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Is There a Reluctance to Eat/Drink in Port?


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4 minutes ago, cruznjan said:

I usually don't go far from the dock, and I eat on the ship.

So you're definitely not a port-driven person.  🙂  I've gotten pretty good over the last few years about accepting that we all travel for different reasons.  I've mentioned this before but a few years ago we were on an almost month long escorted tour of SE Asia.  There was a man in our group who wouldn't eat ANY local food.  Not for fear of getting sick.  He just only wanted "American" food.  It was an "aha moment" for me.  Realizing that he was having a great time but for a different reason than some.  PS: I have never used a lounge chair on a ship 🙂

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1 hour ago, clo said:

month long escorted tour of SE Asia.  There was a man in our group who wouldn't eat ANY local food.  Not for fear of getting sick.  He just only wanted "American" food.  🙂

 

I'm curious but how easy was it to find American style food in SE Asia? From what I have heard American food is not that predominant in that part of the world. I hope he didn't go hungry at any point of the tour 😳

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1 minute ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious but how easy was it to find American style food in SE Asia? From what I have heard American food is not that predominant in that part of the world. I hope he didn't go hungry at any point of the tour 😳

I think it was mostly burgers and sandwiches but I don't know that for sure.  One night in Thailand our dinner was at a wealthy woman's home who had retired and got bored and started hosting these events.  Her home was so lovely and the food was superb (cooked by 'staff').  And at the end we had this lantern releasing event.  I've thought more than once that he missed that.

image.jpeg.97e50d655e54aa6719adccbbb827bad6.jpeg

 

PS: This was in someone's front yard so not like this.  Maybe 20 lanterns but stunning.

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2 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious but how easy was it to find American style food in SE Asia? From what I have heard American food is not that predominant in that part of the world. I hope he didn't go hungry at any point of the tour 😳

Its likely is hard to find in small towns or villages. But go to any major city and you'll find American chain fast food places in all the tourist areas.

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15 hours ago, mom says said:

But go to any major city and you'll find American chain fast food places in all the tourist areas.

 

When the Volendam docked in Tokyo, it was only a 10 minute bus ride from the pier until I spotted the first McDonald's that I saw.

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19 hours ago, clo said:

I've gotten pretty good over the last few years about accepting that we all travel for different reasons.  I've mentioned this before but a few years ago we were on an almost month long escorted tour of SE Asia.  There was a man in our group who wouldn't eat ANY local food.  Not for fear of getting sick.  He just only wanted "American" food.  It was an "aha moment" for me.  Realizing that he was having a great time but for a different reason than some. 

 

On a Royal Viking Line cruise was my "aha moment" like yours.  My traveling companion and I shared a table with a very pleasant, well educated, and well traveled couple.  While the gentleman's wife was interested in trying a variety of foods available, the gentleman was strictly a "meat and potatoes" person and each night he wanted his salad brought to him in a mixing bowl when he could add the dressing of his choice in the amount that he wanted.  Maybe the most interesting memory of this dining experience was the table's place settings.  Upon arriving at the table, full place settings were at each spot.  The first thing that he asked the Steward to do when he sat down was to remove all of the flatware that had nothing to do with his regular dining routine.  Yet, he really did enjoy our cruise and we kept in touch after our cruise for a very long time.

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17 hours ago, mom says said:

Its likely is hard to find in small towns or villages. But go to any major city and you'll find American chain fast food places in all the tourist areas.

Thailand has over 10,000 7-Elevens!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Sometimes they're right across the street from each other.

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18 hours ago, mom says said:

Its likely is hard to find in small towns or villages. But go to any major city and you'll find American chain fast food places in all the tourist areas.

 

We consider them, along with Starbucks, as convenient wifi spots.  Lol.  

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We do eat ashore. Some cuisines are better enjoyed in the country of origin in my opinion. It might just be the atmosphere.  But we do take water from the ship or buy bottled water. Can't trust the water from the tap. And I prefer to be safe than sorry (wont like to be sick during my cruise)

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1 hour ago, angie7911922 said:

We do eat ashore. Some cuisines are better enjoyed in the country of origin in my opinion. It might just be the atmosphere.  But we do take water from the ship or buy bottled water. Can't trust the water from the tap. And I prefer to be safe than sorry (wont like to be sick during my cruise)

 

I recommend getting a filter bottle, I find it much more convenient. I never have to go shopping for bottled water and I can just fill up at any tap.

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On 10/12/2019 at 8:38 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

I recommend getting a filter bottle, I find it much more convenient. I never have to go shopping for bottled water and I can just fill up at any tap.

 

thank you! I didnt think about that. Will definitely buy them. Need to do a little research now...😉 that would be so much easier. So even if they poor you a glass of water, you could just filter it. Perfect

 

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On 10/9/2019 at 7:17 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious but how easy was it to find American style food in SE Asia? From what I have heard American food is not that predominant in that part of the world. I hope he didn't go hungry at any point of the tour 😳

 

Why do you go to far away places?  Food is a much the thing to taste/smell as is seeing is the feast for your eyes.      I guess it comes with some need or desire for a sense of variety and adventure, hard to do if you've not experienced it as a youngster.    We worked hard to do that with our kids, nice to see it pave off as they go of on travels on their own what they choose to see and eat.    We live to fill our sense of sight, smell, taste, yeah touch and hearing come in but the big three IMHO are what make travel so unique.  Food is something that bring people and defines culture rituals in almost all people, terrible to miss this on your travels.

 

But I hear Pizza Hut, Starbucks, McDonalds and KFC can be had almost any major SE city, beware of 7-11 you can find pringles and oreos there but they have more local fare, they are a "LOCAL CONVENIENCE store, more than cater to foreign homesick tourist.  No hotdogs, nachos and bad hamburgers there, LOL

Edited by chipmaster
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14 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

But I hear Pizza Hut, Starbucks, McDonalds and KFC can be had almost any major SE city, beware of 7-11 you can find pringles and oreos there but they have more local fare, they are a "LOCAL CONVENIENCE store, more than cater to foreign homesick tourist.  No hotdogs, nachos and bad hamburgers there, LOL

 

Tea eggs, packaged Phoenix (chicken) feet, sweet pork jerky, curry fishballs on a stick, not hot dogs, but sausages.

 

Some $tarbuck$ will have an extensive pastry selection 😋

Edited by Philob
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5 hours ago, angie7911922 said:

 

thank you! I didnt think about that. Will definitely buy them. Need to do a little research now...😉 that would be so much easier. So even if they poor you a glass of water, you could just filter it. Perfect

 

 

Please check the labels on the filters before you buy.  The portable Brita's for example caution you to only filter municipal tap water because they really do not filter "biologicals" .  You'll need a backpacking filter to handle the bio stuff.

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On 10/9/2019 at 10:17 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious but how easy was it to find American style food in SE Asia? From what I have heard American food is not that predominant in that part of the world. I hope he didn't go hungry at any point of the tour 😳

 

The modern world.

 

SE Asia (and most of the rest of the world) have McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC.   

 

Also some foods are not "American" but typical in the US and around the world.  Things like pizza, Chinese food (American style, not real Chinese food), and pub food (fish and chips and such).

 

There are also other international fast foods that are becoming common, and are somewhat American.  Lotteria is one.

 

And some places that some THINK are American, are actually from somewhere else.  Nando's comes to mind.  Actually started in South Africa.

Edited by SRF
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On 10/12/2019 at 7:15 AM, angie7911922 said:

We do eat ashore. Some cuisines are better enjoyed in the country of origin in my opinion. It might just be the atmosphere.  

 

Of course it is better in the country of origin.  It is the REAL way to make it. 😄

 

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On 10/9/2019 at 10:23 PM, clo said:

And at the end we had this lantern releasing event.  I've thought more than once that he missed that.

image.jpeg.97e50d655e54aa6719adccbbb827bad6.jpeg

 

PS: This was in someone's front yard so not like this.  Maybe 20 lanterns but stunning.

 

Thai "fireworks"

 

I did this at a tourist dinner and show in Chiang Mai.  It was great fun.

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On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 9:10 PM, clo said:

So you're definitely not a port-driven person.  🙂  I've gotten pretty good over the last few years about accepting that we all travel for different reasons.  I've mentioned this before but a few years ago we were on an almost month long escorted tour of SE Asia.  There was a man in our group who wouldn't eat ANY local food.  Not for fear of getting sick.  He just only wanted "American" food.  It was an "aha moment" for me.  Realizing that he was having a great time but for a different reason than some.  PS: I have never used a lounge chair on a ship 🙂

 

I had a similar experience on a land tour we took in Japan. Dinners were typically on our own but often our guide would make recommendations or offer to escort anyone who wanted to come to her favorite local restaurant in the location we were in the day. There was one couple on the tour that was always asking the guide for a recommendation for dinner. Some nights they wanted Italian, some nights pizza, some nights Chinese... but they never ever wanted to try a Japanese restaurant. I found that very odd. But to each their own. For me, local food is part of the travel experience.

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10 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

For me, local food is part of the travel experience.

Me too.  However, I do find eating familiar food to be very comforting when feeling overwhelmed by the travel and/or homesick.  That could have been part of their method of coping with everything else being different.

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24 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

Me too.  However, I do find eating familiar food to be very comforting when feeling overwhelmed by the travel and/or homesick.  That could have been part of their method of coping with everything else being different.

 

Possibly. Although, we have found that eating "familiar" foods in other countries can be an experience in and of itself as they interpret our food. I'm sure Chinese people eating at an American Chinese restaurant feel the same way. We did get tired of constantly experimenting with food on that trip and did go for pizza a couple times. One time crust was essentially a croissant dough and it was drizzled with honey. Delicious, but not exactly what I had in mind ;-).

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17 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Possibly. Although, we have found that eating "familiar" foods in other countries can be an experience in and of itself as they interpret our food. I'm sure Chinese people eating at an American Chinese restaurant feel the same way. We did get tired of constantly experimenting with food on that trip and did go for pizza a couple times. One time crust was essentially a croissant dough and it was drizzled with honey. Delicious, but not exactly what I had in mind ;-).

 

 

True. I know one young lady, who is all about eating in American chains in other countries and comparing the foreign versions to the original. When she went to Italy her facebook page contained about 25 photos of McDonalds and a very lengthy review.  But almost nothing else about the country.

 

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