Shopping With The Locals

“Welcome to one of Thailand’s greatest floating markets, Damneon Saduak! Ladies and gentlemen, we are now in the heart of the floating market and if you follow me, we will go purchase our tickets.”

Located in the province of Ratchaburi, approximately 110 kilometers away from the bustling city of Bangkok, Damneon Saduak hails as one of Thailand’s most famous floating markets. From authentic Thai cuisine, to handicrafts and souvenirs, Damneon Saduak is a one stop shopping paradise for tourists alike. While haggling with shop keepers is accepted here, international visitors can expect a major inflation on goods that would normally cost half the price elsewhere.

I’ve braced the morning to get here with a bunch of strangers I’ve barely just gotten to know. We purchase our tickets and then together we head down the steps towards a bustling pier. Drivers’ boats careen together amidst the frantic Thursday morning energy; overweight tourists struggle to disembark from their tiny wooden boats; the melodic sounds of Thai float through the air; and together we wait to set sail into a culture that is uniquely Thai.

”Rose apple? Hello? Best in Thailand!” A tiny Thai woman floats by us with a bag of fruit resting on her shoulders. Her skin is worn and saggy and she looks as though she’s been sailing along these murky waters since its early beginnings.

No one pays attention to her.

“Hello, hat?” An old woman with a teetering tower of sun hats says as she makes her way along the pier.

The young Asian couple in the group continues taking pictures. The pregnant couple from Malaysia has yet to put down their video camera, the family of five has already started eating, and the six culturally dysfunctional girls from down under are too busy chipping away at their nail polish and popping bubble gum.

“Hello?” Our tour guide motions us towards the two boats she’s secured. Our drivers are two tiny Thai women and I find myself wondering where in the world they will muster up the man power to navigate these waters with so many heavy set western tourists aboard.

“Okay, six and six,” says our guide as she splits us down the middle with her hand.




A must see for any tourist, the market canals were built in 1866, by order of the Thai King for ease of communication with the province. However, the actual market didn’t start operating until 1967, and up until today this floating market continues to attract visitors from all over the world.

“Make sure you sit in the middle,” our guide says to me. “It balances out the weight.”

I comply and move towards the middle of our tiny paddle boat.

The mother from the party of five turns around and smiles at me.

Without any formal warning, our guide disappears and leaves us the in hands of our driver. We slowly inch our way out into the mess of boats, and I turn back to watch our tour guide with the group of six, now extremely giggly aussie girls, making their way down the pier towards an empty boat.



It is of little to no surprise why Thailand is known as the “Venice of the East.” With rivers and canals running throughout the capital city of Bangkok and beyond, Thailand’s intricate waterway systems once served as an important part of everyday Thai life. However, in today’s technological age of subway systems and sky trains, life along the rivers and canals are disappearing in Bangkok, but in smaller cities and country towns like Ratchuberri, the waterway systems are still widely used. Needless to say, that a trip the floating market in Dameon Saduk is a must for any first time visitor to Thailand as it showcases authentic Thai culture at its best.


We nick other boats that’re slowly cruising through the market at a snail like pace.

“Watch your fingers!” screeches an old woman with a thick British accent her boat cruises alongside dock store fronts.

Leathery faced Thai women float by with breakfast: blows of noodle soup and fragrant smelling jasmine rice.

Our driver navigates our paddle boat along the inner market canals, shop keepers grab the outer edge of our boat and try to convince us we need tacky, overpriced goods such as ukuleles with the words Bangkok painted along their necks.

“How much is this?” asks the camera crazy man in front of me. His partner whispers something in his ear and then he points to an embroidered leather sling bag.

“Genuine, is the best leather in Thailand sir, I promise I no lie to you.” She runs her hand down the front of the bag and shows us her stained orange teeth as she smiles.” For you, okay, nine hundred baht!” She smiles and shows him her calculator.

He shakes his head no and says nothing. We paddle on.

“Hello, sir?” The shop keeper stands up and leans out over the murky water. “You no want? I give you better price!” Our driver starts to paddle harder, faster and deeper.


It’s all slightly overwhelming, stacks upon stacks of goods, fruit and souvenirs bombards our every view as we slowly sail through each isle of the market. The family in my boat rounds out the morning with another bowl of noodles and more video clips are produced while the endless clicking of cameras continues around me. I sit back and enjoy the ride, totally immersed in one of South East Asia’s most colorful cultures.

As we veer up towards the dock, a shrill obnoxious voice echoes out into the open.

“Get out, yeah that’s right, our turn now!” boasts an overly excited tourists standing on the dock.

“Mmhmm,” she says as I stand up and climb back ashore. I dust myself off, and make my way along the docks searching for the scent that’s been haunting my senses since I arrived: chili, lime and lemongrass.




The market vibrates with frantic energy as I take my last bite of breakfast. I clear my plate, wipe myself up and head towards the bathroom. A powerful stench, comparable to that of a leaky sewage tank, floats through the air as I toss my garbage into the bin and walk inside.

Soggy toilet paper and a river of toilet water trickle down the edge of a toilet as overly pampered tourists scrub their hands, all the while commenting over such squalor conditions.

“Disgusting!”

“Sick!”

I make my way around the mess as toilet water splashes up and into my sandals.

“Shut up, shut up!”

Oh no! I shudder at the sound of their voices as I undo my pants and do my business. I roll my eyes, as if to say not now, flush the toilet and open the door.

One of the girls from this morning makes eye contact with me as I come out of the stall.

“Hey.” I walk over to the sink to wash my hands.

“Oh, yeah hey!” She unravels her t-shirt from her fingers.

“Did you have fun?” I ask before I prepare to leave.

“Yeah, up until now. This place is a mess. Uuuh!” She raises her shoulders to her ears and then crosses her arms across her chest. Nervously she starts to pick away at her finger nail. “You?”

“Oh yeah!”

She chews on her gum, scratches her head and looks me over with concern.

“Okay, well see ya back on the bus.”

Her gum cracks a few times as she rocks back and forth on her feet waiting for the next available cubicle.

As I make my way back towards the bus I’m reminded of the clichéd saying every traveler should keep in mind when they set foot upon foreign territory,

“When In Rome!”

The Little Island I called home

It has been a while since my last post, allow me to bring you up to speed! Yes, you all know I've been away teaching my little heart out, but I'm back and I'm ready for something new, however I have no idea what that something is right now!
My last week in Taipei was amazing. I spent it in the city that'd been so good to me this past year. I threw a party for my class and I have to say it was quite sad to part with the: WOODPECKERS. I watched them grow so much, as I have to say it was quite rewarding to listen to kid's, who's English wasn't the greatest, talk my ear off day in and day out! The Woodpeckers taught me so much this year, going to work every day and seeing them really brought an added spark to my time amidst the little island I called home.

I hope if anything I inspired my class to be great people. Everyday I tried hard to to tell them how awesome they are and how awesome I know they will be. It is amazing to me working with little kids, you see things in them that you never thought you could, and for each and everyone of my students I saw amazing things!
I also had to say goodbye to some really awesome people, working and socializing with them really made my time in Taiwan awesome. Teacher Ana, Teacher Jessica, Teacher Clare and Teacher Vicky. For some of us we did however manage to enjoy our last few hours together at school with a late night dinner and some games with our class.

One person imparticular I owe a lot of thanks to is Tina. WOW, without her I couldn't have done a lot of things. She was so helpful, from helping me to find an apartment to being a good friend!

Anyway it feels good to be back home. In my time away I learned a lot as I not only traveled through Taiwan, but through Thailand by myself during Chinese New Year, I also flew to Cairo for a break to visit family and friends, and I really matured as I took care of the responsibilities I had to take care of, and all the while I managed to have fun!

Taipei

Well, it has been a while my fellow readers, and for that I apologise dearly. I thank you so much for your continued support despite the fact that I am away teaching on a very busy schedule!

All is well here in good old Taipei, it is cold, I'm cold and most of the kids in my class are down and out with a cold! I am really coming to the conclusion that with the onset of this Taiwanese winter, I don't like the cold at all! That is why I am hoping to take a holiday somewhere warm during my next vacation period.

School is good. I won't lie being a teacher is tough work. One thing I've come to realize over these four months is that teaching really tests my patients on all levels, especially in preschool. But none the less I really love my kids and despite the runny noses, dirty hands and weird eating habits they really make my day and I am so glad I'm such an important part of their life right now.

Other then that all is well. Christmas is coming up and again, like most years, it's just starting to feel like another day. However, it is so nice to share this holiday with the little ones. Today we decorated Christmas ornaments which will will tape onto a paper tree. HOW CUTE! Also I am in the midst of teaching them the song, "Frosty The Snowman." It sounds like a verbal mess, but rest assured come Christmas we will be sounding like angles!

The Highs and Lows of Teaching

So here I am in Taipei, another city in Asia that surprisingly doesn’t sleep, loves to eat and gets really hot when the sun is out! Minus the air pollution and the non stop rain, I love it here. It is hard to believe that this is my two month mark and this is the first blog I have posted, sorry Leng! 

What can I say; being a teacher is most definitely one of the toughest jobs ever! I had this idea that this year long gig was going to be the easiest, breeze of a job ever, WOW I was wrong! Now my faithful readers please do not get me wrong, this job is such a blessing and I wouldn’t change a thing, but there is so much I need to learn and I am not afraid to admit that.

My day to day routine here is pretty standard. I work with my little kiddies at preschool from 9-4 everyday, except Wednesdays and Fridays when they are taking Chinese, and during that time I am up stairs teaching HA7-8, a class full of ten year olds who sometimes think they are a lot older than they really are. If you were to ask me which age group I like better, let’s just say it shifts from day to day!

Right now in preschool I am in the midst of introducing them to Halloween. Today I busted out with some Halloween rhymes and a naughty version of TRICK OR TREAT.

TRICK OR TREAT?
SMELL MY FEET
GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT
IF YOU DON’T, I DON’T CARE
I’LL PULL DOWN YOUR UNDERWEAR!

Needless to say that one got a huge kick out of my little ones as they thought it was one of the funniest things they’d ever heard in their life!

Now my HA7-8 class, let’s just say they are a bunch of crazy little kids. Things had been going really good with them up until Friday when a game of board race seemed to create a room full of sore losers. Let’s just say Teacher Jacqui really had to lay down the law, and not a lot of kids liked that! Long story short I felt frustrated. Especially with a few kids who always seem get under my skin. In my opinion I felt the class was trying to test me and to see how far they could take things.

Well my dear readers I will sign off here! With love from Taipei, I promise to always keep you posted from now on!!!!

Tales of Asia Takes On My Story!

Hi Everyone!

I hope this post finds you all well and happy! I thought I would give you all a little update with regards to how things are going. They're GREAT! I just got this article published online last week via the wonderful website: TalesofAsia.com. Enjoy, any comments or anything I am all ears! Until we meet again, ciao for now!

http://talesofasia.com/rs-213-Westeast.html

Bali, the Beautiful!

Hello Dear Readers!

Another wonderful trip has come and gone. My time in Bali was well spent. Shopping, warm weather, the Pacific Ocean, great food and great friends. I highly advise anyone interested in visiting this little island paradise to go. Not only is it everything and so much more, but the people and the atmosphere are just unbelievable. We were there for a 4 night 5 day visit, and were lucky enough to see most of the island. We even had the chance to go on an hour and a half hike through the jungle, mind you there were foot paths and no man eating tigers. HA! Luckily for us, we met up with a Balinese priest who brought us to a temple behind the main Mother Temple in Bali, which is a main tourist attraction and not a lot of tourists even have the chance to go there. Once there he blessed us in a sacred ceremony and we left feeling alive, blessed and totally rejuvenated. Anyway, here are the pictures from my latest trip. From Kuta to ancient temples and volcanoes, we saw it all, did it all, saw it all and left with a deeper appreciation for the island, its people and the country of Indonesia.








(The Temple Priest)


(On Route to Temple)


(A Cultural Dance)

I Love KL!

Where West Meets East
By: Jacqui Menard

Charred naked chickens and crispy red ducks dangle carelessly from amidst butcher shop windows. Locals pile out of McDonalds, Starbucks and Nando’s chicken. Business men suck back noodles outside dingy looking hawker stalls, school children weave in and out of crowds with their afternoon cakes, and half dressed westerners barrel their way through crowds of pedestrians with their latest edition of the Lonely Planet, while the call to prayer blasts throughout the city.

“Apple? Durian?”

A fruit vendor holds a green spiky fruit out in front of me. He smiles wide and beckons me over to his stall.

“Yes, DVD? Hello?”

Tent after tent, table after table, the latest cinema releases, or limited edition apparel from some of Europe’s most respected designers’ bombards Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur’s most infamous hot spot for boot legged goods and pirated products.

“Best price madam, I give you only best price… sixty five.” A purse vendor sporting a Jon Bon Jovi hair cut, tight jeans and leather cowboy boots says to me the minute he sees me make eye contact with one of his products. “Only the best quality madam.” He picks up his lighter and waves a flame over top of the bag. I shake my head no and make a quick getaway back out into the crowd of people who’ve flooded out onto the street.

“Madam, madam…madam please!”

Malaysia’s lively capital city of Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it’s more commonly referred to, is always beaming with life. Located in the heart of South East Asia, KL is full of ethnic diversity, and is home to more then 1.3 million residents all ranging from various Asian backgrounds. In a city full of culture, Kuala Lumpur serves as the perfect starting point for any first time visitor to Malaysia, for it showcases some of the countries finest national treasures and diverse cultural attractions amidst a clean and comfortable modern city landscape.



The smell of diesel fumes and outdoor cooking engulfs me. The city’s bumper to bumper with traffic and it’s only eleven am. People have overflowed from shop lots, markets, temples, restaurants, hotels, schools and bus stops.

The cross walk sign begins its countdown. Pedestrians scramble across the street. Motor bikes carelessly disregard the red light. Unsuspecting locals and tourists latch on to one another, make a mad dash for the safety island in the middle of the intersection, the light turns green and than exhaust fumes explode through the air. Dismayed, I find myself still standing amidst the safety of the congested city sidewalk, intrigued and baffled by such organized chaos that truly is, KL.

“Taxi?”

A red and yellow taxi pulls up alongside me. Its windows are plastered over with stickers that say, ‘Visit Malaysia 2007’ while the countries national flag lies proudly displayed in the upper right hand corner of the driver’s windshield.

“Yes, hello taxi?”

The driver cleans his teeth with his tongue, spits out the window and beckons me inside his car.

“Petronas Towers?” I yell above the automotive roar.

“No problem.”

I open the door and climb aboard his air conditioned Hindu like temple on wheels. It smells of exotic spices, curry and fragrant jasmine flowers. The almighty Shiva overlooks our journey from amidst his golden dashboard shrine, while Ganesha, the elephant headed God and renowned remover of obstacles, sways back and forth from below the driver’s rear view mirror. He switches on his meter, puts on his traffic signal and we slowly inch our way out into the growing sea of traffic.

Known to many as the world’s tallest twin towers, the Petronas towers of Kuala Lumpur over look the city at a staggering 452m (1483feet), an architectural masterpiece to say the least. The towers were built in the mid 90’s by architect Caesar Pelli and they serve as a symbol of Malaysia’s national pride. Located along the city’s major junction of Jalan Ampang and Jalan P. Ramlee, KL’s Petronas Towers not only house state of the art offices, a symphonic concert hall and a modern city art gallery, but next door there’s SURIA KLCC, a high class shopping haven that caters to every shopper’s needs and wants.

We’re engulfed in a sea of diesel and city smog. The sun beats down through my window shade in the back seat at an almost unbearable temperature. Static ridden messages scrape through the taxi’s PA system, and the radio fades in and out of comprehension, while the taxi’s air con struggles to emit the faintest breeze of cool air.

As we slowly approach the towers, I look out to my left. Guardian’s of KL and keepers of the country, the towers seem to radiate an aura of power and prestige, they sparkle like two oversized industrial colored crystals and I find I can barely contain my excitement by the time we pull up out front.

“Yes, hello.” We come to an abrupt halt out front. My driver points down to the meter that’s flashing 10 Ringit, local Malaysian currency.

Infatuation and awe consumes me as I take a few moments, straining and struggling to take in all 88 floors of this mega structure.

Constructed and designed with reinforced concrete, steel and glass facades, the creativity behind this architectural masterpiece was primarily inspired by reoccurring designs and motifs as personified in Islamic art, a true reflection of Malaysia’s national religion.

“Madam?” The driver taps on the meter and looks up at me from his mirror.

“So sorry.” I hand him a fist full of crumpled bills, open my door and tell him to keep the change.

A well presented security guard helps me out of the taxi.

“Welcome madam.”

I smile, take a few moments to relish in my celebrity like treatment and head towards the door.

“Good afternoon.” Another security guard holds open the door to SURIA KLCC, my getaway from the scorching afternoon heat, a true shopping paradise complete with food courts and endless floors of shopping.

“Thank you.” I step inside. Far from any dingy shopping mall or outside open aired market, the intricate interior of SURIA KLCC astonishes me. No form of piracy here, pesky shop vendors, weird market delicacies or cut throat bargaining tourists. Classy looking shoppers dressed in this season’s latest fashions and doused in expensive bottles of designer fragrances own the place. I look down at my sweaty appearance, worn out flip flops, faded jean skirt and wrinkled t-shirt, and I suddenly can’t help but to feel underdressed.

SURIA KLCC offers KL shoppers and tourists alike a diverse shopping experience. From major fashion retailers to state of the art dining and entertainment, SURRIA KLCC is the perfect getaway from the outside rush of KL and is guaranteed not to disappoint.



“Hello, welcome.” The employees at British India greet me with warm smiles as I walk through the door.

Headless mannequins sit erect on top of a table top dressed in fine linens and brightly colored cottons, while gem stone encrusted necklaces glisten beneath the florescent lights hanging over top of the cash register.

“Okay, that’s an even 1500 Ringit.” A young employee folds up a long sleeved white blouse and kaki colored pants for a smug looking westerner who’s decided to sport a pair of oversized DIOR glasses indoors.

My eyes go wide as I walk by them. I gravitate towards a rack full of Indian styled blouses. I pick up a bright yellow one, walk towards the mirror, hold it up against my chest and pretend I’m worth it, 250 Ringit that is. I smile at myself in the mirror.

“Can I get you a size?” A male employee walks towards me.

I smile at him, put down the blouse and make a quick getaway for the door, “Not today thanks.”



I squeeze my way through the busy food arena. The place is full of people. Office workers winding down after a rough day, wide eyed tourists with plates full of local food and hormonal crazed school children just hanging out at the mall, another Friday night.

I carry my food to the table, my stomach growls and my mouth salivates like a starving street dog. I put down my shopping bags set down my tray, sit down, take off my shoes and vigorously rub the souls of my feet. The clean presentation of hawker food, combined with the cool and inviting environment of a shopping mall makes it that much more inviting. I pile a heaping helping of rice onto my spoon, mysterious flavors and unique spices, unbeknownst to my taste buds, explode in my mouth and dance up my nose as I make a mad dash for one of the many commonalities this country shares with my own, an ice cold glass of Coke.

Kuala Lumpur proves why the world is so small. In a city that seems to never sleep, there’s absolutely nothing you can’t get here. From the hottest in store fashions, to the latest cinema releases, this city not only showcases some of Malaysia’s most prized national treasures, but it’s nothing short of a cultural mosaic spanning from west to east. The perfect base for any visitor wanting to scale the vast wonders of Malaysia has to offer, the diversity in KL promises not to disappoint.