"BUGS!"
"Amazing Fried Insects"

- © by Travelers' Net
- Pictures and Text by Michael Bjorklund

It's time to reveal the number one snack here in Thailand. As you might know, Thais are keen on eating. But what you might not know is that this goes for insects as well. Take this grasshopper for instance. For only twenty Baht you get a bag full of them. And the vendors are everywhere, making sure that you will not be left without a bag full of these little appetizers. Grasshoppers seem to be the most common fried insect you can find but there are others as well. Since we for various reasons did not want to digest these insects, we brought in a real insect gourmet to test the merchandise. And that was Koy (who you might recognize from our Goin' Places section). She claims the grasshopper is not only the most common fried insect but also the most tasty and inexpensive one. "I think grasshoppers are the number one choice for most Thais when they want to feast on some fried insects" says Koy. "Inexpensive, easy to find and very tasty" she continues.

To be honest, your Travelers' Net team was not able to find the English or Latin name of this insect. It looks like a bat and it's about 3 inches long. More to eat than a grasshopper but at ten Baht a piece, it comes out more expensive anyway. "This insect is not that common and you hardly ever find it. If they happened to have it at my favorite grasshopper stall, I might buy one just because I rarely get my hands on one" Koy mentions.

The scorpion can also be found among the fried insects. It's also ten Baht a piece since they're not as numerous as the grasshoppers. "Usually, I wouldn't buy the scorpion" says Koy. "It's expensive and the taste isn't really anything special. Men seem to buy more scorpions than women do though. Maybe it's a macho thing..." she adds.But she did eat the scorpion but without the glimmer in her eye that appeared during the grasshopper test. But then again, what would your facial expression be if you were eating a scorpion...?

If you find yourself in Thailand during the "fried insect season", which pretty much is the same as the high season, you might want to try a couple of grasshoppers. They're actually not that bad once you get over the fact that they are grasshoppers. And you'd probably be the only one in your neighborhood who could claim to have eaten fried insects recently...