Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

The recipe for the perfect form of transportation: a nice car, or maybe a scooter, or boat, and if possible bring a chef along. Any way you measure it, transportation is a huge part of traveling, so why not make it memorable. In Laos, Tony finds himself in Wang Prabang, a spiritual hillside community known for its beautiful monuments and places of worship. Elephants are revered in this community, so what better way to show his respect than to ride an elephant through the jungles? In Tony's words, "it feels like your riding on top of a giant scrotum." In Medellin, Colombia, buses are a highly regarded expression of individuality and pride. Here it's a pimp my bus moment, all the time. He takes a ride with chef Andres to the Plaza Minorista for a small breakfast. Little does he know that the Colombian tradition is to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. After devouring nearly all of the fried eggs, rice, empanadas, beans, arepas, and various meats on his plate, he's ready for the day. In Malaysia, Tony meets up with an old friend, David, who has previously shown him around Kuala Lumpur and Borneo. David takes Tony on a fancy gardenia-covered carriage ride through the streets of Panang. Tony feels like he's in Liberace's wedding in the carriage. He is not thrilled, even with a beer in his hand.

Strange, unusual and out-right weird. Tony's appetite is as big as the ocean, and he loves the sea. In Queens, NY, chef David Chang joins Tony at Sik Gaek, home to traditional Korean dishes. They tear through wriggling chopped octopus, piles of steaming seafood, and glasses of Korean beer. In Japan, Tony loses all sense of time in the small town of Noboribetsu Onsen, where he unwinds at a ryokan, a Japanese style bed-and-breakfast. Here, Tony is treated to a robatayaki feast, a fisherman's barbecue of red snapper, scallops, sardines, and crab. He enjoys the comfortable laid-back Hokkaido dining pace as he fills up on fresh seafood and sake. Then Tony travels to Italy's serene Amalfi coast. Local chef Rocco Iannone dives into the sea in the middle of a rainstorm and retrieves a bucketful of fresh sea urchin. After cracking a few open, Tony heads to Rocco's restaurant, Pappacarbone, for another taste of the sea. He dines on two types of local clams cooked in olive oil and parsley, served with spaghetti. Rocco also serves a whole octopus, battered in flour and fried, with a pizzaiola sauce made with red oregano and caciocavallo cheese.

There's nothing like good old-fashioned, heart-pumping action as Tony lives out his adrenaline junkie fantasies. In China, Tony visits the mega-lux Yabuli Ski Resort in the Changbai Mountain Range. Here, he meets Graham Kwan and Patrick Fournier, two executive partners of the resort. Not only does Tony relish the mostly empty slopes, but he also enjoys some Iranian caviar and beer on the gondola ride up the mountain. Luxurious, indeed! On his last run, fortified by alcohol, he takes an exhilarating ride down a luge run on a sled in a blizzard - and comedy, of course, ensues. In Mexico, Tony and Carlos, head chef at Les Halles in NYC, make their way to Carlos' hometown outside Mexico City. Carlos introduces Tony to the traditions surrounding bullfights: parades, street food, liquor, and fans. Then, joined by Carlos' extended family, Tony and Carlos watch as toreros taunt a bull into submission, not exactly Tony's cup of tea. In Australia, Tony finds himself fully suited in scuba gear and inside an aquatic tank, surrounded by 11-foot-long grey nurse sharks. Luckily, Tony's guide and shark expert, Brendan Kelly says these 350-pound beasts with razor sharp teeth are as gentle as little lambs. Sea turtles and stingrays also swim by, but the sharks seem to be the creatures that love to get right in Tony's face.

The most prehistoric method of cooking still proves to be the best. A juicy cut of meat, the open fire, and repeat. In Yabuli, China, Tony is invited by a local man to dine with him and his wife, Shelly, at a popular mobile restaurant. The specialty of this motorbike-powered doublewide is meat. On a stick. They devour steak on a stick, chicken organs on a stick and butterfly larvae on a stick. In Uruguay, Tony learns the true meaning of taking your time to enjoy life. In the tiny village of Garzon, chef Francis Mallman has opened a popular restaurant that specializes in cooking foods over fire. From whole cows roasting next to the open flame, to smoked, salt-crusted pig legs. Then, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Tony and his brother Chris encounter a plethora of grilled meats at Montevideo's Mercado del Puerto. Forget the sides, they want meat, and they want it now. In the Ozarks, Tony and the local band Ha Ha Tonka fire up the barbecue. And what to go better with it than some target practice while they're waiting? After the shootout, they enjoy some bacon-wrapped venison, pork chops and T-bone steaks. Of course, there are the ever-present mashed potatoes, baked beans, and cornbread, with some corn on the cob as well.

Fresh seafood, straight off the boat. "Drop a net in the river and you've got more crabs than a beanbag chair at Tila Tequilas." In Colombia, Tony heads across the channel from Cartagena to Tierra Bomba, an island with a completely different way of life than its bustling urban sister city. The streets are reminiscent of an African village, the people make their living off of the sea. Arnufo, a local lobster fisherman, invites Tony and Jorge to a meal at his mother's restaurant, the only restaurant on the island, complete with lobster that Arnufo caught that morning. Then he jets to Croatia, two decades after its brutal war for independence, which is now touted as The New Riviera.

Lamb brain in red wine sauce; sphincter sausage in Austria; lamb, caveman style in Greece; lamb noodles in NYC.

Shellfish, they're a ripping good time. Tony cracks open a science fiction-sized crab.