Amphawa Floating Market

Went to the floating market – at last.

Took a taxi from Bangkok (900 baht return). It was about 2 hours away. Unfortunately, he actually went to one of the touts that has a boat tour going on, which charged THB 1500 for a 1.5 hour trip, and it not even to our choice market (he said it was not open yet). He brought us to another market, Damnoen Saduak, which was actually closed and inactive in the afternoon (amazingly, he forgotten this fact!).

The boat ride was quite nice though.

Then, later the taxi driver brought us to the market. Now, that’s nice, though it was really packed at that time.

I recommend this market if you’re interested in a floating market. Firstly, not many tourists here so you dont get the usual touts. There are some boat rides available, and cheaper too (bout THB 600). But only one thing, you’d have to be able to withstand some horrible singing as there are several open-air river-side karaoke!

Smile, UR in Zanzibar!

First time I see a welcome greeting at the airport that’s so informal. The person who planted the plants must only know how to spell through txt. Lucky no space for a smiley face :)

A crab on a safari?

Our guide (cum driver) was taking us around the safari when suddenly he swerved to the side of the road and stopped. Then he looked out the window… what do you know, a crab!

Who’d expect to see a crab on an African safari!?

Apparently they live around the puddles that form in the safari. But they can withstand long time without water too. So, be careful while driving around, you might just accidentally squish one.

Bangkok Shopping Centre - MBK

Just a bit of a random short post.

This is a pic of MBK or MahBoonKrong.

What’s available inside? Cheap clothing, bags, shoes, underwear (for the ladies), lots of MOBILE PHONES, some camera stuff, some DVDs and some other random stuff. All fake/mass produced stuff, don’t seek for designer stuff here. Can bargain? Yes, of course (if they don’t reduce the price, then ask for more freebies).

How to get there? Take the BTS (Sky Train) to ‘National Stadium’ stop. Entrance directly into the building. Alternatively, you can walk from Siam Paragon (10 mins).

Food? Recommend on 5th floor – the food court called “The Fifth”. Nice stuff, price range is medium (about THB 300-400 per meal).

Why this is cool? Its massive. Beats trying to bargain for stuff on the streets (they have mostly the same stuff). And the food.

Spice tour on Zanzibar

Zanzibar was once grew a lot of spices to support its economy – mainly cloves. But now that the economy turned to tourism, they’ve made “Spice Tours”.

 

So in the tour they bring you around some plantations to see the different spices and fruits. Being in a tropical climate, most of the spices and fruits are similar to the ones you can find in the backyards of Malaysia.

See fruits like jackfruit, starfruit and even the durian. Spices like cloves, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, lemon grass, nutmeg and vanilla. However, there are some local fruits too like the elephant apple (fruit not edible, but can be used for hair gel instead), golden mango (which taste kinda like a ripe and sweet ..err.. that little green thing which I cant remember the name).

Best fruit on Zanzibar

Yes, they have the durian! It was brought over from southeast Asia long time ago during the slave trade days. And now the locals eat it too. Though you still don’t get that nice smell like you can find on the streets of KL.

Tanzania safe?

This is a sign posted up at the YWCA in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

In Dar Es Salaam, it did felt a bit unsafe to stay out too late at night. And there were lots of people who would greet you with the standard greeting (usually “Mambo” or “Jambo”) and they would wait for your greeting back (reply with “Poa” or “Jambo” - respectively"). Even when you get tired of saying it, they will try to teach you to say it again and again. Mostly it felt like a passing-by type greeting, and no intention behind it.

I also went to Kariakoo in Dar Es Salaam, supposedly Africa’s largest covered market, though you’d be disappointed coming from Asia or Thailand (Chatuchak much much bigger). There was nothing much there, and it basically didn’t feel safe there. I heard a lot of them shouting “Cina! Cina!”. And although I was very careful with my belongings and camera (didn’t dare take it out to snap some pics), someone still manage to try and grab my gold chain. He managed to snap it, but his stubby fingers didn’t manage to grab it. Scarily, he just stood there and stared at me while I was wondering what happened and walked away. It was broad daylight and crowded!

However, that said, the other parts of Tanzania felt safe – in Zanzibar or Mikumi. Though you’d still hear the Mambo Jambo everywhere, and some hassles as usual in touristy places. And oh, most people don’t like their pictures taken too. But you can feel that many of them were genuinely friendly.