Favorite Food From Traveling the World, So Far

Jen Laceda of My Folie A Deux takes amazing pictures of her travels.  It is her food photographs that not only made very hungry, but also got me thinking about what were some of our favorite meals while we were traveling.

One of the best things about traveling is food. Dave and I seem to plan our days around our meals.  We wake up in the morning and while we are eating our breakfast, we discuss what we are going to have and where we are going to go for dinner.  We love food. Food makes us happy. And when we discover new and delicious food around the world, well, we are in heaven.

We thought that we would share some of our favorite dishes from some of the countries that we have visited.  There hasn’t been many things that we are not willing to try. We have eaten bugs in Cambodia, Snake in Vietnam and Springbock in Malawi.  We have had mystery meat in Sudan and many times we try dishes when we have no idea what we are eating.  We love sampling foods of the world though, it is rare that we try a dish that we cannot stomach. It certainly makes traveling more enjoyable that is for sure.

Ethiopia ……Spicey meat and veggie stews served atop Injera. A type of flatbread made with fermented flour. You rip off a piece of bread and scoop up the stew with your hands.  I just love eating with my hands.  There is something about diving in to your food and grabbing a handful of hearty meats and vegetables.  Meals are just so much more fun when you eat with your hands.  And Wat stews with injera are heavenly delicious.

Authentic Cuisine in Addis Ababa

Peru….. Ceviche – It really doesn’t sound like it would be the best dish on earth, but this fresh fish meal marinated in citrus juice is delicious. Here is my first taste of Ceviche while in Peru.

In South Africa we just couldn’t eat enough. We had finally finished cycling from Cairo to Cape Town and we needed to make up for months of eating on the road. It was in the wine region in Franschoek that we splurged on a meal at one of the country’s top ten restaurants.  I never thought that I would like Ox Tail, but the chef made it taste so good.  We had an OxTail Pate rolled in Filo Pastry with a perfectly cooked steak piled high on fresh greens and wild mushrooms. Elegant and delicious.

Winery in Franscheok

Oxtail with foam gravy

Laap in Laos – A spicy meat meat salad made with lime juice, mint and chillies. This was our first meal that we ate when we got off of the bus from Vietnam to Vientiane. After 24 hours on a bus, it was pure heaven.

Swiss Fondue, Raclette, Cheese Platters….- Cheese, Cheese and More cheese. We just love cheese. In Switzerland it was everywhere and we took advantage of eating their delectable cheeses every chance we had.

Cheese Fondue, Switzerland

Bali and Sudanese CoffeeAfrica is the birthplace of coffee and it was the best place in the world to drink it. Every chance we had we would stop for a roadside coffee.

Our Barrista, Making us Fresh Roadside Coffee

Africa may have been the birthplace of coffee, but Bali certainly knew how to perfect it. We loved their coffee so much that we took several bags home with us.  It was so sad when we drank our last cup. We need to find a way to get a shipment to Canada.

Egypt - an Authentic Bedouin Meal in Egypt. Sure it was served on plastic containers, but it was delicious and what a way to eat it in the middle of the desert in a Bedouin camp.  Our guides cooked over an open flame, served us plenty of sweet tea and cooked up great red stews and meats, potatoes, rice and pita bread. Yummy

Our Guide cooking over open flame

So there you have it, Our favorite foods of the world so far. Sure we have other favorites out there. Thai Green curry is one of my favorite dishes on earth. I can eat Sushi every day and I love Vietnamese Pho. A savory duck roasted in France and Schnitzel while in Germany are a must and quesadillas and tortillas are a must in Central America. But foods  listes above seem to stand out in our memories as not only great meals, but fun situations and unique experiences.

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The White Desert of Egypt, Don’t Miss it!

White Desert Egpt

About 2 weeks before we left Toronto, we read an article in Mountain Life Magazine about the White Desert in Egypt. It looked like a fascinating place and we decided that we have to go there. Our bike route however, didn’t go near the place because it is situated in the centre of the country. For sure this would be one expensive and long trip, so it was doubtful that we would make it there during the short time that we had before the race.

However, along Dahab Hostel who asked us if we would like to do a 3 day trip to the White Desert for a bargain price of 450e ($80) per person for 2 nights, 3 days, all meals and transfers included, camping in the White Desert, a visit to the hot springs and a 4X4 ride in the sand dunes that we won’t soon forget. How could we pass it up?

It turned out to be a great trip.

We hopped on our coach for the 5 hour ride into the desert. I knew that Egypt was a dry country, but I didn’t realize just how much of it is desert. The entire country (so far) is sand, sand and more sand.

We made it to Bahariya by 2:30 in the afternoon, we were fed a traditional Bedouin meal of red sauce and potato, with rice, pita and sweet tea. Delicious. Then we were promptly off, right after the guys bought a Bedouin head dress. We travelled through the black desert and climbed a high peak overlooking the amazing desert vista. Black pebbles caused by erosion in the mountains covered the entire desert, turning it to an ominous dark shade. We carried on through a couple of security check points and once we passed through the second one, we instantly entered the white terrain that looked as if a blanket of snow had landed on the ground.

White monoliths jutted out of the landscape, but nothing compared to our final destination…Our campsite was surrounded by the most amazing rock formations I have ever seen resembling mushrooms, camels and hawks. These pure white and smooth shapes were scattered throughout the area. We were surprised to see that when we touched the rock, it was actually chalk. We climbed atop one of the formations and watched the sun go down.

All this time, our guides were preparing dinner and putting our camp together. Once the sun had set, it was nice to have a warm fire to sit beside until dinner was served at our Bedouin style camp. All that was protecting us was 3 walls of material to block the wind, the front was open to the fire and our roofless shelter revealed the starry sky. Awesome.

We ate our red sauce and potato with rice plus the added bonus of a delicious fire roasted chicken But that was the end of the hospitality. Our guides were done with us, they sat by the fire drinking tea and smoking sheesha while we all sat around the table slowly chilling to the bone.

Our Guide, White Desert

More guides arrived and they had a grand old time drinking more tea and blocking us from the fire until finally we asked them for blankets so we could go to bed. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a bad sleep. Heavy blankets and sleeping bags kept us fairly warm until a nose, ear or hand popped out from underneath the covers, but to fall asleep under a clear desert sky while being entertained by shooting stars made it all worth while.

We all awoke cold and achy in the dark to witness the sun rise over the white stones. Beautiful.

After a quick breakfast, we packed up camp and made our way back to Bahariya, stopping at sights along the way and by mid-afternoon, we were off 4X4ing in the desert on our way to the hot springs. Our driver was insane, but a lot of fun. He had a brilliant smile and kind eyes and gave us a thrill as we raced through the dunes. At one point we became stuck on a steep incline and I was sure that we were going to roll. After what seemed like forever, he finally figured out his path, and we went tearing off again. The ride was long and full of excitement as people were tossed about and sometimes hitting their heads on the roof. I thought Peru was scary and we were strapped in to a dune buggy, this was crazy sitting in the back of a 4X4 with no seat belts. We made it safe and sound though, laughing from the adrenaline rush and ready to relax in the springs.

Our Jeep in the White Desert, Egypt

That however, was not an option. It makes me laugh to think that this is actually an attraction. A concrete vat with luke warm water running through pipes into a dirty pool. There was not a chance that any of us were going into that. Eww! Instead, we had some tea with the gatekeeper and ate some fresh dates, while one of the drivers fixed his front tire. Then it was back to the 4X4 stopping to climb a mountain, seeing some more sights and then home in time for dinner.

It is now 3 days later and we are back in Cairo, sipping beer on the rooftop patio again working at our free wireless internet in Dahab Hostel. Not bad for $6 a night.

Tomorrow we are off to several Plan Projects, bright and early. We can’t wait to show you the great work that they are doing as we travel down through Africa. Watch for our update tomorrow night.

The White Desert, Egypt

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