A Taiwan Travelogue: Singapore Edition

So, I've decided to go for an elaborated travelogue in Singlish.
Rather than my usual one sentence, almost-proper-english post. Hope you like it!
*In case you are wondering, I'm holding off my Europe trip post because there's just too many photos.
This round's Taiwan trip was rather short, hence very fast to churn out!

Super cute design! I love this too much.

Day 1

Arrived at Taoyuan Airport at 0530. Went to the convenient store to get food while waiting for the telecom store to open at 0700 (Chunghwa) at Terminal 1! Their unlimited data sim card is only 300NT/S$13 for 5 days! Throughout the trip there wasn't any disruption in the connection. We got the Easycard (equivalent of EZlink card) from the Taiwan Visitors Association Office in Singapore. It's a limited edition card with 50NT credit inside! Super awesome. So remember to go collect your freebies before heading to Taiwan okay!

Erm yeah, maggie noodles first thing in the morning.

It got kinda strange when we were the only one on the sky train. Early morning, no one!

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Buns and Blues.

Karmaloop Cutout Top
MDS Skorts (I have this in so many colours!)
Bershka Tie-around
Fossil Silver Watch
Holographic Tote
Nike Rosherun from ASOS

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I love the colours from the day's outfit! Makes running errands easy breezy and the colours makes me happy! Lately I'm obsessed with sneakers, no heels for the next many many days. X

Updates

Flying off in 3 days!
Finally got my itinerary done. Time to do up the next one!

I'm so excited and unprepared. Oh god.

I shall do up a post soon before I leave.
Check back real soon!

Keeping It Clean.

Nastygal Blazer and White Top, MDS Skorts, Longchamp Tote, Asos Floppy Hat, Superga 2750 Stud

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Lately all I need is good o' noir. Black goes with everything. No fuss. Clean lines. Basically it. The all-black Longchamp bag I got from Europe is so roomy I can bring it everywhere!

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Taobao Haul: First Shopping Experience!

Y'all know that China is the so-called "Factory of the World". I've always wanted to buy stuff from Taobao because the things are so cheap! But unfortunately my Chinese language skills is just so bad. So anyway, I tried using Google Translate (page) and 65daigou to get my stuff. And what do you know, my stuff reached me last night!

Here are the relatively good quality stuff that I bought. Those horrible quality ones I shall not mention.






The kimono jacket (S$13) feels so smooth and comfy! Almost like pyjamas wear. As for the swimwear (S$12), thank god it fits. Material-wise, feels like what a swimwear should feel like.





My cases (Mickey S$2, Milky S$2) for iPhone5s. Super adorbs!





Blown away by how gorgeous these necklaces are. (S$6 and S$4 each) And they wrapped it so well-protected. Need to order more!





Acrylic panel slingbag (S$9) is not too shabby. Good for casual wears!



Thoughts
I think it's a gamble to buy clothes and shoes from Taobao. The quality is just so bad for most of them. Also, because shipping is by weight, those lousy shoes cost you the bulk of the money. It is rather safe to buy accessories, bikinis, phone covers based on reviews online and on-site.

For the many items (15 in total) I bought, I had to pay S$37.08 for 4kg worth of stuff. I bought the 15 items for S$133. All in all, I think it's okay. Not that it's very cheap because you never know what quality of product you are receiving. Hence, maybe only about half of your stuff you'll end up liking.


Ask me @ask.fm/nsofina

Outlet Shopping: Europe!

Hello!
I'm back with an informative short post on my Europe trip. This time it's about outlet shopping! To be honest, I'm very excited to go there and get my hands on Prada goods.

Prada lovers, you're in luck in Florence. The Mall Outlet at Florence is good enough! The prices there for bags are so cheap as compared to Singapore. It's about €700-€900?! I got mine for just €740 before tax deduction. Which works out to be approximately S$1,100! Cheap right, and I love the colour and the size of it. I got this blush/cream wallet for €180 and a cardholder for €75 (prices before tax). A standard new arrival bag from Prada at it's city boutique cost approx. €1,800 *gasp*

you can check out my instagram @nsofina for more pictures of it!
It totally matches EVERYTHING. Best buy of the trip?!

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To get to The Mall. Just head to the bus station right next to the Santa Maria Novella Station. You will need to cross the road to get across. At the bus terminal, you can get your 2-way tickets to The Mall. There's fixed timing. So be sure to get there early and queue for a seat. I would go for the first timeslot. Be there first to get a better selection!

At The Mall, there's plenty of brands. Like Gucci, Burberry etc. But the most value for money is Prada. Compared to Gucci and brands like Balenciaga, Prada's price points is the best.

Once at Prada, get your "number ticket" from the guy at the entrance, and proceed to shop! Use the number to reserve items and upon payment to get your items. There's plenty of tourist there. So you might find yourself spending 1-3hrs there. Queuing for payment takes quite a while as well. You can get the staff there to reserve your goods for you for about an hour. Usually black coloured items are sold out quickly. So snap fast! Also, they tend to have extra stocks. So do check if they have new pieces. Men's wallets there are quite limited but the styles are simple and nice! So you'll be happy to know that. It's price is also around €180.

While I didn't have the time to make it to SPACE (Prada/Miu Miu Outlet). I wish I was able to head there! Heard the selections are good there.

The other outlet mall I went was the Castel Romano at Rome. This area of shopping does not have Prada. But it has high end brands like Burberry to street brands like Adidas and Fossil. There's a huge HM looming near the area. Which I didn't manage to go. My mum said the things there were super cheap. So I guess you can spend a total of at least 3-4hours here. If not more. I personally bought quite a number of items for Fossil. Love the leather and it's price! You can get mini wallets at €20-50. Awesome? Hell yeah.





The Mall (Florence)
Opens 10am onwards, Mondays - Sundays
First Bus 8.50am thereafter 9.10am, 9.30am etc
Duration approx 30-40mins

Depart: BUSITALIA/SITA depot
Address: Via Santa Caterina da Siena 17, Florence (Near the central train station)
One-way ticket cost: €5

Castel Romano (Rome)
Opens 10am onwards
First Bus 9.30am
Duration approx 50-60mins

Depart: Via Marsala, Roma Termini Station
Return ticket cost: €13
Buy ticket from pop-up booth along Via Marsala

Fresh Cuts.

Nothing like my favourites. And I realise they smell like dried flowers. Except these are fresh ones that smells like dried ones. Interesting. The smell is pretty intoxicating.

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Yesterday was the 39th. X

Europe 2014, Lucerne, Switzerland, Day 01

Day 1// After a long flight from SIN to DOH to ZUR. We have finally landed on Zurich airport! Bought our tickets from the SBB train store and it cost about 30++ chf/pax for the train to Lucerne. The rest of our tickets we booked it online though. Lots of savings and no admin cost! Wanted to get the Swisscom NATAL easy card but it was sold out. You can get it elsewhere though. Like their post office or stores in the town you'll be staying. I got mine from Wengen's post office for 19.90chf. Unlimited data for 2chf/day. Remember to register to use it!

The train to Lucerne was a short one. Left our luggages and we went for sight-seeing. You can get the map of Lucerne at the tourist centre located at the station. And guess what? All the sight-seeing spots are within walking distance!

First up was the Chapel Bridge. It looks pretty, not that fantastic though! I didn't manage to walk it because it rained and whatnot later.

Next, was to the Lion Monument. This was good! Pretty awestruck by how they carved the entire thing out of a natural rock. Superb work!

After that was the Musegg wall. It was so gorgeous and relaxing there. The sights just cleanse your mind of all the hustle in the city. Plus you could climb the tower and walk along the wall! It's a must to do so. Just catching the magnificent view of Lucerne is lovely.

Attempts yoga pose 101.

Then it started pouring like mad. We settle for this restaurant and the meals are huge! Pastas and Pizzas ranges from 20+ to 30+ chf? With mains like steak hitting the 50chf.

In Switzerland, generally there isn't a lot of supermarkets or convenience store. They open around 8am and closes early like 6pm or so. I've only come across convenience store, MH express in Lucern. Also their supermarket, COOP, is almost everywhere. They have yummy pre-packed cold pastas, salads and sandwiches at approx 6chf.

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