Stinky Tofu Poisoning

Yesterday was the first day of Chinese New Year! The city was all lit up, especially around Lotus Pond, which I arrived to explore as the sun was setting. Along the road, hundreds of stalls were set up selling mostly food, but also toys and trinkets. I made the mistake of sampling a few things I'd seen around Taiwan. Or it could have been the Stinky Tofu.

In many parts of Taiwan, a certain smell seeps through the city streets. At first, being a westerner, I thought it was raw sewage. It turns out it's Stinky Tofu.

Stinky Tofu is not what it's really called (I hope). But it does in fact smell like shit. I'm not exercising creative license. I wish I were. It seems to be a very popular dish and thus permeates most cities in Taiwan, or at least that's been my experience thus far.

Determined to emerse myself in culture, I ordered some from a vendor last night. I should have trusted my instinct, or at the very least, my nose.

Lesson learned. I woke up this morning with food poisoning - The dreaded scourge of the international traveller. It's not the worse case I've ever had, but it's bad enough to keep me in bed, or hugging the toilet.