“What’s the best street food a type of local food that is usually inexpensive and sold at a cart or stand at the side of the road here?”

I think it’s safe to say that everyone travels for different reasons. Foodies a person who is very interested in food, and can be said to eat food as a hobby like me are often motivated to hop on a plane to take a flight on an airplane by the thought of sampling a country’s local cuisine. If you’re looking for one of the best places to stuff your face to eat lots of food; to overeat with cheap delicious food, look no further than Malaysia. Malaysia is the ultimate melting pot of Asia where you’ll find Hokkien Chinese, Tamil Indian, anason because not only is their country right in the middle of the map, the peninsular part of Malaysia slightly resembles a real heart. Whether you’re visiting Penang in the north, the capital Kuala Lumpur in the center, or the former Dutch colony of Malacca just south of there, your tongue and belly are going to love you! Whateverd native Malaysians all living together.

Geographically in the center of that region, Malaysians have come to call their country “The Heart of Asia,” and it’s with good re street you’re on, hawker stands a small business that usually sells one or only a few different kinds of street food dishes in a large market hall and street vendors are offering local delicacies at budget prices. Just ask the nearest local, “What’s the best street food here?” and wait for them to point you in the direction of nasilemak (typical Malaysian breakfast), laksa (Chinese curry noodle soup), char kuey teow (fried noodles) or roti cenai (fluffy fried Indian bread with a side of curry).

“Where’s the pharmacy?”

Exploring the street food of Asia isn’t without its risks though. When deciding where to eat, always make sure you look for a place with a long line for two reasons: one, you know the food is delicious (Why else would so many people want to eat it?) and two, it usually means that the ingredients won’t have been sitting too long, and your order will be freshly made. However, because different countries have different hygiene standards and your body might not be accustomed to the local bacteria, from time to time, you’ll get hit with experience something (usually bad or unwanted) a stomach bug an illness affecting the stomach, usually caused by a bacteria or virus. Known as “Delhi Belly” in India or “Montezuma’s Revenge” in Mexico, traveler’s diarrhea can disrupt your travel plans. One particular place that this happened to me was in Myanmar.

Ten years ago, Myanmar, which is also referred to by the locals as Burma, was starting to open up after years of isolation. It had become the must-go-to destination of any Southeast Asian backpacker, and it did not disappoint. I remember being in awe of the thousands of ancient temples of Bagan and the golden stupa of the main temple in Yangon. Myanmar is a very spiritual place where Buddhist monks are like rockstars, and the cities of Bago and Monywa are like Buddhist amusement parks.
Monywa is a place in the north where one of the tallest standing Buddha statues and one of the longest recling Buddha statues can be found.

It wasn’t the easiest place to get to, but I managed. Once there though I was SO hungry that I had to go against by advice. There were only two food stalls, both of which had very little to no business in that remote far from developed areas, usually difficult to reach area. When I got my fried noodles, there was a puddle of water sitting at the bottom of my bowl. My intuition told me I shouldn’t eat them, but I had to satisfy that empty pit in my stomach a strong feeling of hunger; usually used with the verb ‘have,” example: I have a pit in my stomach (I’m very hungry). Against my better judgment, I ate that bowl of suspect noodles.

Well, you could probably guess how I spent my evening. On the night bus to Bagan, there was stuff coming out of both ends, and the driver even stopped the bus for me to relieve myself to use the restroom/toilet. When we arrived at a small town in route to our final destination, the first chance I got, I asked a local, “Where’s the pharmacy?” He was super helpful and thought it was hilarious when I told him that I needed diarrhea medicine, but the giggles a small silly laugh were worth the relief once I got what I needed from the doctor.

Vocabulary Words: Street food, Foodie, To hop on a plane, To stuff your face, Hawker stand, Get hit with, Stomach bug, Remote, Pit in my stomach, To relieve myself, Giggle