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?!

_


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

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.

X

Racha Islands, Coral Island (Phuket)

Day 2 at sunny island Phuket!

 We went on a tour package which includes Full day tour of Racha/Raya Islands and Coral Island.

Cost about S$72/pax inclusive of pickup from our secluded resort. It's cheaper if you are from Kata/Patong/Karon area around S$60/pax instead. Use this info as your based rate! I've already done extensive research on prices there. 

Started our day with pretty sights and decent breakfast spread.

LOVE EM BACONSSSSS.

Honestly, I miss this place of absolute tranquility.

Always ending the day in the comfort of our canopy beds.

La Bay first up!

A short ride from Chalong Pier.

*cue ecstatic muffles from my mouth*

FISHIES.

Look at the tiny ones!

OH HELL YEAH

No life jackets!

Breathing in human legs for a living.

^^

Next we arrived at Patok Beach! (I think) Too much info a day to cramp in my head. I was just so taken aback with the wonderful sights.

Frolicking in the waters with my babe.

I swear the water is exactly like what you see here. Super magical looking!

I can sun-bathe here all day man.

I was the paparazzi for this "shoot" haha.

And we leave this piece of heaven to our next destination.

Coral Island.

Just a small island with relatively clear waters. But kinda overcrowded though.

Over here you can do parasailing, sea-walking, scuba-diving etc.

  

With the pretty Russian lady.

Over here at this bridge there was a group of guys. As I started sprinting down it, they started counting down "3, 2, 1" and I started dashing down it! This was all told to me by my friend who was behind me and heard the counting down. Hilarious much. Such a coincidence!

And back to hotel!

Check out the "public" bunnies. Cute right, but not sure if I can touch them a not.

Heading to our dinner by the pool.

Yummy green curry! I'm surprised. Ordered some alcoholic drinks which we couldn't finish.

With that we concluded our trip!

Click here for part 1 of our trip.

_

Things that I learnt this trip is the convenience of having waterproof footwear!

Love the F-troupe bathing shoes (get it at ASOS or Solestruck)

Really love Raya Island since Similan Islands are closed at this period of time.

For more info on Phuket travel, just click the labels/tags below to browse through the posts!

X