INDIA

In the years before I started traveling I often got lost in a dreamworld of my favorite tv-shows or movies that would take me away to far away places. Fiction shows or documentaries that show certain locations always got me hooked. Even to this day, in which I have found myself in my own fantasy, I look to these shows to inspire even more travel. I love using them as inspiration for where I want to go in the world, what I need to eat in a new location or just to reconfirm why this travel thing is all worth it. So now, here is my list of tv-shows and movies that inspire you to travel

While going for Thai food yesterday, my friends and I were reminiscing on what we miss in Asia. The organized chaos, the diversity, the smiles and most importantly, the street food! I still remember my first visit to a street food market in Thailand like it was yesterday. It is overwhelming and hectic, but is there anything better than sitting down on one of those plastic stools and enjoying this amazing street food that is both delicious and super cheap? I knew immediately this was going to be my next blog post. Especially after seeing this photo this morning of my personal hero Anthony Bourdain and the American president in a little Hanoi street food diner. Hey, if it’s good enough for the president, it’s good enough for you. Not everyone is as excited about street food as I am, it can be quite scary when you arrive in Asia and it seems like everyone is making something on the corner of the street. Which food is safe and isn’t going to sentence you to the loo for most of the evening (food poisoning is violent!). Which food will taste the best? What if all the street stalls are making more of the same? What does it even say on the menu? How do I figure out how much it costs? The best pad thai I’ve had? On a corner in Koh tao. The best and most deliciously soft squid? On a beach in Cambodia. Tom yum goon I will always remember? Next to the road on the motorbike loop of Pakse, Laos. Eating so much we lost ability to walk? Definitely all around Malaysia! There is nothing that breaks my heart more than hearing somebody went to Singapore, where eating is the national hobby, and was afraid to eat in the hawker stalls. Therefore, I wanted to give you my 20 tips for eating street food in Asia without getting sick. I’ve tried and tested all of them and hope they will help you scope out your awesome next meal:

Arriving in India I waited for the famous Indian culture shock for quite a while. Visiting Kerala, the most southern province of India, was a bit overwhelming, but there was nothing that was too much for our senses. My first true culture shock came while visiting the Calcutta flower market also known as the Mallik Ghat market. It was a very powerful experience and still is one of the activities I’ll recommend when visiting Calcutta or Kolkata in West Bengal, India. Just as I’m putting it on your to-do list, it was praised to us as a true local experience by a friend of a friend and, he was right. This flower market is, just as most things in India, unlike any other flower market you have visited before. I went thinking of Columbia flower market in London or the local foreigners market (aka vreemdelingenmarkt) in Antwerp and quickly had to adjust my expectations. First of all they don’t sell flowers to put in vases and you will most certainly not find any plants. What you will find is fresh flower petals, flower heads, flower decorations and garlands in all colors and shapes. Most of these flowers will be used for ceremonial purposes and only a small fraction of the flowers will be used to decorate a home, unless there is a ceremony held within. The most important flowers are yellow and orange marigolds, roses, orchids and several other flowers that all serve a different religious and/or medicinal purpose in daily Indian life.