SE Asia: Cheap Eats

Apparently He Said A Lot of Things
Originally uploaded by wootang71

One thing I like about developing countries is that commodities have to be cheap. Commodities like food and water. I like food. A lot. Cheap food is only better. And in south east Asia, where there's a lot of not so rich people, the food is cheap and fantastic. I remember getting great eats in Vietnam for 12,000vnd, which is like $0.70. So I'd buy 2 meals and eat them both. I'm always down for local food and i'm conscious of trying to not eat food I can get at home (although i'm a sucker for pizza. But who isn't?). Many travelers were weary of eating at sketchy street vendors or restaurants, which is fair enough. Diarrhea ruins people's days. Especially in a country that commonly uses squat pots sans toilet paper. But after my ridiculous case of Bali Belly, I felt a bit invincible and often chowed anywhere I deemed local and authentic.

From the observation of cheap commodities, I came up with a little theory: one can gauge the average wealth of a country by the wealth of their chefs. In a poor country, food must be inexpensive. In a wealthier country, luxury food items can exist. Because of this inverse nature, my theory is that chefs in developing countries are more likely to not be rich, if even exist at all. I can't name any famous chefs from developing countries. But in a wealthier region like, say, Europe, being a chef is an esteemed position. After further research and discussion, I found out that this theory of mine already exists. It's called the Big Mac Index.

This was Marci's party shirt. Apparently Bon Jovi said a lot of things. For me, Bon Jovi reminds me of 2 things: the year 1986, and a little Argentinian girl who kept playing Bon Jovi on our roadtrips. Also a bit of Enrique Iglesias. Sumbawa also marked our love affair with the movie, Superbad. VHS or Beta got the pizzle time.