Vacations are only postcard-perfect on, well, postcards. While most times they can be snag-free, one must always allow that shit happens. When it does, all one can do really is laugh at it and hang on for the ride.

I am allergic to food that appears on most gourmet menus: shrimp, crab, and lobster. Quite unfortunate because I used to love eating that kind of food. Now I just try to avoid ingesting such because I swell up like an inflatable doll and have breathing problems, but watch out for hidden secret ingredients!

When we were in Macau, we had a delicious noodle soup at Wong Chi Kei, a famous shop in San Ma Lo. The menu said it was just chicken noodle, but this actually meant they ladled a basic soup stock over whatever noodles and meat you’d selected. We should have known that soup had shrimp. Thirty minutes later I was scratching my neck and ears and clearing my throat. My dad had to find a Watson’s and buy a corticosteroid to halt the histamine attack.

I told myself I’d be prepared next time with medicines — but the next time still threw me for a loop. On my trip to Laoag with Living Asia, I had studiously avoided all foods prepared with the aforementioned seafood. Then I decided to give ant eggs a whirl, and whaddya know, I’m allergic to them as well! I loaded up on the corticosteroid, but in the end had to hie off to a hospital to get a shot of Benadryl.

Would you still travel with me if you know I was this accident-prone? =)