Eatting is living they say and eat we must. I was warned by my doctor prior to this trip that I was to avoid food in Asia that was sold by street vendors. Hepatitis A was a real threat. I needed to be able to work everyday and sickness would prevent that. I was going to be careful. I know I probably missed out on some real interesting food experiences but I did manage to stay healthy.

The first day there we walked in an area near the hotel and a number of street vendors were set up. This is common place but we didn't know it at the time. We discussed what it might have been that one woman had for sale. It appeared to be a pile of raw animal fat displayed on a board. I had walked away from the hotel without my camera so I am unable to share this image. What could that possibly be?? Was it for human consumption? Just one of many food mysteries to remain unsolved.

One of the night markets provided a vast array of different food items. Not only were the smells foreign to me but the fact that they were confined in a very closed area with lots of people milling around made it very unconfortable to say the least.

We usually ate a late dinner at the hotel or tried some name establishment. Outside restaurants with familiar names provided menus and meals like you would find in Ohio. Ruth Chris Steakhouse, Hooters, TGI Fridays all had familiar fare. Lunch was a little more challenging. McDonalds served the same meals as in the states and while I am not normally a fan of Mickey D's I ate there several times for lunch. Simply point at #1 on the menu and indicate with your hands you were talking about something big and before long you had a super sized Big Mac meal. The hospital didn't have signs to point to along the serving line but you could just point at something in the serving trays and it became your lunch. I assumed hospital food was safe and I was right. I didn't know what it was but it tasted good. Even what I finally identified as octapus tasted good. Pointing at the different pictures of noodle bowls in restaurants was workable. I must confess that I even ate a Chinese hotdog from the 7/11 store. There were more than enough 7/11 stores throughout the city.

So the street food remained Mystery Food to me. I was curious, but not enough to dive in. Sure I was a wimp, but I reported for work each morning.

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