Stomach-turning meals on a cruise sound more like a trip to the ship’s doctor than a trip of a lifetime, but not when exploring the Mekong River with companies that strive so hard to give guests an immersive journey that they’ll risk offering dining experiences as gross as they are engrossing. From the bug-infested buffet to a tour guide’s disturbing wartime survival story over lunch, a recent river cruise in Southeast Asia proved that at least one vacation company delivers on connecting guests with people, places and cultures from one unforgettable port of call to another. That’s a promise all cruise lines make, but often fall short.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours isn’t one of them. “Welcome to KFC ..
. Khmer Fried Critters,” a cook enthusiastically greeted guests to a lunchtime buffet featuring proteins that if alive and scattering would probably shut the place down for health code violations. The day’s menu introduced the uninitiated to creepy, crawly Cambodian cuisine.
Dim sum steamer baskets brimming over with tarantulas, silkworms, water beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and baby frogs was a tad off-putting even to this guy who has snacked on guinea pig in Peru and cicadas and scorpions on the streets of China. But as they say, when in the land of the Khmer, do as the Khmer do. Those who did, including yours truly, are now ready for a reboot of “Fear Factor.
” Novelty nibbles became food for thought at the next day’s lunch. Between bites of lemongrass c.