LifeHacker

Street Meat
Street Meat 960 717 Greg Ellifritz

 

In the developing world, street food is often safer to eat than food in restaurants.  I eat at places like this as often as possible.  The food can be absolutely amazing and you have a very low chance of getting sick if you follow the tips in this article.

How to Eat Street Food Anywhere in the World Without Getting Sick

 

This is a salad containing cooked pig lung over a bed of chilled duck blood. It’s a traditional breakfast meal in rural Vietnam. I don’t recommend it.

 

Shark Attacks?
Shark Attacks? 1086 610 Greg Ellifritz

I’ve snorkeled and dived with sharks in lots of international locations.  One of my favorite experiences was visiting Shark Ray Alley off the coast of Belize.  Swimming in chummed water with dozens of sharks was incredibly exhilarating.

Picture from linked article

 

I’ve encountered sharks when snorkeling in Mexico and Egypt as well.  My Egyptian shark encounter was seeing a rare Tiger Shark in the Red Sea.  Despite having contact with these creatures, I never really thought about what I might do if one of these beasts attacked me.

 

That changed with a couple articles I stumbled across last week.  I thought they contained some good information.  If you venture into shark-infested water, you’ll want to check them out.

 

How To Survive A Shark Attack: Without Losing A Limb

 

 

Can You Fight a Shark and Win?

 

 

Hotel Safety
Hotel Safety 965 543 Greg Ellifritz

Generally good advice here. I’m not particularly worried about being bugged, but keeping radio and tv on makes it appear that the room is occupied, thus discouraging petty theft.

I don’t copy the fire escape routes, but I do check the escape routes. They will often be blocked or locked in third world countries.

 

A Hotel Safety Checklist for World Travelers From a Former CIA Operative

Long Haul Flights
Long Haul Flights 645 363 Greg Ellifritz

Good advice for optimum comfort on a long haul flight.  I’ve made several 22+ hour flights to Asia and Africa, along with dozens of 10+ hour flights to South America.

 

My advice to you is to pay for the business class upgrade.  It’s worth the money.

 

How to Make the Best of a Long Haul Flight

 

 

“Street Meat”
“Street Meat” 750 499 Greg Ellifritz

Most guidebooks will instruct you to “never eat street food.”

 

That’s bullshit.  Street food is often the safest option for travelers.  It’s prepared fresh and is still hot.  It hasn’t sat overnight on a rat and cockroach infested counter in a restaurant kitchen waiting to be rewarmed in a microwave.  Besides that.  It’s delicious.  Just look at all of these amazing street foods at the link below:

 

Best Street Food Around the World: 50 Favorite Street Food Dishes

 

I’ve eaten most of the foods listed for the countries I’ve visited and have not yet gotten sick from any “street meat.”.

 

Look for a vendor who is cooking the food in front of you and a long line of locals.  If you do that, you’ll likely be fine.

 

If you want some more information on street dining, pick up a copy of my book or check out the links below.

 

How to Eat Street Food Anywhere in the World Without Getting Sick

THE ULTIMATE STREET FOOD SAFETY CHECKLIST: HOW TO EAT LIKE A CAUTIOUS LOCAL

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the above links (from Amazon.com) are affiliate links.   As an Amazon associate I earn a small percentage of the sale price from qualifying purchases.

If you would like to further support my work, head over to my Patreon page.