Taman Tun Doctor Ismail Wet Market

For the next 3 Thursdays, I am on a HELLO KL! course, which is run by... yip, you guessed it, the Association of British Women (I am all about them at the moment!). A group of 10 women, including Mandy and Pauline our tour guides, will be adventuring around KL for the next few Thursdays.

Mandy has been living here for I think on 3 years, Pauline has been here for 2 years. They are both a fountain of knowledge and great people to know! They run the HELLO KL! course for 4 consecutive Thursdays. The aim is to get newies settled.

Yesterday was all about getting to know the places to shop around Bangsar. They highlight important places like the post office, the hardware store, the woman's doctor, the wine shop, a good hair dresser, flower shop, nursery's, children's doctor, a dentist... the list went on and on. All things one needs to feel more at home.

The first stop was at the Taman Tun Doctor Ismail (that's the road name!) Wet Market. Before we arrived Mandy gave us a run down of the day, and where we would be heading... she said (in her very proper accent)

"We will be visiting TTDI Wet Market, its a marvellous market for meat and such things"

Hearing the words meat and market in the same sentence, sent my alarms bells a-ringing. Hello people, do we not know that meat out in the open, surrounded by flies and God in Heaven only knows what other germs... is a recipe for some serious food poisoning and life long viral onslaughts? I admit, I do remembering thinking to myself "FAT CHANCE I am shopping there for our meat! Tescos, Village Grocer or Cold Storage is where its at for the Bumas"

As we approached the Wet Market I was chatting with Liz, my new friend (lives in the same condo as us, is a couple years older than me, has two girls 2 and 4) and she says (in her also, very proper accent):

"I am so looking forward to seeing this meat market. Apparently the hotel chefs buy their meat from here directly. I have had such unpleasant experiences with the meat I have bought from Tescos, Village Grocer and Cold Storage - its gone off between purchasing it and arriving at home...and apparently you can buy Pork at this market!"

There you go. Once again, my assumptions and prejudices have been blown out of the water.

It was a wonderful experience, the vegetables and fruit were straight from the farm and half the price they are in the super market. There were stalls after stalls of fresh flowers and lots of spice stands. I can see me going there weekly for all our fresh goods. The meat section, was clean and cold. No flies, no hanging carcasses, no bad smells and all rather (much to my surprise) civilised! And you can get pork! I didn't realise, but apparently (according to the ladies) pork is hard to come by - makes sense being in a Muslim country I guess!

The Bumas will be buying all their meat at the Wet Market!

I had such a wonderful day with the girls, that I forgot to take photos! I did steal this one however from another persons blog. I needed to show you the meat!

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The Association of British Women

Yesterday I joined The Association of British Women. They had a new comers coffee morning, which turned out to be such a delight! I went with a girl called Ali, who I randomly met on the street the night before. The room was packed full of women, all shapes, ages and sizes, happily chatting away. We all got name badges which was awesome, because I am such a Dori when it comes to names. 

The ABWM has a House in Bangsar, which is only a short drive away from where we live. The House is double storey, the down stairs area has couches and a help-your-self kitchen, with an office at the back and upstairs is a Pilate's/Yoga Room and comprehensive Library. The morning kicked off with about 30 of us going around the circle giving a little info about ourselves. I was definitely the youngest, and the newest. The committee Chairwoman, Sal, has a larger than life personality and in my eyes, the perfect woman for the role! 

It was interesting to meet all these woman and hear about their journeys on the Expat train. The most amazing women were the ones with kids - one lady I spoke to has been to 12 different countries with her husband, moving every 2 or so years, and she has 3 boys. Imagine an international move every two years... with kids! At every new place, having to pack, unpack, make home, get the kids in schools, find doctors, dentists... meet people. So much effort and energy. None I spoke to were over it or tired... just happy to be able to see the world and have a full life. 

I can see myself becoming very busy getting involved in different things the House offers. They do a lot of Charity work, have social sports clubs, language classes, cooking classes, coffee catchups, walking groups, wine appreciation nights, pantomimes, lunches, book clubs... the list goes on for pages and pages. 

My most favourite thing about the whole Association are the accents - that hot potato English accent is just music to my ears- straight out of Pride and Prejudice. That accent combined with comments like "Oh Gale, are we off to get botox this week or next? I cannot bear these unsightly bags under my eyes..." and "I find such purpose in my volunteering you know, once every 3 months, wouldn't want to over commit my time, I am rather busy with bridge and other social outings with the girls". Its all a roaring hoot and I am very very happy to be a member!

They greatest thing about them all, its that they all know what its like to be a new comer to KL. They are the most friendly and helpful women I have met so far. I can call the House for anything and they are all so willing. The best part of it all, was this morning, going to do some grocery shopping and seeing familiar faces... being able to stop and chat to ladies in the nuts section put a big smile on my face. 

God is so good. 

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