Trying to resist street stalls for fear of food poisoning can be torture; especially for a foodie like myself. Everyday you pass by seductive smells of garlic sizzling in woks, perfectly seasoned broth steaming in pots, freshly caught squid barbecuing on skewers, spring rolls crisping in baskets of oil...
It's tempting to think "maybe just this once." After a day of emptying your insides into a squat pot you'll never take the gamble again.
It's a dilemma for travelers that like to have local experiences. That's why XO Tours invented the "foodie tour" where you spend an afternoon being zipped around on motorbike to vetted food stalls all over Saigon.
At around 5:30 p.m. a Vietnamese girl in her twenties swings by your hotel. You hop on the back of her scooter and fly into some of the most infamously chaotic streets in the world.
Your first stop is a noodle soup stand where you congregate with all the other members of the tour. My group was a rowdy bunch with a love of food and a taste for adventure.
Together we explored the entire capital of Vietnam in one night; even stopping in the most dangerous part of the city to eat plates of crab, clams and scallops at a seafood stall our local guides told us we couldn't miss. It was sooooooooooooo good.
That evening I got to try all of the delicacies I had been eyeing for weeks guilt-free. Most importantly, I no longer felt like I would leave Vietnam without getting to experience how the locals live.
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