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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Poor man's crab

WTF?
       Working in Nha Be on Mondays now, that's right, I have no off days now for the time being, means that I get to see a part of Vietnam that I rarely see on a typical weekday. The night time influx of people out after dinner or actually looking for dinner. As for me, I'm just trying to go home as fast as I can so I prep for tomorrow's early morning class. Huynh Tan Phat St is pretty amazing as it leads all the way to District 1 and all the way down to the ferry in Can Gio and I'm proud to say that it's my latest go to street for snacks and cravings. As you probably already know, I love grilled meat and I'm also fond of seafood. Passing that second bridge heading towards District 7 from Nha Be, and right at the T intersection with the light is an aroma that reminded me of the ocean. So one faithful evening I stopped and inquired about the delicacies being roasted alive.

What's all the commotion over??
More than alive. 
       Now these weren't foreign to me. I've been aware of horseshoe crabs for many years now, starting with PBS nature shows ( I didn't have cable growing up) and then ultimately I dealt with some at the local aquarium shop in the salt water section. Horseshoe crabs are also native to the Atlantic coast and have been around since the dinosaurs. You're basically looking at a prehistoric living fossil that most people have never even seen before. I've never had the chance to eat one, so tonight was a good opportunity to try something new. For a mere 30,000 dong, with Vietnamese coriander and a kumquat for kick, this was a bargain of a snack for such a creature. To think, this animal has had to be alive for so long, gone through multiple molts, and fed on bottom dwelling crap for at least a year or more. All that effort and all that life for less than a buck fifty grilled.

Not anymore, bro. 
Delicious, tastes like a poor man's crab.

        This was a great night time snack with no carbs. Unfortunately, a few hours later I began to show symptoms of  tetrodotoxin  and anhydro poisoning. Yup, stomach cramps, barfing, swollen throat and then some. The next day I couldn't keep down any food and worked with an empty stomach for most of the day. So now I am going to add horseshoe crab on my list of food that I shouldn't eat unless I want to die. 
Posted by Khronicling Kyle at 9:01 PM
Labels: ,

65 comments:

  1. Son Nguyen from OhioApril 17, 2012 at 10:02 PM

    i don`t understand why there are a lot of people in Vietnam that always look so happy even they live in a very very poor country in the world and there are a lot of people in America that look very unhappy even they in the richest country in the world???

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    1. Living in a poor country and being rich is probably the best thing ever. People are happy here because their life is stable. Trust me, the poor people are pretty fricken miserable. You look at the xe om men out in the streets and most of them ain't got a smile on their faces, that's for sure.

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    2. money can't buy happiness. kyle is right, their life is stable and they feel happy selling those for a few dongs lol
      and sometimes they're hiding it. people don't show their unhappy faces when they do business haha

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    3. btw kylele, when is your next video?

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    4. you would be surprised at how many pissed off looking people do business here. There's no idea of customer service at the vendor levels. The customer is not always right. I buy some cookies from this lady almost every other morning and she never ever smiles. It depends. I've met some really nice vendors and some not so nice vendors.

      I'll release my next video when my latest one hits 1,000 views. The next video is a short clip on my brief trip to Cambodia.

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    5. Most of the people are very happy included Xe OM guys!I have seem them laughing all the times when i was in Saigon.

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    6. The vendors dont smile but they do not look depressed like the poor people here in the US of A!

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    7. I agree,money can`t buy happiness!In my opinion I always think that the ingredients necessary to produce genuine happiness vary from person to person,but one thing is true for all of us that the material wealth or possessions never fully satisfy the inner longings of our hearts.Neither do they establish self worth nor fulfill our inner need for our life!Ever since I got here in Vietnam,one of the things that I have learned from the poor local vietnamese here is that even their cirumstances are troubling and their prospects slim but they are always be able to revel the amazing tenacity of dandelion fighting to find its place in the "sun"!They always appreciate and satisfied with what they have!!!!Versa to many people in the US who live in a consumer culture and try to spend their lives searching for wealth,happiness and they can`t even figure out that it is not about having more,doing more or being more.It is about how they view what is already theirs.And another thing that I have learned from the poor people here is that life here in the third country throw them a lot of curve balls,but no one can steal their happiness!They laugh much more than people in the States!They enjoy their present more!They have more serenity in life.Last year when I went to Ving Long the countryside of Vietnam,I met an very old lady who was 93 years old.she washed her clothes on a washboard,cooked on a wood-burning stove and lived in a modest shanty with no electricity.Although very poor by the world`s standards nowadays but I got the feeling that she had riches untold!She looked very very healthy and happy!I asked her about her secrets of being healthy and happy!She told me that her secrects of happiness are live one day at a time,be content with what you have and make someone else happy!

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    8. wow ! love your post!!! totally agree with you!! being happy makes you live longer than those who are depressed and unhappy most of the time. i learned that in psychology lol

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    9. Wow!very well said Jimmy!Do you have your blog ?I love reading your comment man!

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    10. @Jimmy!What do you think why the people in Vietnam do laugh more than the people in America?and the old lady that you mentioned what do you think why she is still very healthy at her age?are you sure that she is happy with her life?why does she as a very poor lady feel happy when she makes someone else happy?

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    11. To reach the ultimate happiness in life one must know what they want first.It doesn`t matter where you live!

      Vietkieu girl in Vietnam.

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    12. oh and i agree with the old lady...making someone else happy is the best way to make yourself happy.i feel very happy when i help the orphan here in Saigon.


      Vietkieu gal in VN.

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    14. Remember the principle of reciprocity what we have learned in the school!You get what you give!If you makes people happy then they will make you happy!I think that`s why the old lady along with VK gal in VN feel happy!Btw,I don`t know what the old lady does to make someone else happy but I find it very good what the VK girl does, she really does good deed for someone in need.She inspires hope in the unfortunate children(orphan)which fan the fire of hope in her own life therefore she feels happy!OMG I better stop talking about this topic!I don`t want to become a pastor or a psychologist!
      Anyway I do not have my own blog cuz i am very busy with work and girlfriend!and the last 2 questions that I want to answer are:first,why people laugh more here VN.It is because they take everything easy in life.They always try to stay on the positive side of things!They dont bitch too much like we do in the States!like for instance in the traffic if someone makes a light mistake and drives too slow we roll down our car window to yell at them....second question,why the old lady is till healthy at her age?It is because she has a cheerful heart which is a very good medicine for her....

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    15. Because there is no such thing as gov't handouts in Vietnam, so, bitching and moaning won't do them any good. Instead, they work hard and smile every so often and hope for the best.

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    16. i couldn`t agree more.

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    17. @jim:what u dont seen to understand is that money can buy everything included happiness.i never seem anyone who is happy without money please just tell me one person who is happy without money

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    18. what really makes me happy is driving ferari and living in a big house in newport beach

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    19. happiness is easily found but hard to be kept

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    20. most folks are about as happy as they make up their mind to be!enjoy reading your post man

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    21. appreciating what you have is the only one way to keep you happy in life because when you begin to see and appreciate the richness around you,you will almost certainly find that you have a great deal more to feel hopeful about than you once imagined

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    22. the most valueable assets you possess in life is health,if you want to be happy in life the first thing what you have to do is taking care your health don`t eat dirty food in the streets of vietnam it is time to put sanitation at the center of vietnam`s development policy

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    23. we create a stress-free world for ourself that is why we are happy

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    24. you can never create happiness by thinking about having a lot of money

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    25. when you think joyous thoughts you will be a happy person cuz when u change your thinking process to joyous thinking,then everything in your life will also change.you will be amazed and delighted to see how people,places,things,and circumstances can change for the better.Everyone should be open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the universe then they will feel happy

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    26. i don`t believe that money can buy everything.It is not true

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    27. money has nothing to do with happiness

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    28. the key to create happiness is knowing that your thinking creates your experience.You must use this key in every area of your life.

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    29. I was happy 30 years ago to hanging with my brothers and friends playing on the street at a kid. Now I'm stress out work in office and making over $200,000.00 a years+ bonus. Ex-wife want to take 1/2. So much for money buy happiness.

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    30. I think that most true happiness comes from one`s inner life therefore it can`t be measured in dollars and cents.For instance,most of us live in a consumer culture-one(USA)that values possessions and experiences more than people.And yet,somehow we know that these things can never give to our heart what it desires most-loving relationships and sense of self-worth.Ok you can live in a 5 million dollar house in Newport Beach and drive a 200,000$ ferrari but I dont think that you are happy!It is because you always worry that you may lose your job in one day then maybe your house then your car and so on...!Anyway I still think that we can learn a lot from the local people here.Their carefree attitude and unending optimism are downright inspiring.They live one day at the a time.They do`nt look stress out and seem to enjoy the present stage of their life.And most inportant of all,they dont live in dread of "tomorrow"like we often do in the States....

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    31. some people need to take philosophy :) I also believe " money can't buy happiness"

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    32. i agree money can never buy happiness

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    33. @Jimmy!just asking u out of curiosity!what is for you serenity?Vietnam is still a very poor country!so why do you think that people in Vietnam have more serenity?

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    34. Don`t u think that the people have become so accustomed to hardship and pain in Vietnam that`s why they dont feel unhappy anymore jimmy?

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    35. Hi Tina,when we let go the energy it takes to hold on anger,blame and resentment then it is called serenity for me!Whenever life throw you a ball,remember this is all just a game and I think that the local vietnamese know how to play this game better!They take everything easy!And yes they may have become so accustomed to hardship and pain with thorny life here in this country but they have not lost their ability to recognize a good thing when it arrives and they don`t become preoccupied looking out for the next disaster like we often do in the States!Hence,they have more serenity then people in the States!This is my opinion!

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    36. when u r poor does not mean u r not happy i was so poor when i went to college but i was very happy with my life

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    37. Hey jimmy kyle join us we play dogde ball once a week.most of us are vks from california

      http://saigondodgeball.org/events/dodgeball-every-wednesday-2012-04-25

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    38. u think that people in VN handle stress better?

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    39. I think happiness came from your personality not where do you live or what do you have. I have been living in US for most of my life and came back Vietnam living for 3 years and recently just went back to the US, and not a single day in my life that I have not feel happy about. To my opinion, people are more happy in the US than any where in the world, because in the US we have a freedom of what to say and raise opinions regardless about anything. In Vietnam, however, a communist country, people are living under the dictatorship and ruthless government. No one can say or do anything freely, that is why people are so stressful. I have seen people whispering things that they not supposed to say, live in a dirty hell hole with a bunch of crooks cops and government leaders. Bribery is everywhere, stupid school systems, hospitals are overcrowded, poverty and dirty, people are dying young, doctors are killing the patients, ...and all kind of craps going on and on. Believe me, I live in Vietnam 3 years and I know for sure one thing, PEOPLE ARE NOT HAPPY!!!! People are dying to get out of this country. You can go around and ask anyone if they ever want to go to the US, and the answer will be a big "YES". So whoever tell me that people are more happy in Vietnam than the US then that just a bunch of BS...

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    40. @johntuan!Are you a VK?Your grammar and syntax are very very awful!

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  2. Lol poor my babe , come back home hun :)

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  3. i have more with reading the comments of your readers than your blog lolo

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  4. Hey great blog and good comments man!very fun to read!

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  5. Kyle!looks like u r a very poor man in Vietnam!why don`t you go back home to find a job to make ends meet and if u don`t have any degree u can work at mcdonald or wasing dishes in chinese or vietnamese restaurant it is till better than living in vietnam go back to america young man

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  6. Jimmy, you've taken over Kyle's blog!!!

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  7. Great blog!very fun to read all the comments!

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  8. ew the food looks disgusting!no wonder that you got food poison Kyle.I think your country still has far to go particularly in terms of providing its people with basic health and food safety i don`t understand why they don`t understand that sanitation is vital for life,a prerequisite for human health.It is very shocking that today in 2012 to see people living like that Kyle

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    1. Hey Sam,I agree with you man!Vietnam now really needs to focus on ensuring its population uses proper hygienic practices.There is no doubt that poor sanitation and unhygienic practices make millions of vietnamese suffer needlessly from diseases like suffer from anemia,which is caused by using unsafe water and poor sanitation....ect..And I think most important of all,Vietnam needs effective public education so people here understand how to proper the hygienic practices.I have gone to the countryside of Vietnam and have seen a lot rural household using human feces for cultivating and feeding fish oh!!!!!!!now I know why the countryside girls in Saigon that Kyle mentioned before squat when they shit!It is because they don`t have proper toilest in their hometown,everytime when the nature call....they just go to latrine on the river to feed the fish(open defecation) hihihihi

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    2. now i know y the vn girls always squat lol

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    3. it is very funny

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    4. i didn`t know that our shit could be useful....feeding fish lol

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    5. hey kyle now u know why the gals that u know squat when they shit lol

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  9. how do you feel now?still having stomach cramps???

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  10. Join us!Most of us are female VKs from the States!You should join us Kyle!


    http://saigondodgeball.org/

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    1. She wants your penis! Go for it Kyle!

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    2. It is disgusting!I am not going to go to this blog anymore!

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    3. you're VK? your english is bad LOLOL
      we all know you want to have sex with him ;)

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    4. your english is bad/awkward lolol
      we don't need you here!

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  11. How come that the child on the second picture does not have a helmet?Is it not dangerous for the kids without wearing helmets?

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  12. Yeah one of all the craziest things that I don`t understand here in VN is that the reckless motorbike drivers endanger their own children like you can see in the 2nd picture,the father is proctecting himself with helmet while the child`s head is unprotected,which is really selfish and irresponsible on the father`s part.The kid can be thrown over the top of handlebar in road accidents and it is not safe although they are not going very fast.At least the child should be wearing a helmet.

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  13. I have seen some expats driving their kids without wearing a helmet

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  14. As an amateur scientist, all I have to say is dungeonshameonyoufornotknowingbetter :/

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  15. Where's the update yo? Stop lagging on the video and blog!

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