I delivered speech #2 to my Beach Cities Toastmaster's Club. I rocked it. This time I spoke about eating Street Food in developing countries with imagery as live as the crab I described and as spicy as the red curry I ate in Thailand.
(Note: Photo above is Street Food in Saigon, Vietnam)
I also should mention that I won "Best Speaker" at the meeting and I was simply floored. I am taking the head rush in stride. However, I am incredibly excited.
The topic of the speech was to get used to organizing a speech and I focused on three main points of how to find local dives, being mindful of the cleanliness and lastly, being prepared if you get sick and not being afraid to test the waters again.
I wanted to focus my speech around a street food vendor in Krabi, Thailand and then move into advice. I topped it off with encouragement to go out there and eat the next country.
Here is the speech (I am hopeful the MP3 recorder CD program will appear so I can upload the sound file):
A great part of any travel experience begins in your mouth.
An older Thai woman beckons with a greasy torn English menu to sit down and enjoy fresh crab, still grasping at the sides of the plastic tub, shiny snapper with eyes clear as the waters they were caught in and shrimp, struggling to breadth in fresh water. The menu reveals poor English translations, a mere guild line for her culinary talents. A list explains a few flavor themes, like green curry, Chinese style, red curry, coconut and spicy. This is the beauty of street food, you never know what you are going to get.
A favorite of mine is the Thai woman’s street cart lining the Krabi port, in Southern Thailand. Every night the small adjacent parking lot snakes extension cords from the local shops to keep their carts lite for diners. As you look out onto the Andaman Sea, the moonlight glimmers against the gentle ocean ripples. In the foreground, each cart holds a single gas fired wok, spices and vegetables waiting to mingle with today’s catch.
My friends and I choose the Crab with red curry, steamed coconut fish and tangy fried shrimp. Sitting on the cheap plastic chairs, bowing under the weight of big Americans and refraining from leaning our elbows on the lop-sided table. We stop a small mango stick rice cart to quell our hunger. She takes out a Styrofoam container, fills it half way with steaming sweet rice and then skillfully frees the plump mango’s skin and seed from the sweet meat. She slices it next to the rice and tops it with Thailand’s number one dairy product, sweetened condensed milk. We dig in. Minutes later, we are presented our mouth-watering dishes, to hot to eat. We wait, with a cold beer in hand, cheers to good company and great food.
As we explore farther from our boarders, street food represents a tantalizing art form enjoyed by the masses. I encourage you to par-take in local delights street food. It is commonly found in developing countries because of looser health codes and as workers move from the fields to the cities, street food is the quick and affordable take out. To take some of the fear away and to know what to eat, today, I want to share three things to keep in mind:
1. Go Authentic, Not Exotic.
2. Be your own Health Inspector
3. Be prepared if you get sick, and don’t be afraid to test the waters again.
I often get asked, have you eaten dog meat? Instead of asking for dog meat in China, go authentic, not exotic. To find the local dives, ask people. Like the travel agent, taxi driver or tour guild, “Where do you like to eat?” Be specific with what you are looking for, explain you want to eat at a place where tourists don’t often go but is a local favorite. Have them write down popular dishes in the local language if you are unsure what to eat.
Once you get there, size up the place. If you stick out like a sore thumb, you are in the right place. Politely look at what the locals are eating. If you can see the kitchen, watch the cooks in action and take note of what looks fresh and appetizing.
The second piece of advice is to be your own Health Inspector.
The beauty of eating from a cart or a make-shift eatery is the food, so be on your toes with the cleanliness. The rule is, if it is cooked, boiled or peeled then you can eat it, otherwise forget it. Fruits and vegetables should be washed in purified water or peeled. With cooked food, it should be served at a temperature too hot to consume, then you know all the critters are dead. Be wary of reheated foods or food that is not properly refrigerated. Request Styrofoam or a to-go option, even when you eat there. Don’t be put-off by food in a plastic bag or newspaper.
For your own health it is ok to be particular. I am sure it isn’t the first time they have served a paranoid foreigner. Pick vendors where you can watch your snack being created. They will laugh at picky foreigners, but most vendors aim to please you, so let them.
Finally, be prepared if you get sick, and don’t be afraid to test the waters again.
In the event you toss all your cookies and are still heaving stomach bile, it can make you say, “I hate pineapple,” (emphasize the feeling) or “I can’t eat curry because it reminds of that meal in Cambodia.” (emphasize the disappointment) Try to limit over generalizations on the country or a specific food. Give it some time to let those mental associations fade and saddle up again when you are ready. I can attest to the discomfort of salmonella, parasites and numerous food poisonings. If it doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger.
To have the right tools if you fall ill, consult a travel doctor and ask for the necessary food poisoning prescriptions. A typical prescription is a high dose of Antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Couple that with acidophilus found in yogurt, to boost the good bacteria in your stomach. From over the counter, pack anti-diarrhea medication, for long plane, train and bus rides, where it is difficult to be on the thrown.
Also, take charcoal or calcium chewables for minor upset stomach. For dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea, bring Gatorade packets to mix with water and replenish your electrolytes.
For more information on the dos and don’t with street food, visit the Center for Disease Control at cdc.org, and refer to country specific guild books on the local cuisine. Note what you ate, so when you return home, you can seek out those dishes again and order like a local.
There is no time like the present to go out and eat your way through the next travel experience. Be adventurous and let your pallet experience a diverse spectrum of flavors.
I am looking forward to speech #3. Toastmasters has already given me a great deal of confidence and I am more driven to publicly speak.
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