Travel is the best way to push your palate to the limit and try the interesting, strange, and wonderful food that you might otherwise never get a chance to experience. Keep in mind that the food in question doesn’t have to be strange in the gross-out kind of way. It can simply be strange because it’s new and unusual to you.

Experiencing food around the world is reason enough to hop on a plane. But when you’re not traveling, you can still globetrot via the table. Instead of heading out for another burger, why not look for a Peruvian, Ethiopian, or Malaysian restaurant instead. Sure you’ll be close to home, but your mouth will be on the other side of the planet.

If going out to eat isn’t in the cards, why not look up a new recipe and cook at home. Gathering the ingredients and preparing the meal could be just as fun as eating it. Side note: if I had a girlfriend this would be an awesome ‘date night’ idea if I don’t say so myself. Annnyway, to get you started, here’s the world cuisine section of AllRecipes.com.

Now I want to know:

• What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten while traveling? I’ll give you major travel warrior props.
• What about your favorite ethnic restaurant in your city? I always like a good restaurant recommendation.

View this photo on my Tumblr.

I took the photo above while walking though a market in Bangkok, Thailand where I tried lots of strange fruits. It’s of a sliced durian (a fruit renowned for its stomach-churning odor and formidable thron-covered husk). Yum.