Food plays such a huge part in Thai culture, it’s more than just a meal, it’s a time for friends and families to cook, eat and spend time together.

It provides a livelihood for so many:

Village famers

Cooks

Street food vendors

The lady on the foothpath selling bags of limes and chillies!

Street food can be found anywhere at any time on food carts, motorbike BBQ’s, smoothie stands, tropical fruit carts, ice cream bicycles, foot path restaurants… the list goes on!

All the food I’ve eaten from these places has been 100% safe to eat and more delicious than the hotel restaurant! (Sorry to my Doctor back home in Geelong!)

While having so many options may seem overwhelming, a lot of stall holders are able to tell you the English name of what they’re selling. If not, point, smile and enjoy what you’re served – it’s more than likely going to be delicious!

These are my top 5 street meals:

BBQ fish

Salt crusted fresh whole fish (similar to snapper) stuffed with herbs and BBQ’d to perfection!

These fish come with noodles, lettuce and a hot pungent sauce (think lime, fresh herbs, chilli and garlic).

Take a lettuce leaf in your hand to form a cup, fill with fish, noodles and sauce then roll – it can get messy.

Expect to pay up to $10 for 1 fish with all the accompaniments (pricey for street food, but worth it).

**Don’t be put off by the look of these fish, they are my absolute favourite! Please don’t be afraid to try it!!

Pork leg on rice

Pork is king in Thailand, and this simple dish is an absolute winner.

The pork has been slowly braised in a delicious broth (soy, garlic and herbs) until juicy and tender then is served on rice with fresh herbs.

A large pile of the stewed pork can be seen at the front of the shop to help you know you’ve found the right place – it’s a great reason to stop and have a quick plate!

This costs between $2 and $4 depending if your dish comes with boiled egg or not.

Mango Sticky Rice

Street dessert! Mango’s are abundant here and enjoyed in salads, smoothies or the classic “mango sticky rice”.

Rice cooked with sweetened coconut milk is matched with fresh mango, a creamy coconut/pandan sauce and crunchy mung beans (don’t be put off by the name, they’re just like crushed peanuts!).

This simple dessert is creamy, sweet and fresh and is a reason itself for coming to Thailand!

Chicken/pork skewers

After a quick snack? BBQ skewers can be easily found in stalls or on the back of a motorbike BBQ.

Sticky grilled pork or chicken with a soy based glaze are a delicious snack for $0.50C to $1 each.

Chicken noodle soup

Similar to “pho”, this delicious soup is a staple in a Thai and expat diet!

For $2, you get a bowl of noodles, tender chicken and broth made with daikon (Asian white radish) bought to your table. Also available with duck! Yum!

At the table, you can customise your bowl with a choice of fresh ingredients:

Thai basil

Bean shoots

Boiled eggs

Lotus root

Cabbage

Snake beans (Similar to green beans)

Then add your seasonings:

Fish sauce

Sugar

Peanuts

Chilli (in 3 different varieties: dry flakes, wet flakes and chilli vinegar)

If you’re not sure what to add, just watch a local!

This lunch follows the rule of thai cooking by including something sweet (sugar), salty (fish sauce) and hot (chilli).

It’s fresh, flavoursome and a steal at $2 per bowl.

Once you’ve enjoyed your street meal, leave your empty plate and cutlery (spoon and fork) on the table and let the cook know you enjoyed it by saying“aroy mak!” (arr-roy muck)– it gets a smile every time.

The post Bangkok Street Food – By Mosaic correspondent Holly Richardson appeared first on Mosaic Travel.

These were the endearing sentiments of my husband’s Baba (now passed) when she first met me. Of course, I didn’t understand it at the time because I didn’t speak Croatian and she didn’t speak English but it was later translated and will be a sentence that stays with me forever.

Five years later and at times, it feels as though there is no other explanation for it. I look around and am still struck by the natural beauty of Croatia; the climate, history, tradition and culture… it all still has me spellbound. And now, I get to share my love and passion with guests sailing up and down the Dalmatian coast. So, how did a kiwi come to live and work on a yacht in Croatia?

I first came to Croatia almost six years ago, I had just finished a 2-year stint in London and my soul was in need of sunshine, freedom and adventure. I knew nothing about Croatia at the time, I had only seen a few dreamy pictures from my friends who had been sailing in Croatia and that was enough.

After travelling around Europe, through a series of coincidences, I ended up working on a boat in Croatia as a tour guide for young aussie and kiwi travellers.

I instantly fell in love with the country, something about it made me feel home. While the turquoise waters and coastline held me captivated, it was the people more than anything who really made me feel welcome. Once I got to know the locals, it didn’t take long before they all started telling me that I was Dalmatian at heart, that I would find love and end up moving to Croatia. I figured this was just a line they used on all of the young, enthusiastic travellers but it turns out, they were right.

This is where the story gets a little cliché, I met Mirko – my now husband, on a boat in Croatia. Not just any boat either, it was a replica pirate ship! To cut a long story short, Mirko and I got together (in my second summer in Croatia); then I moved to Australia for work but inevitably booked a one-way ticket back to Croatia and married my man of the Adriatic.

Since then, we have been working on luxury yachts together, Mirko as the Captain and I work as the hostess. A lot of people think it is a dream to be living and working together on a yacht but I will say this now, working with your partner, in a small confined space is not for everyone. Restaurants taught me a lot of valuable lessons but no matter how difficult, at the end of the day, you still get to go home to your own space. Not so on a yacht. You cannot fake working in this industry, living and working in the same space can be intense, so you really need to be in it for the right reasons and love what you do. Thankfully, we do.

Sailing and the sea has been Mirko’s passion for more than a decade; he loves raising the sails and showing people his country. As well as being the Captain, Mirko is also a – carpenter, electrician, plumber… all of these traits come in extremely handy when you live and work on a boat for 4 – 5 months. My background is in hospitality, for the better part of a decade, I worked in and managed restaurants in NZ, Australia and London. This passion for hospitality, gastronomy and more importantly – people, was the perfect foundation for life on a boat.

I may sound biased when I say this – but after working on yachts in Croatia for a few years now, I can hand-to-my-heart say that when you are booking a sailing holiday, the crew are one of the most important factors. Think about it for a second, you could book the most beautiful yacht but if the crew are incompetent or even just that bit miserable, it will impact on the energy of your holiday. For better or worse, the crew become a part of your travel memories. I have been lucky enough to work among some fantastic crews and it was something that our guests always commented on.

This year, Mirko and I are moving away from luxury cruising vessels and are instead managing and crewing (just the 2 of us) a gorgeous, classic 72-foot sailing yacht. Mirko is thrilled because it means he will be able to hoist the sails a lot more than in previous years and I am excited for the clientele I believe this yacht will attract. While luxury cruising was all good and well, we both have so much passion for Croatia that we want to share with our guests – rather than just ‘serving’.

Croatia has a rich history and culture, the food and wine scene is only just being discovered and for those who want adventure or to get ‘off-the-beaten-path’, we know exactly where to take you. I think this is the beauty of being a foreigner in this role and why Mirko and I make such a great team. For me, the awe of how special Croatia is hasn’t worn off, I see this in our guests and get to guide them through their experience, all while understanding an international traveller’s expectations. Whereas Mirko is from Croatia, he knows the coastline like the back of his hands and can share genuine experiences of growing up here.

Our motto is “SEA it different”; we want our guests to have a beautiful, relaxed sailing holiday but we also pride ourselves on customising our itineraries to match our guests’ interests and expectations while showing them ‘our’ Croatia – rather than a copy-paste tour.

Like I said, the job itself can be challenging but waking up on the water, in a new destination every day and showing people around a country that we both love, really is a dream job to me, to us. We are already excited for the summer sailing season ahead and cannot wait to create new memories for our guests. See you in Croatia!

If you’re interested in joining Tash and Mirko in Croatia, or have any questions about sailing in Croatia, get in touch with us on (03) 8609 7499 or send an email to rosie@mosaictravel.com.au

The post How did a Kiwi come to live and work on a yacht in Croatia? appeared first on Mosaic Travel.

For me, There isn’t anything much better than treating yourself to a meal in a foreign country. Perhaps ordering something you’ve read about in the guide books, or taking a local’s recommendation, or even just pointing to something at the menu and seeing what they bring to you!

Simple things seem to taste better as the quality of the ingredients are different to what we’re used to. I couldn’t believe how delicious a plain pesto pasta tasted in Italy! Other dishes are jam-packed full of intricate flavours that you know you’d never be able to recreate at home.

One other great thing about food overseas – you’ve (hopefully) left your diet behind because everyone knows calories don’t count while you’re overseas!

Here are my top 5 local foodie experiences I’ve had overseas:

Local pancakes, Hoi An, Vietnam

My sister and I were told about this ‘restaurant’ by our local Guide. When we sat down on our plastic chairs in a shabby courtyard, we were immediately handed food. As it turns out, they only offer one thing, a fixed menu, which is fantastic as it eliminates all decision-making! Piles and piles of food were placed in front of us – spring rolls, pork skewers, local savory pancakes, plus a mountain of crisp lettuce cups and fresh, fragrant herbs. We got through it all, washed down with a local beer, and as we finished, the waitress presented us with a chocolate ‘yogo’ each – dessert! It was daggy, cheap but absolutely delicious.

Peka, Croatia

On our Mosaic tours to Croatia, I take guests into the countryside on Hvar island for the day. After stopping to look at the picturesque vistas, the famous lavender, and wild herbs, we visit my friends the Dubocovic family, who own a small restaurant and winery in a village. Mr Dubocovic cooks the same thing each year for us, Peka. Peka in Croatian means ‘under the bell.’ It is slow-cooked lamb and potatoes cooked on a wood fire, covered with an iron ‘bell.’ We eat in their garden overlooking rolling hills, and tasting their home-made wine.
It’s so simple, but the quality of the ingredients, the surroundings and the friendliness of the Dubocovic family make it unforgettable!

Crickets, Cambodia

This one was a dare! Walking through the vibrant, colourful night markets of Siem Reap, I saw a cart selling deep-fried bugs. They offered everything, from garden-variety crickets, to cockroaches, small spiders to big, hairy tarantulas!
In order to prove myself an intrepid traveller, I bought a bag full of crickets to munch on. They were quite nice, crunchy and tasting of salt, oil and garlic. The only thing that stopped me eating more than one was the texture, and getting those long antennae stuck in your teeth!

Midye dolma, Turkey

The best ones are found by the Galata Bridge, and in ‘fish market street’ Beyoglu, both in Istanbul. They’re mussels stuffed with spiced rice. They’re plump, juicy, delicate and full of intricate flavour. The best way to eat them is straight from the shell, while standing up next to the midye dolma cart. When you’re finished, the midye dolmaci (the seller) will count your empty shells and charge you (about 50 cents per mussel) accordingly.

Portuguese Tart, Portugal

I wasn’t all that exciting about trying this custard delicacy when I visited Portugal the first time. But of course, being such a famous dessert, we were all given one by our tour guide after a morning walking tour of Lisbon. Wow! It was the smell that sucked me in first – still slightly warm, buttery, with a light hint of cinnamon. Then the first bite was magic. The pastry made a perfect ‘crunch’ sound like in the movies, and as you bit through the flakiness, you arrived the soft, sweet custard inside. Just heaven! (And remember, calories don’t count when you’re on holiday)

What’s your favourite local foodie experience?

The post My top 5 local foodie experiences overseas appeared first on Mosaic Travel.

So I thought I’d compile, and share with you my top 5 questions you should be asking your Travel Agent, to make sure you get the best travel experience possible.

1. Are you licensed?

The Travel Industry is deregulated now, meaning anyone can set up shop. For your peace of mind, ask if the Agency is a member of AFTA (Australian Federation of Travel Agents) and is ATAS (AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme) accredited. This means that your hard-earned money is protected should anything go wrong.

2. Where have you travelled?

I personally think that the best Travel Agents are those who have travelled a lot themselves. If the Travel Agent has been to the destination you’re travelling to, that is ideal! But even if they haven’t, it’s reassuring to know that your Travel Agent is well-travelled, so knows what it’s all about. Although we try our hardest, we can’t travel everywhere, but good Travel Agents keep abreast of destination, tour and hotel knowledge with regular information sessions, hosted by tourism boards. Good Travel Agents are well-connected, so if they don’t personally know the answer to your travel question, they can get it from a destination expert.
3. What do you recommend?

Some clients like to do their research for their own holidays and come to a Travel Agent with a list of things for them to book. This is good, however I recommend at least asking the Travel Agent if they have any other suggestions to add, as they could know a gem of a hotel, or an must-do walking tour that you may have otherwise missed out on!

4. What happens if I need assistance after hours?

Make sure to ask who they should contact while they’re away, in case of an emergency, and if this phone is manned 24/7, so you’re not stranded overseas. It’s also handy to ask if the Travel Agent is available after business hours.

5. Can you please mark me as a VIP?

Yes it sounds a bit crass, but it’s worth it! Good Travel Agents will treat all their clients as their VIPs – this can mean exclusive offers, added extras, complimentary goodies, or maybe even an upgrade!

If you’re looking for a Travel Agent who ticks all the boxes, pick me! Give me a call on (03) 8609 7499 or send me an email on rosie@mosaictravel.com.au

The post 5 questions you should be asking your Travel Agent appeared first on Mosaic Travel.