T-5 Days: Small Time Spies

Listening: I'm a failure at heart, but it seems I succeed when my heart feels the need to be helpful. It doesn't happen much and as a result, it's a rare thing.
What's my problem? Not being organized enough

You know in spy movies when a spy is on the run and he needs to make a break for the border? You know how he opens a drawer and pulls out five different passports and several different currencies? Well, I have one passport and several different currencies. Just five minutes ago, I opened up my secret spot that holds several envelopes and pouches. After sifting through the contents, I pulled out my Hong Kong and my Thai currencies for my trip. That's right. I have multiple currencies at hand. Yes, it's true that some of those said currencies no longer hold any value (Czech Krounas), and some countries' currencies hold very little value (Cambodian Riel), but I hold onto them for the hell of it.

I realize that it's not much, but some of these currencies are going to be enough to buy me snacks at airports in Hong Kong and Bangkok, two places that I will probably be going through during this trip (unless I decide to ditch the familiarity of Bangkok for the possibilities of Kuala Lumpur). So, I currently have 210HKD ($27.07 USD) and 220THB ($7.35 USD). See. Small time spy stuff. A real spy would at least have a thousand US dollars of each.

Anyhow, I have almost everything taken care of for my departure. My visa was a bit of an ordeal. See, I went down to New York City on Thursday to submit my passport to get my Chinese visa. I opted for the expedited service so that I could pick it up on Friday so I could come back to Boston on Saturday. It didn't work out so well. See, on the website, I recalled that the office was open from nine in the morning until half past noon, and then again from half past one until five in the evening. So, when they told me to pick the visa up on Friday after two in the afternoon, I thought that it would be fine if I picked it up at three. I didn't bother to look at the claim slip or the paper on the door to the consulate. It clearly stated that the hours were from nine in the morning until half past two in the afternoon. So, when I rolled up at three, the place was locked up tight. BASTARDS! It had already been a bad enough day with me locking my phone in my buddy's apartment and missing the train that would have gotten me into town right on time to meet my other friend for lunch. So, I did go back up to Boston on Saturday and trek back down on Monday to pick up my visa. Eight hours on a bus in one day. I guess it was just training for my flight to China, huh? It's not like I haven't done long haul flights before.

The good part about my trip to New York City was that I went and ate at Fatty Crab. I have to say that this was really kind of like a place that I would want to own and/or work at. It's a tiny joint in the West Village that serves Malaysian inspired food. It was loud, dark and rowdy. The bar had four seats. The rest of the dining room had a cramped thirty-two seats. You could see into the three-man line. They were unabashed by their use of pork and deep frying. They used clay pots. The music was loud and unapologetically contained explicit lyrics. Honestly, I think that Boston needs a place like it. A family joint, it is not. And there should be a place in the restaurant scene for that. Unabashedly adult.

I ordered the crispy fried pork and pickled watermelon salad to start with. It had six or seven one-inch cubes of deep fried pork belly, six or seven one-inch cubes of watermelon, smaller bits of pickled watermelon rind, and a salad of thai basil, cilantro, and scallion on top. I say, "Ga' DAMN! that was a good salad." I followed that up with the Lo Si Fun, which were short rice noodles with chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms in a really rich sauce. When I say rich, I mean RICH. It was so rich that I wasn't sure if I could finish it. It didn't help that they amused me, mid-coursed me and threw some dessert cake at me. I think everyone gets amused and desserted, but I got a very good mid-course of pickled roasted beets over a spicy mayo. At first, I wasn't so sure about the combination, but by the fourth bite, I was really digging it. And I don't even like beets all that much.

Anyhow, if you're in the NYC, go check out Fatty Crab. It's pretty cool. I almost think that I wasn't hip enough to be eating there. But I would try it anyways.

Well, it's late and I have to spend five hundred dollars on travel insurance tomorrow. It should be a good time. So cheers until next time.