6. All Food Is Amazing These are the things that create vivid memories: dining in Michelin-starred establishments, going off the beaten path to the place where the best fried noodles are made, enrolling in an authentic cooking school in Tuscany, or even daring to eat a deep-fried cricket from a market in Cambodia. Additionally, you will miss out on a significant portion of the journey if you do not seek out food.
Since our first trip to South Africa, we have made it a point to choose our destinations with the intention of discovering new culinary hotspots. We select destinations in order to broaden our understanding of and appreciation for a nation’s history, architecture, and cuisine. Our travels have been greatly affected as a result.
7. Wineries While researching the area, we discovered that many wineries also had world-class restaurants. It became clear that if we didn’t check out the burgeoning food scene, we would be missing half the experience. So we reserved a spot at top cafés with wine-matching menus, and experienced food sources we’d never attempted, similar to wild game and ostrich.
We learned about popular grape varieties like Pinotage, which is the foundation of South African wine, and how many different cultures have influenced South Africa’s contemporary cuisine. I gained a new appreciation for the power of food after that trip.
South African Cuisine Why Turkey’s simit with Kaymak (Water Buffalo clotted cream) and honey is a must-try. Like many other countries around the world, South African cuisine is a mashup of numerous subcultures. We wouldn’t have learned so much about the country’s vast and dynamic culture from the food if we had only gone to South Africa to see elephants, which are absolutely amazing. We could have read about the history that brought these cultures together in a textbook, but we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience it firsthand and take away all of those priceless memories.
Food Enhances Travel Experience Can’t we all agree that intentionally including food in your travels will greatly enhance your experience now that I’ve provided you with enough drool-worthy images of international cuisine?
Just knowing that we are not restricted to the restaurants and gourmet food markets of our own cities is reason enough for me to get excited about traveling if you are a foodie like I am. A flight or a drive away will take you to a world of delectable foods that beckon you to try.
And even if you don’t like food, you have to eat, right? So why not eat a bit, become familiar with a tad and bring back home the extras?