SPICES!!

I've been hoping to buy a variety of spices while in Malaysia if for no other reason than the novelty of it. The spice trade was such an influential factor in world history from the movement of ideas and inventions overland between Asia and Europe to the maritime exploration that led to the "discovery" of North America - I just thought it fitting to buy spices while in Southeast Asia.

I finally made it into a grocery store and found some spices. I almost died when I realized how cheap they were. I did not think I was going to get so excited about SPICES, but really, they were CHEAP. A package of a spice that might cost $5 at home was about 60 cents here. So I stocked up on all the spices I use for canning and pickling. And then some. And then I found the baking aisle. They and almond extract and other flavors for equally exciting prices. So I bought some of those too.

We were also buying some snack food, cereal, and milk at the same store. I was prepared to drop a few bucks. I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) when it all rang up to about $33. All those spices and extracts would have easily cost more than three times that at home. Dang, that was a good deal! We'll just pretend it didn't cost me four digits to fly to Malaysia.