The first three are from a group of spice and dried fruit shops hidden up a short alley.
Small shops selling sweet pastries
Miniature babouche
The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in black and white
Donkey cart
Hand-carved wooden chess set
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Saturday, 16 January 2010
A few Morocco photos
Here are a few photos from my holiday in Morocco.
Miniature babouche
The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in black and white
Donkey cart
Hand-carved wooden chess set
Miniature babouche
The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in black and white
Donkey cart
Hand-carved wooden chess set
Friday, 6 November 2009
A good day
Even though the Aussie Club is presently closed so I couldn't go there last night, I have had a good day today.
1. Off to golf at 8 am but had trouble seeing the drives as there was thick smog/fog, so bad that the lanes taking off overhead were not visible. Managed 18 holes for the second time today and managed to play better mostly. Off course, it was helped by the fact that we played at the course with the smaller amount of water. But still managed to loose 3 balls. Ended up sunny and was a pleasant stroll especially since a caddy carries the clubs and the ball markers tend to shift the balls out of the rough!!!
2. Straight afterwards, well once the van got back to the gold club after dodging the traffic jams caused by the prime minister flying out from the airport to Bhuatan, it was off to the American club for a couple of drinks and lunch. Sat in the outdoor area near the swimming pool and tennis courts, which was very comfortable. Plus the carrot cake was yummy.
3. On the way home stopped off at the H & M sale. For those that don't know H & M is a European clothing shop chain and many of their products are made in Bangladesh. So twice a year the factory that makes them has a sale of the "left overs". Everything is only 150 Taka or $2 each. Thank goodness I hadn't bothered to go home and have a show and was still hot and sweaty after golf, as it was like a mini sauna inside with masses of people swarming around the tables piled high with clothes. Even paying was a saga so I sort of jumped the line to speed up the process as the line seemed to be going nowhere. I got a couple of things but the stuff was dominated by black, especially black t-shirts.
So now back home relaxing after a cleansing shower. But have quite a few jobs I need to get done tomorrow.
1. Off to golf at 8 am but had trouble seeing the drives as there was thick smog/fog, so bad that the lanes taking off overhead were not visible. Managed 18 holes for the second time today and managed to play better mostly. Off course, it was helped by the fact that we played at the course with the smaller amount of water. But still managed to loose 3 balls. Ended up sunny and was a pleasant stroll especially since a caddy carries the clubs and the ball markers tend to shift the balls out of the rough!!!
2. Straight afterwards, well once the van got back to the gold club after dodging the traffic jams caused by the prime minister flying out from the airport to Bhuatan, it was off to the American club for a couple of drinks and lunch. Sat in the outdoor area near the swimming pool and tennis courts, which was very comfortable. Plus the carrot cake was yummy.
3. On the way home stopped off at the H & M sale. For those that don't know H & M is a European clothing shop chain and many of their products are made in Bangladesh. So twice a year the factory that makes them has a sale of the "left overs". Everything is only 150 Taka or $2 each. Thank goodness I hadn't bothered to go home and have a show and was still hot and sweaty after golf, as it was like a mini sauna inside with masses of people swarming around the tables piled high with clothes. Even paying was a saga so I sort of jumped the line to speed up the process as the line seemed to be going nowhere. I got a couple of things but the stuff was dominated by black, especially black t-shirts.
So now back home relaxing after a cleansing shower. But have quite a few jobs I need to get done tomorrow.
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Australia shop
Last week a couple of other teachers took me to the Australia shop when they had the van one evening. It would probably take about 20 minutes to walk there but almost takes as long in the van in the evening as the traffic is so bad. It is a very small shop that obviously has Australian-produced goods, some of which can't be bought elsewhere. This includes ginger-nut biscuits, Fab washing powder, dried fruit mix and some fruit juices. They, like all the other shops here do not use plastic bags but instead thin fabric bags made from I'm not sure what. Here it is:
Afterwards we met up with a couple of other teachers at the American Club, as they were members and could sign us in. Apparently it is the "flashest" of the expat clubs here. A couple of tennis courts with lights, a gym, a swimming pool, a large grass area and a 3 storey restaurant/bar. Lots of trees - a real oasis in the mayhem and madness of Dhaka. The tooting horns, the continual stream of rickshaws, the sudden braking while in traffic and the noise. I had stir fry special plus lemon chiffon pie plus a lime and soda and it cost me US$5.90. You don't pay cash though, instead have to buy chits/tickets, which of course you don't spend totally. So that means you have to come back again.
PS - On the Australia theme, I do get to watch the AFL football here. Last night I watched the bulldogs beat the bombers, while last Friday I did get to watch Collingwood. Although I missed one quarter as the electricity had its regular outage. Rarely does a day go by when the electricity is not off for one or two one hour sessions!
Afterwards we met up with a couple of other teachers at the American Club, as they were members and could sign us in. Apparently it is the "flashest" of the expat clubs here. A couple of tennis courts with lights, a gym, a swimming pool, a large grass area and a 3 storey restaurant/bar. Lots of trees - a real oasis in the mayhem and madness of Dhaka. The tooting horns, the continual stream of rickshaws, the sudden braking while in traffic and the noise. I had stir fry special plus lemon chiffon pie plus a lime and soda and it cost me US$5.90. You don't pay cash though, instead have to buy chits/tickets, which of course you don't spend totally. So that means you have to come back again.PS - On the Australia theme, I do get to watch the AFL football here. Last night I watched the bulldogs beat the bombers, while last Friday I did get to watch Collingwood. Although I missed one quarter as the electricity had its regular outage. Rarely does a day go by when the electricity is not off for one or two one hour sessions!
Friday, 22 August 2008
Dhaka shopping mall
Today I have been with a group of teachers to Dhaka's one real shopping mall - Bashindara Shopping Centre Mall. We went because there was a tourism expo on there, so I managed to collect lots of brochures about different trips that different companies do both within Bangladesh, and from Bangladesh to places such as Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India. I didn't know there was a lot of beautiful archeological sites in Bangladesh: old palaces, forts, temples and ruins. I did not about the mangrove area of the Sundarbans and the beach at Cox's Bazar. What else I noticed is that you can do trips to Bhutan for 26800 taka ot about $400 for 6 nights/7 days. Something to think about. . . . . . . Here is a photo of the entrance to the tourism expo.
As for the shopping centre. It was 7 floors around a circular atrium with lots of glass. Apparently built and owned by the same guy that did the school and the Apollo hospital. On the top floor is a food court with lots of shops with strange names. I knew I should have written some of them down. But apparently Jingle Bell that was next to Taco Bell has closed down. Here is the food court. (And the whole shopping centre was air-conditioned!)
The other 6 floors consisted of lots of shops that tended to be grouped together. The bottom 2 floors were electronics including phones and electrical equipment. The 5th floor had spectacle shops and pirated DVD and music CD shops (the DVDs were 70 taka each, about $1). The third and fourth floors had lots of sari shops and salwar kameez shops - not womens clothes chops as wee no them plus lots of children's clothes shops. They also many shops that sold fabrics with a few scattered tailors. The men's clothes shops were located on the lower levels. Here you can see the different levels.
As for the shopping centre. It was 7 floors around a circular atrium with lots of glass. Apparently built and owned by the same guy that did the school and the Apollo hospital. On the top floor is a food court with lots of shops with strange names. I knew I should have written some of them down. But apparently Jingle Bell that was next to Taco Bell has closed down. Here is the food court. (And the whole shopping centre was air-conditioned!)
The other 6 floors consisted of lots of shops that tended to be grouped together. The bottom 2 floors were electronics including phones and electrical equipment. The 5th floor had spectacle shops and pirated DVD and music CD shops (the DVDs were 70 taka each, about $1). The third and fourth floors had lots of sari shops and salwar kameez shops - not womens clothes chops as wee no them plus lots of children's clothes shops. They also many shops that sold fabrics with a few scattered tailors. The men's clothes shops were located on the lower levels. Here you can see the different levels.
This is the skylight above the central atrium.
Here is a view of Dhaka from a 6th floor balcony.
Sunday, 17 August 2008
More shopping
Groceries and supermarket shopping is a bit boring, so here are a few of my other purchases. Not that there is many. I bought a bunch of orchids to decorate my dining table, but with no vase I had to use a glass.
Last weekend when some of us new teachers went to Newmarket, I bought some cotton fabric that is meant to be used for a Salwar Kameez, one piece for the loose pants, a contrasting piece for the long tunic top and a small piece for a scarf. I'm not sure that I will use them for that as I have already used the scarf to cover the base of my shelves in the lounge room. I also bought a book from which to learn Bangla, well hopefully . . . . . maybe??? Newmarket is a huge 3 storey complex near the middle of town. it took us about 1 hour to get there on a Friday, which is the quiet day! There are lots of small shops, many of which sell mens clothes - the left overs from the textile manufacturers who make them for the big brand name stores throughout the world. Then there was crockery resulting from a similar situation, lost of plastic and kitchen ware, stationary, books - many of which were in English, lots of fabrics, artificial flowers and lots more. I certainly didn't get to see it all in the 2 hours I was there. But 2 hours was enough in the heat and humidity. I don't think I will rush back there though. (And I got the coasters , one of which is under the flowers, as I needed some desperately.)
Last weekend when some of us new teachers went to Newmarket, I bought some cotton fabric that is meant to be used for a Salwar Kameez, one piece for the loose pants, a contrasting piece for the long tunic top and a small piece for a scarf. I'm not sure that I will use them for that as I have already used the scarf to cover the base of my shelves in the lounge room. I also bought a book from which to learn Bangla, well hopefully . . . . . maybe??? Newmarket is a huge 3 storey complex near the middle of town. it took us about 1 hour to get there on a Friday, which is the quiet day! There are lots of small shops, many of which sell mens clothes - the left overs from the textile manufacturers who make them for the big brand name stores throughout the world. Then there was crockery resulting from a similar situation, lost of plastic and kitchen ware, stationary, books - many of which were in English, lots of fabrics, artificial flowers and lots more. I certainly didn't get to see it all in the 2 hours I was there. But 2 hours was enough in the heat and humidity. I don't think I will rush back there though. (And I got the coasters , one of which is under the flowers, as I needed some desperately.)
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