Travelling is often about trying the unusual and attempting to experience different cultures. One of the best ways to do this is to try out the foods locals eat, the flavours that define them and the traditions their cooking adheres to.

Also read: 5 must-have food items to boost your immunity

 Here are some weird
food items you can try from around the world:

Fried tarantulas,
Cambodia:

They’re not tiny little house spiders, they’re great big
tarantulas and you can buy them from street vendors in Skuon, Cambodia. They’re
fried whole – legs, fangs and all.

They were first discovered to be edible by
starving Cambodians. They’re crispy on the outside with a gooey body on the
inside with a flavor resembling cricket or chicken.

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Birds Nest Soup,
China:

Chinese use Swifts’ nests to make this soup, known as the
‘Caviar of the East. According to traditional Chinese medicine, it promotes
good health, especially for the skin. The nests have been used in Chinese
cuisine for over 400 years. The soup’s believed to have nutritious protein
content.

Also read: Hungry and broke? Here’s a list of Indian food items you can buy for Rs 20 or less

Live Octopus, Korea:

Sannakji is a raw dish consisting of live octopus typical in
Korea. Live octopus is cut into pieces, lightly seasoned with sesame oil, and
served immediately, the tentacles still squirming on the plate.

The octopuses
are most commonly killed before being cut into small pieces and served, with
the nerve activity in the octopus’ tentacles making the pieces move on the
plate when served.

Also read: Never! Food items you should not combine with tea

White ant eggs soup,
Laos:

One of the world’s more unusual soups, Laos’ combines a
mixture of ant eggs and partial embryos from the white ant, plus a few baby
ants to add sourness.

Herbs and other additives are added later to suit a
particular recipe when it is being made, the soup has a soft texture and is
eaten with a spoon. It also has a sweet, aromatic flavor.

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Fertilized eggs, The
Philippines:

Balut is a Filipino term for a fertilized developing egg
embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. It is commonly sold as street
food in South China and Southeast Asian countries: notably Cambodia and
Vietnam.

In Filipino culture, Balut is almost as popular as the hot dog in
America. The way to eat Balut is to crack open the egg, sip the broth and then
eat the yolk and foetus.