Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 9:51 PM by Lonely Planet
I like to consider myself the kind of traveller that's open to new experiences. I take my shoes off in temples, I never once asked for a fork in Japan and I make sure I wear t-shirts ripped and off-the-shoulder on kibbutz. I'm a paragon of the 'tread lightly' school of travel, honest. But everybody's got a limit and it's just a matter of time before it finds them.
I met mine in a yurt in a summer meadow in Kyrgyzstan, in the form of kymys: smoked, fermented mare's milk. Fabled to be the beverage of champions, the milk is also a dietary staple and pride and joy of Kyrgyz nomads. The mares are milked every hour, and over several days the milk is fermented and stirred in a smoke filled barrel. The result is a fizzy, smoky, vaguely alcoholic milk drink.
With an audience of a Kyrgyz nomadic family, my Russian speaking host and translator as well as the neighbours from the yurt over the stream, I smiled politely and tried desperately to calm my gag reflex as I placed the bowl back down. It's not an easy thing to do, but sometimes learning your limits is a crucial part of the travel experience.
Where have you had to draw the line?
- Jenni Kauppi
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4 Comments:
I lived in Italy for a while, and had a roommate from the far south of the boot - Puglia. I am usually an adventurous eater, but one meal in particular really grossed me out. We were vising her family. In honor of the company, her father picked snails off the olive vines in his little farm plot. He then let them out on the porch for a couple of days so that they could poop out all their dirt. Nextly, his wife plopped them in boiling water. Now, I 'll eat an escargot any ol' time, but these little babies came out of the pot looking at me! They were all stretched out like they were crawling across my plate - eyestalks at attention. I really wanted to be nice and choke a few down, but a boundary had been breached and I just couldn't do it. I feel ill, even now, in the recounting. urp.
For me it was trying to stomach durian, which even with a pinched nose and several tries, still tasted much how I imagine the bottom of a chinese restaurant dumpster, condensed into a pudding might taste.
I was in Vietnam last year just before VN new year. In even the smallest roadside market, the cutest, most darling puppies were set out in small bamboo cages. When I asked my friend if they were all set out for adoption as pets, he abashedly turned his head away from me and told me they were offered as food for the New Yers meal. I ate only rice and identifiable vegetables for the next several weeks.
I have heard that in some countries in Asia, especially China, dog meat is one of the expensive dishes. is that illegal?
In some part of Thailand (Eastern) also have local people having dog as well. What a poor puppies !!!
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