It didn't look promising. Which is exactly why it looked promising.

I love a good food adventure.

It's about taking a risk and seeing if it pays off.

Well, at this homely place, it certainly did.

I remember my dad, in New York's Chinatown when we were kids, telling us that he was specifically looking for two things in a restaurant: ugly and packed. 

I kept that in mind as I looked at the modest sign at the bottom of the escalators, shrugged my shoulders, and wandered up. 

It wasn't packed (it was past lunchtime), but it was sufficiently ugly. 

Phuc Deli Viet, 120 Robinson Road, Singapore

I ordered the smoked chicken vermicelli. Five minutes later, it was set down in front of me.

Smoked chicken vermicelli

Oh. my. god.

Thank you, escalator sirens, for calling me up to this AMAZING plate of food. Words cannot describe. Pure joy with every bite.

I savored the moment of a risk well rewarded.

Phuc Deli Viet

120 Robinson Road, 2nd floor

Singapore

Get a Fucking Passport

If you don’t have one, get a fucking passport. And don’t come back to this site until you do.

Seriously.

Derek, this one’s for you.

This is not about reversing Americans’ shameful lack of interest in anything outside our borders. No one can put a dent in that mass inanity.

This is for your own sake. For you to GET OUT THERE and see what the world is all about. Take the leap.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/new.html

TWO WEEKS VACATION IS BULLSHIT

Demand more of it. Unless you’re a French or German worker, I can guarantee you’re not getting enough vacation time from your employer. 

Because two weeks is bullshit. 

Unless you’re in your very first job, where you really don’t have a lot of leverage, there is no excuse for accepting such an inhumane amount of time off. When I’m traveling in other countries, people literally choke whenever I tell them that two weeks off is standard in the U.S. How can we survive, they ask? How indeed.

Next time you’re negotiating a new job, or even a review at your current job, play hardball when it comes to vacation. Giving you more time off doesn’t really cost an employer that much. And no one’s going to miss you for an extra week off. Yet one extra week off can make a huge difference for you and your yearly adventure possibilities. Don’t let the HR lady fool you: there IS wiggle room, regardless of your title (I have proven this time and again when negotiating staff jobs).

Here’s one of my favorite commentators, Bill Maher, ranting perfectly about Americans’ outrageous lack of vacationing:

Oh, and if it isn’t obvious to you: the idea is to TAKE the vacation time you have. Nothing is more tragic than people not using all of their vacation days.

A VISIT ≠ A VACATION

A visit is when you go somewhere to visit family.

A visit ≠ a vacation. 

Unless your relatives have moved somewhere abroad, time in the family bubble does not count as a vacation. We all have family we want to spend time with; just don’t confuse it with vacation time.

A vacation is a soul-nourishing time of joy, discovery, and optional debauchery. Where your only obligation is to yourself: inspiring yourself, relaxing yourself, and returning yourself to the naturally curious, open, fun-loving person you are meant to be.

Everyone has family obligations. Just don’t burn all your vacation time fulfilling them.

* Exception to this rule: a family wedding abroad does count as a vacation. 

Thank you to my friend Becky for elucidating this very important distinction.

STAYCATIONS

Do I even need to say anything here?