When I lived in Thailand, eating out was a constant Russian roulette of gore. Chicken’s feet, duck’s blood jelly or BBQ dog; you name the animal and I reckon the Thais have found a way to cook it, curry it or failing that, whack it in a jar to frighten the children.

Same goes for the Vietnamese. I remember a very funny dinner where the ‘brave’ (read: show pony) member of our group ordered a deep-fried rat. He got part of its tiny, tiny jaw stuck in his throat. My rule of thumb is that if it can eat you, you shouldn’t eat it and rats will eat you. I’ve seen the BBC’s version of ’1984′.

In Texas, it’s not so much the ingredients that scare you as the quantities.  For example, I was deeply puzzled by the French toast at The Hyatt. It seemed to be made from molten sugar, texturised butter and something undescribable that could only be the work of the Devil. I had to investigate. Turns out they take a big, thick slice of white bread, butter it on both sides, dip it in sugar, batter it, deep-fry and then dip it in sugar again. So good, and yet, ouch, my chest … gurgleahhh … DOA. This is the same hotel where scrambled eggs come straight out of a carton. Yes, these people are so lazy (or semi-catatonic from carbohydrate overload) that they can nary scramble an ova.

My favourite weird food experience, however, was in Peru. But before I go on, I would like to tell you a little story. Imagine you are a young man growing up in the countryside. Your family has lots of pets, including a large clan of lovingly raised guinea pigs. Now imagine that you are asked to mow the lawn on a ride-on mower but noone tells you that the guinea pigs are free-range that day. Forget Texas Chainsaw; this was the Tamworth Mower Massacre.

What is a terribly sad tale in Australia is an entree in Peru.

A year or so ago, The Future Husband and I were up in the hills near Cusco when we popped into a local village for lunch. This was the kind of place where the locals sell you all kinds of hand-woven, hand-dyed wallhangings made out of alpaca wool and the tears of Shamans. We bought everything in sight and signed up for banquet.

We had a nice sopa, followed by a nice roasted guinea pig on bed of rehydrated potatoes. What was especially nice was the fact that we didn’t have to fight over who got the legs because there was enough to go around.

Tell me, Hungry Caterpillars, what have you eaten that freaked the hell out of you? Stuffed cockroach anyone?

Name:

Age: 29

Occupation: Marketing Manager

Where do you live?: Austin, Texas

Why did you move there?: For love! My gorgeous man Ryan is Texan born and bred.

What do you love about your town/city? The eclectic nature of the city; all sorts for fun, interesting and talented people sharing one common denominator, their chilled out vibe.

What is the most frustrating thing about your town/city?: No Forever 21 store.

What is the predominant faith in your area?:  All forms of Christianity are big in Texas, however Austin is very liberal so every religion is found here.

How does it affect your day-to-day life?: The left-over liquor laws from conservative olden days mean bars close at 2am and no alcohol is sold before noon on Sundays. No mimosas for Sunday brunch then.

Please describe typical local food: BBQ! Texans love their bbq meat…brisket, ribs, pork and anything they can fit in the smoker. Tex-Mex food is also very popular.

Are there any major attractions in your town? If so, what are they?: The biggest visitor attractions are the music festivals. South By South West Music & Film Festival is the largest but Austin City Limits also draws some of the biggest bands in the world every year.

What do the locals do for fun?: Austin is the ‘Live Music Capital of The World’ so seeing live music is king. If not going out then Austinites are very outdoorsy and love to run, boat and play all types of sports.

Any tips or advice for people visiting your area?: Eating out and drinking are awesome here! Enjoy the near-perfect climate, make sure you see some live music and indulge in the local favourite, the Mexican martini (tequila martini).

Now, I would go anywhere, anytime, especially if it’s free, so winning a trip to a city I’d never even heard of sounded like the best thing ever. And it was. Austin is like the sexy love child of Tamworth and Byron Bay, with a little bit of Canberra thrown in for good measure.

Austin is home to South-by-Southwest, one of America’s biggest film, music and ‘interactive’ festivals so it’s from this creative wellspring that the town gets its indie vibe.

I will go into more detail about this down the track but just to get started, here’s what I loved about Austin:

1. Tattoos – Everyone has them and displays them with pride. I was too shy to ask anyone if I could take a photo but believe me when I say even the tattoos are bigger in Texas.
2. Tex Mex – Rice, beans, fajitas, enchilada, burritos; you name it, it will come on a big ass plate with a side of free corn chips and the freshest salsa you have ever tasted.
3. Margaritas – Tequila is the local drink of choice, especially taken in Margarita form. And there’s no nasty pre-mix in these bars; everything is fresh.
4. Mexican Influence – The arts and crafts scene is heavily influenced by their southern neighbours meaning loads of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skeletons, turquoise and silver jewellery, hand woven and embroidered ponchos and trippy hand painted ceramics.
5. Airstream Caravans – Down the southern end of Congress Avenue, you will find a group of 1950’s Airstream caravans that have been converted in food stalls selling all American favourites such as cupcakes, pizza slices and burgers.
6. The people – It sounds clichéd but the people of Austin were some of the friendliest souls I have ever come across. We asked one couple for directions and they actually insisted that they drive us all the way to where we were going. Now that doesn’t happen in Sydney.

Have you ever been to Austin? What did you think?