The cricket went down easy. It was the water bug that wanted me to suffer.
Walking the streets of a few Thai cities I've visited a lot of vendors and eaten a lot of strange food. On several occasions, though, I've noticed a different kind of vendor. I've seen a young man riding a bicycle with a small illuminated cart hanging off it's side, a sort of sidecar of magic and wonderment and fried insects. He doesn't aggressively advertise his wares but simply pedals leisurely along the back alleys and side streets, knowing that he need not approach a potential client; the client will find him. And find him I did.
On this particular night we had decided to meet up with a friend from school who happened to be in the area. We made our way to an open city square, leisurely partaking of the local firewater all the while. Our friend (we'll call him Larry Parsons), well-travelled and worldly though he is, had yet to know the enchanting culinary delights of the formerly jumping, orthopterous Gryllidae I held in a small plastic bag purchased from a vendor an hour before. We took a sip of the moonshine and a bite of our respective crickets and, with little discomfort and actually some enjoyment, we had chalked up another cultural experience.
Several hours later, back at the guest house, I felt somehow unsatisfied. I had bypassed the grubs and maggots with little thought (they're for the amateur, I presumed), but I couldn't quite shake the thought of the massive beast anchoring the little plastic bag. Three inches long if it was a millimeter. Legs like jackhammers, a shell that could stop a bullet. Alex grabbed the camera, I grabbed the bug, and with a quick snap of the jaw I decapitated the bastard.
A bastard it was. Shards of shell like broken glass and the stench of death all over. It was a bitter massacre, but I emerged victorious.
(We've got photos but can't presently get them online. Soon we hope.)
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9 comments:
Space-wine.
yo, i think it's alex's turn to write.
keep 'em comin' andy- fascinating!
Crickets are one thing; I expected you'd try those but a water bug? that size? Quite a departure from NYC cuisine.
Not enough "local firewater" in the world!
wow
I once ate a licorice Mike & Ike! It was so gross I got the dry heaves. love d
ps. it is soo cold here now that I was in the park walking to the train and I saw man throw a frisbee to his dog and just after the dog jumped into the air to bite down...he froze solid and shattered into a hundred peices. true story.
I've been quite intrigued by all of these posts, especially with the food. I’m happy to hear that you took a class and hopefully that will help your NYC Culinary adventures,( and perhaps be used on a visit to my place) Although you have written about fish, Coagulated pigs blood, and frogs & fish in various stages of death, I am still waiting to hear about the beating hearts, perhaps some turtle (which I saw on a tv program about the area) or obviously my favorite, the Durian!
Sounds like a grand time to me! Keep it coming.
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