I just don't want to look back and think " I could have eaten that!"

I am a foodie personified. Food has been at the core of my soul and being for a very long time now. Eating out, cooking, entertaining, smelling, seeing, reading learning; all of the above.

At the top of my list is eating out, which is possibly one of my favorite things to do, with entertaining a close second.

One question I get asked most often is “ Don’t you find that you criticize other people’s food that you eat?” My answer being “ Yes of course, if you’re paying good money for it.”

It’s relative, but expensive doesn’t always mean the best though.

I bet some of the most expensive dishes in the whole of Asia are probably the dishes that alot of people in the west would consider repulsive. Live shrimps are a big thing at the moment called ‘Goong Ten’ in Thai, which translates to ‘dancing shrimps’. In China and Japan, there’s restaurants that serve semi-prepared whole fish, which is still breathing on the plate. A traditional method still popular today is fermented foods.

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And into the wilds of the North I go, to grow stronger than I already know.

I’d made some great progress with my cycling en route to Udon Thani and felt my body and muscles were adjusting to the to the strains and tests of up hill and hard cycling, so having so much time off the saddle had made me think that I’d be starting again. Muscle memory is a wonderfully clever thing, but after only 2 weeks of cycling, I not sure short-term muscle memory applies the same principles, but I was just about to find out.

After spending 10 long days in Vientiane, it was finally d-day and time to put the rest and physio to the test. I’d planned an easy and flat 25km for the day to make sure I was fit enough to continue further North and still within reach of modern facilities should my achilles prove terminal.

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Thank you Thailand, you’ve been ace, Welcome to Laos, a slower pace.

I had arrived in Udon Thani on Christmas day with a bit of a sore achilles, and after 8 days rest, it was then onto Nong Khai on the 2nd January. Another 2 days later and with 12 days rest in total, my achilles was feeling better, having taken Surly Temple out for a little spin the day before. I’d planned to head to Vientiane, Laos, on the 4th January, as I had to be out of Thailand soon due to my visa expiring on the 6th.

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Agony, ecstasy and everything in-between

You know those days the when you wake up in the morning and you just feel excited about the day ahead? I feel like that every day. Each day I wake and I’m excited about the challenge ahead; a new lesson, a new experience another way of doing or thinking something better.

My reading and metal training has been the biggest influence in that, but the gym has been a catalyst also. Since hitting the gym fairly religiously every morning, I wake with that feeling. Earlier in the year it was 05.00am, later in the year 6.30am am, but each time I’d wake excited with the day ahead with the gym being the first port of call. Endorphins really are best served in the morning I think.

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Getting acquainted with Surly Temple

Chiang Mai had touched a part of my soul and had been the perfect introduction to Thailand but the time had come to say adieu.

I’d ridden Surly Temple the day before for 6km around Chiang Mai which was a very quick introduction to each other. She was completely naked, so it wasn't really a true reflection of what was to come. With a 05.30 alarm set, bags packed, I couldn’t wait to get this adventure underway.

I’d stupidly left my bank card in Triple Cats Bike Shop when collecting my bike the day before which both Nu and Michael had kindly informed me of, so after an early rise at 05.30 to load up Surly Temple for the first time which took a while, then locking myself out of my room, I had a quick detour in the opposite direction to where we were going.

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A big “Sawatdee Krap” from Thailand

It was back in March 2017, the 27th to be exact, that I was sat on the London underground on my way back from a meeting at Rhubarb Catering. Sat at the end of a carriage looking down the length, music in my ears but nothing else going on inside me except a hollow feeling.“I can’t do this, I can’t be here right now” I thought to myself. At that moment, I made the decision that I was going to go away and that it was going to be extraordinary.

9 month’s on and I’m currently writing this sat in a Thai café in the middle of Chiang Mai. My emotions are swelling as I think about it and I can feel tears of pride brewing in my eyes. The past 12-24 months have been HEAVY, as has the past week; it’s been a whirlwind.

I flew Wednesday 6th December and stayed at my folks after a final family dinner for the last night in the UK and headed to the airport first thing in the morning with my parents and everything I think I needed for the adventure of a lifetime.

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A taste of things to come...

As a chef, but more importantly as a foodie, my career has been varied. I’ve worked in excellent restaurants, toured with Pink as her touring chef and invited to tour with Green Day on their world tour. I’ve catered for the Beckham's, worked in Switzerland and was the catering venue manager at the London 2012 Olympics for the aquatics water park, to name a few. Beyond this, I’ve immersed my self in the world of food and developed a vast knowledge.

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The how’s, the why’s the where’s, the I’s….

Hello and welcome to Andy-ETC ExploreTasteCreate. If you’re reading this, then you have an interest in food and travel, just like me and you are in the perfect place!

The first post is always a tricky one, apparently, but I’ve got a little story to tell and an adventure to follow and I’m just going to tell it as it is.

Now, this is a pretty honest opening paragraph and to be frank, all of my blog post’s are going to be honest and fun, except maybe this one! :)

This opening post is going to touch briefly on my past year, however, from this post onwards, it will be about the food, the countries, recipes, cultures, people, places, tastes, smells and adventure, so don’t think it’s going to be about heartbreak and tears, because that ship has long sailed my friends!

The Story and I

So this journey started on the 4th January 2017 and it didn't start well.

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