Thai Street Food in Images

Photos of the stunning street food to be found all over Thailand, and how not to get arrested if you are a smoker.

After a 16 hour journey, tired and weary, I arrived in Bangkok and was promptly arrested. My desperation to ease a rather gnawing nicotine craving, was about get me some serious heat. After looking for an ashtray and just seeing butts in the gutter, I cast mine aside and hurried along.

In a perfect pincer movement not 3 seconds later I was pulled away by two armed Thai policemen, quite unaware where I was being taken, or what was going on. I was taken into an underpass hidden out of sight and was sat at a rather convenient table.

It took 5 minutes to find out what the hell I had done wrong, while various phone calls were being made by them specifically to freak me out. It worked a treat, and it soon became clear that I had gotten into some trouble that I was not going to get out of with a simple sorry.

I was informed I had been arrested for having committed the most heinous of crimes, that of smoking without due care and attention and having the gall to litter. I was shown a bit of paper in English explaining the punishment. I thought he must have given me the wrong card, one for something like bank robbery or shooting someone in the head. It said the maximum fine was 20,000 baht with a 2 year prison sentence thrown in for good measure. I didn't know how much 20,000 baht was but certainly knew that i didn't have it, and although Ive never been in a Thai jail I had a feeling that it would be none to pleasant.

When he showed me the next card it was somewhat of a relief, as i could just pay a 2000 baht fine ($50) in unmarked bills, and all of this nonsense could be made to go away. They were willing to cut me a deal, and that was the best it was gonna get. Unfortunately I didn't have 2000 baht.

Fortunately he was willing to cut another deal. Since he couldn't hand in a part paid fine, he would agree to forget about the whole matter and not report it. But only to save me from a terrible fate, plus all the paperwork from handing in a fine. He made a phone call which apparently sealed the deal and I was a free man once more and he was a little wealthier.

With not insignificant adrenaline still coursing through my body, I was ready to take on the city with new found vigor, and find some serious Thai food to fill the hole in my stomach.

This hub is of some of the best food I had whilst over in Thailand, and some of the more weird and wonderful foods I saw on my travels. The best dishes I have ever had have certainly been in Thailand, and I would go back to Thailand for the food alone. Although next time I would take greater care when smoking.

Some of the food is probably not to your taste, but the locals seem to like it enough so maybe they are onto something.

OK, so deep fried bugs are not everyone's cup of tea, but fortunately there is plenty else to try, which is far better tasting and doesn't get stuck in your teeth. Here are some of the tasty things I tried on the recent trip. The following dishes were absolutely spectacular, fiercely hot, and incredibly fresh and tasty.

A walk through Chinatown is an amazing experience. As you thread your way through the bustling streets, with barely enough room for two people to walk, you have endless shops on either side selling all manner of goods.

Whatever you want you, it is sold here, but finding it can be another matter entirely. Its incredibly confusing, but its all part of the fun.

As you walk down the lanes you'll be passed by food vendors offering the weird and the wonderful, with small food stalls operated by workers at breakneck speed. Its fun, its frantic and incredibly cheap, and most snacks will cost you just 20 baht. (64 cents)

No matter where you go, you are sure to find a street stall selling its own particular variety of beef noodle soup. Every stall seems to have its own take on this dish, and I have not found two that taste exactly alike. If I was only ever to eat one dish again, this would be it. It tends not to be really hot, and you add your own heat with chopped chills, pickled chillies or chilli flakes, and can usually finish off the dish to your own tastes at the table, by adding more herbs and seasonings. It should cost you between 30 and 40 Baht a bowl ( a little over a dollar)

Usually you will be served a "western" version of food, as the Thais know that when it comes to eating chilli, the rest of the world are downright amateurs. As a self confessed chilli addict, I was determined to get the real thing so I asked for my green payaya salad how the locals would have it.

The green bits in this are not the papaya, but whole Thai chillis of which there are loads.To say this was hot is not really doing the salad justice It was incredibly tasty but it was unbearably hot. How anyone can it it like that is beyond me!

There is nothing better to eat when lazing on a Thai beach, that a fish cooked in salt straight out of the sea. You cant possible get any fresher than this. Its delicious, delicate and beautiuful on its own, just add as much chilli as you think you can handle.

Many street stalls can knock up a quick stir fry to order. Just point at what you want to go in it. This is a incredibly quick beef and vegetable stir-fry and it was delicious. Cost - 40 baht ($1.28)

A Thai favorite, but one that proved very difficult to find. I think it must be more of a home dish that one to eat out.

Eat a little often in Thailand and you will get to really appreciate the full range of flavors, and be a little adventurous with what you eat. Stop short of the bugs if you like but be sure to try some things that you could never get anywhere else, I'm sure you'll love them.