Video of Eating Spiders in Cambodia

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s been far too long since we’ve posted about bizarre foreign street food here at Gadling and therefore I was pleased to discover a cool little video over on the Telegraph (UK) website.

Telegraph online editor Francisca Kellett was traveling through northern Cambodia when she got wind of the local specialty: fried spiders. Apparently locals took to eating spiders during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime when little food was available. Over time, this emergency sustenance has actually become a well-loved treat in Cambodia and locals merrily consume the spiders as though they are candy.

Like any travel reporter worth their salt, Kellett braved up and plucked the legs from one of these deep-fried beasts and popped it into her mouth. Crunchy and garlicky were the first words out of her mouth. But, see for yourself by clicking there. Mmm…..

(Photo by Sari78, Flickr)

500 Amazing Pictures of Southeast Asia

by Willy Volk on

Timen Swijtink recently launched an excellent website called in my All Stars, a site dedicated to exploring “experience traveling.”

During the summer of 2006, Swijtink spent 10 weeks “experience traveling” through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Over the past 2 months, he’s been sorting through the 6000 photos he took and assembling them into a book. Unfortunately, he only printed 3 copies of the book — one for his mom; one for showing people; and one for posterity. For the rest of us, Swijtink has made his book available for free in PDF format.

Swijtink’s book is an excellent cultural immersion in a part of the world that’s still somewhat mysterious. Filled with his 500 best images of people, sunsets, street vendors, cityscapes, and vistas, the book is an extraordinary look at a part of the world many people have yet to visit. I highly recommend downloading and looking through the book. It’s incredible.

Photo of the Day (3/1/07)

by Neil Woodburn on

There ought to be a whole photo gallery featuring nothing but monks using modern technology. I can’t tell you the number of times someone thought it necessary to snap a photo of a monk talking on a cell phone and then share it with the world. This is the first I’ve seen, however, of monks shooting themselves with a camera. What really makes the photo, however, is the wonderful orange of their tunics contrasting against the misty browns of Angkor Wat. The contrast is so startling it looks as though they’ve been artificially dropped into the photograph. I love it.

Congrats go out once again to LadyExpat who photographed monks photographing themselves and did a fantastic job of it.

Seat Belts Not Necessary: Five Videos of Terrifying Traffic

by Justin Glow on

I’m in a video mood today. I spent the last hour or so going through YouTube and rounding up some of the best videos of bizarre traffic situations from around the world. And YouTube has a ton, let me tell you. Many of the clips brought back teeth-rattling memories from my recent trip to India, and I found myself flashing back to those times I traveled by rickshaw, unsure of whether or not I would arrive to my destination in one piece. I did, luckily, but not without some mental scarring.

With that, I give you the five fabulous videos, in no particular order:


Here’s a good night shot of Cairo traffic. No sort of rules — just use the horn as much as possible. I like it.

For the rest, please …

This one from Taipei isn’t that impressive in terms of traffic, but the guy holding the camera is a hoot! “Look at those crazy scooters, man! They’re nuts! Your scooters are crazy!”

Watch these people negotiate their way through Saigon traffic on foot. Amazing.

This one is especially great, and if you’ve been to India, you’ll know why. Even when things appear to be calm — if only for a few seconds — there’s always bound to be a few cars blowing their horns and coming within inches of running you over. I miss that place.

And finally, a short one from Cambodia. Poor dude on a trike gets hassled by a cop — it’s a good thing he can reverse in that thing!

TWINF Panoramic Photos

by Adrienne Wilson on


Erik is usually the one to spread word on panos worth checking out and while I probably should have let him do the honors for this set found on The World is Not Flat (TWINF), I couldn’t resist pointing you to them myself. This shot taken on a rooftop in Singapore grabbed me because of the lime green color lining the building in the background along with the reds, lighter left side and darker right. The bottom photo taken at Angkor Wat speaks for itself – incredible. Other breathtaking shots from New Zealand, India, Thailand, Laos, Hong Kong, Portugal, Spain and Utah are all there to go awe over. Go sit in awe now. Go and wish you had been there too.