PEDESTRIAN.TV and Visa have teamed up to ensure you don’t commit the cardinal sin of travelling – being a tourist. It’s not that tourists are bad per se, it’s just that you miss out on bigger and better experiences if you behave like one. Soz-not-soz.
That’s why Visa’s #notatourist project is all over supplying you with everything you could ever need to channel your inner local, no matter where you are, with inspo, pics and tips from seasoned travellers used to trotting all over the globe.
Like the Bondi Harvest boys, who’ve done the hard yards for you by popping across the pond to taste-test the weird and wonderful food of Thailand. (Thanks, m8s, ’cause not all of it looks appetising.)
Check out the #notatourist site and start planning your next adventure.
David Longstreath via Getty.
GRILLED SQUID ROLLUP (IRL Thai name unknown)
A common street food in cities across Thailand, dried squid is flattened, coated with a sauce (which usually contains fish sauce, shrimp paste, tamarind sauce, chilli and palm sugar), and then cooked under a grill. Try ONLY if you’re a seafood fan, because this ‘squid roll-up’ is fishy as hell.
LARB MOTE DAENG
BEFORE
AFTER
This is one of Thailand’s most underrated delicacies. It looks totally disgusting, and is avoided by many tourists because the main ingredient is red ants and their eggs. But the path less travelled is the most delicious in this case; red ants taste somewhat like a squirt of lime (because they eat mango leaves), and the eggs are super fatty, like little balls of butter. Larb Mote Daeng is usually served as a stirfry, with vegetables such as capsicum or onion.
ITIM
Image via Food Republic
Itim is just ice cream – but we aren’t here to bore ya’ll. It’s a common Bangkok street food, and it’s frozen using liquid nitrogen… which is no way essential, but damn if it doesn’t look mystical and enticing. Itim flavours are less creamy and sugary than their Western counterpart, and way more refreshing: think coconut cream, jackfruit, or Thai tea. You won’t see any waffle cones here either; itim-makers serve their scoops in creative ways, e.g. coconut shells, giant tom yum bowls, or in the middle of a sweet toasted bread roll.
LARB LEUAT NEUA
Image via Mark Wiens
It’s cubes of raw red meat, mixed with spices and fresh sprigs of mint. That’s not that weird, right? Just like a steak tartare. Except in this iron-heavy Thai dish, the ‘dressing’ on the ‘salad’, is thick raw blood. So if you’re a Thai vampire, this dish would be the highlight of your dining experience.
GOONG TEN
via Travel Start
Yeah cool, just incase you wanted to eat alive things, here’s your chance! A Thai specialty, Goong Ten is a bowl of very alive, very active shrimp. They jump around like they somehow know they’re about to head down someone’s gullet, and they wanna get outta that bowl – so they are often referred to as ‘dancing shrimp’. They are usually mixed with veggies and served with pandan leaves too, and apparently it’s deliciously crunchy and salty… if you can get past the idea of sea creatures twerking inside your mouth.
Now: you’re #notatourist, you’re a traveller. Go forth and enjoy everything Thailand has to offer (including the ant eggs) with Visa – it’s money you can’t lose.
