Day 100: 'Light snack'

Fried grubs, Loy Krathong Festival, Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand

This is just one of about a dozen different varieties of 'finger food' that was available from the many stalls at the festival. I did confirm that Thais, mostly children, actually purchase and voluntarily consume these before indulging myself. In fact, most stalls sold out of all but the nastiest looking critters every night. The vendors offered free samples to farangs and took great delight in watching them grimace is disgust as they declined. Armed with a can of local beer to cleanse the palate I took on every challenge and even purchased a bag containing a sampling of each at the stall with the greatest selection. The two varieties of grubs offered were definitely my favorite, a sort of delicate, crispy but juicy French fries. I was a little apprehensive of the grasshoppers after noticing the dozens of barbs on their legs but upon sensing my hesitation one of the vendors, clearly impressed by my unflinching performance on the grubs, showed me a little mercy and explained that the rear legs should be removed before consumption. And then there were the beetles and the roaches. With some specimens getting on close to three inches long I limited myself to one of each and to everyone’s great amusement visibly cringed before biting. It’s hard to say what they taste like, they’re mostly just crunchy with the shells getting in between your teeth. Bring a toothpick...