhere.

The River Kwai tour...I wouldn't do it. I would go to Kanchaburi though if I had an overnight to spend at at the river raft floating hotel. Looks cool to me.

I hope you have your Hep A shots already.

Definitely head for Kanchanaburi if you have time. No need for a tour. It can be done in a day if you take a car or stay overnight if you decide to take the train from Thonburi.

our feeling is why risk it as you might ruin a perfect vacation....there are too many other alternatives and hep A is a very good suggestion...

we thought kantchburi river kwai was mostly a waste of over 1/2 day, unless you have time to waste...

It's such a shame that so many tourists are scared to eat street food for risk of picking up a bug, because street food is really one of the most fabulous aspects of travel in Asia.
And I agree that Kanchanaburi River Kwae is mostly a waste of time. I've been there a couple of times now and feel it's all over-rated.

Kim, you and your family have had the worst luck about getting sick. I'm so sorry! But I'm glad it doesn't keep you from traveling.

Whether you are going to eat street food or not, you should have the Hep A vaccine and the typhoid vaccine. Both of these illnesses are food and water-bourne. You have no control over who handles your food and how meticulous they are about hand-washing.

Make sure you know the basics of food and water precautions. Remember that while travelers do become ill from things like Hep A and typhoid, many gastro-intestinal problems are related to e. coli (more than half) and others are simply due to being unaccustomed to particular bacterial flora.

Some of the criteria people use to choose street food (locals are eating there) are irrelevant for the "unaccustomed to particular bacterial flora" problems, and of course locals also contract illnesses such as Hep A (even in Europe and North America). You are more likely to get sick from something like cut fruit from a stall than from a sizzling hot stick of satay.

That said, we all have to choose our risks. In my many years of travel all over the world, there is only once that I became really ill, and that was from eating at the home of our guide in Jordan. When we ate there, I knew we might well end up sick, but we chose to do so anyway.

I don't eat street food in the US or Europe, and I don't generally eat street food in Asia - not out of fear but out of preference. That said, we are spending some time in Penang this trip, famous for its street food. I do expect to eat street food there. I will be selective about what I eat there, just as I am selective about what I eat anywhere.

Choose your risks, get your vaccines, and take along appropriate medications "just in case."

ive always eaten street food and ive never had a problem. Touch wood to that but i dont think there's much of a problem with thailands' street food. If you eat at the right places that is.

and if you eat at a wrong place....?? will it have a sign saying "wrong place"??

obviously not, but if you choose to eat at well known places like sukhumvit soi 38 for instance at night on the street, ure unlikely to get food poisioning compared to eating at some random ghetto place in some soi.

The River Kwai (spelling?) was disappointing and a 10-11 hour day with a 1 hour stop at the flaoting market. I have heard a 1/2 trip on the river is worthwhile but you would have to overnight with limited choices of accommodations.

NurseSally:

Eating street food anywhere in the world has it's risks. Ask for takeaway so they serve you in the styrofoam containers which are not washed by them.

Here is a link to Isismnroe's positive report on the River Kwai area. Just another point of view for you!

http://digbig.com/4neys

Aloha!

I have gotten sick once from street food and a couple times after what I thought was excellent restaurant fare. This in 10+ years of Thailand visits. No way I will give up the pleasures of either.

Kanchanaburi. I enjoyed stopping at the beautiful, very large International memorial war cemetary for a long, thoughtful walk spent reading the names of the fallen, this after a lengthy drive from Bkk. The country scenery is wonderful as you travel further and further into the back country. The walk out onto the railway was forgettable. The nearby shopping for medicinal herbs and delicious dried fruit and seafood snack foods was very much fun. People watching was great. Cruising on the river was refreshing. Do it!

We eat selectively from the street vendors in BKK. No real clever method of choosing. Never been sick. My son and his wife ate evreything. No problems. In fact, I can't remember reading on this forum about anyone who got sick from eating street food in BKK. Perhaps, someone can remind me/us if I'm mistaken.

I have never had problems with street food anywhere in Thailand. Then again my kids tell me I have a cast iron stomach. I am very cautious of water and ice. After seeing a vendor washing used straws in a bucket I dont use straws from street stalls.

the reason you never read about anyone getting sice from street food is that they died and thus were unable to write about it....haha

When I went to Thailand with my daughter we didn't drink anything but bottled water and as far as food, used this rule of thumb - 'don't eat it if it isn't peeled, boiled or cooked;....this allowed us to have fresh fruit sold on the street - especailly the watermelon! Delicious!
Have a terrific time!

..and rhkmk..great sense of humor!

".and rhkmk..great sense of humor!"

There's a missing "K", so this can't be Bob.