Eatings bugs in Thailand

Eating Bugs in Thailand

Kyle, a family-friend is over from the UK and I've been trying my best to give him the 'full Thai experience' (minus the ladyboys.) There's a really cool night market here called 'Runway Market' they have a real Boeing 747 as centre stage, you can eat beneath the fuselage, wings, touch the tires, it's pretty damn cool. But like most places here in Thailand, they sell bugs.

Disclaimer, I have eaten bugs in the past and it definitely isn't something I had on my 2026 bingo card but here I was, staring down crickets being baited by Kyle 'If you do it, I will too." Obviously, the pressure got to me and soon we were gobbling down a variety of bugs like there's no tomorrow. We even went back for seconds....

Is it Actually a Tourist Thing?

Yes, and no. In tourist markets, the bug stalls are 100% built for 'farang' (foreigners.) bugs are layout like a museum exhibition for pure entertainment and if you see scorpions on sticks, they're NOT eaten by locals.

However, let's bite into the juicy part, there's a region in Thailand called Isaan and bugs are eaten as snacks and it's not just a trend. It's been around long before backpackers existed, Isaan people started eating bugs because that's what was available. It was a need, not necessarily a want (even if they do enjoy them.)

Isaan is the poorest region in Thailand, mostly farmland and back in the day meat wasn't flying' off shelves (pun intended) Cows were valued, chickens were for eggs and supermarkets just didn't exist. But what was everywhere? Crickets, grasshoppers, cicadas, silkworms, bamboo worms. Fields literally crawled with protein.

People picked them, salted them and boom... a new snack was invented.

Is it still cultural today?

• Bangkok - tourist entertainment
• Khao San Road - pure instagram bait
• Isaan - still normal daily food
• Northeastern towns - You'll find bags of bugs the same way you'd see peanuts

How Much do they Cost?

In local areas, a small bag of "ladle" will set you back around 20-30 baht but in tourist areas you can be sure the price will rise to over 100 baht per bag, scorpions can cost 150 baht or more and tarantulas can be 200/250 baht or more.

Interestingly, these days bugs are farmed more than they're picked. This is due to a few factors: wild bugs are reliable, you need a large supply to feed a night market. It's safer, they're cheap to farm and tourists don't care where they come from, they just want a photo.