Why This Bag Is More Than Amazing!

You've probably seen me rave about this recent travel crossbody bag of mine on Instagram so many times!  Because seriously, this bag deserves a special mention especially for busy moms like me!

I mean even when you're BUSY in general!

Beside U Valdes Crossbody Bag (Black)

Beside U is dated back in 1979 when Lee Family founded and began their small handbag crafting business.  Years later, the family decides to briefly stay all the way in Europe.  Comes 2005, the family returned to California and designed their bags inspired by the history of Goodge St. Station in Europe were they stayed.

Beside U brand is available in 14 countries and counting.

Life in the Fast Lane with Citi x Grab Credit Card

Every single one of us have a demanding lifestyle!  And I am not surprised how everything is getting more convenient nowadays, I was just talking to my husband about it how we have greater convenience in terms of grocery shopping, food delivery, bills payment and a whole lot more!

Thankfully, with the fast-paced lifestyle, brands like Citibank and Grab thought of a way to add better value to the everyday convenience we are experiencing.

Introducing - Life in the Fast lane with Citi Grab Co-brand Credit Card!

The co-brand card, an extension of the deepening partnership between Citi and Grab (since 2016!).  This will soon be available in other Southeast Asian territories such as Thailand then us Philippines for this month!

Grab-Citi credit card promises cardholders a life in the fast lane with these exclusive offers and rewards and more importantly, better value on every spend!

• 10x Points earning on all Grab spend* - from getting ride to getting deliveries.
• Platinum Tier upgrade for the first 6 months giving cardholders priority booking benefits and dedicated customer support.
• 3x points on dining, entertainment and online subscriptions, while all other spend will earn 1 point for every Php30.00 spend.
• 12 free Grab rides upon sign up equivalent to Php2,500 worth of GrabPay credits upon spending the first Php10,000 within 60 days of using the card.  Cardholders can also get free Grab Vouchers worth Php2,000 when they use the card to top up their GrabPay wallet with at least Php1,000 pesos.  Membership fees for principal and supplementary cards are also waived for the first year.
• Greater convenience by going cashless, when using Citi points to pay for Grab services.

Aside from the said perks, I also learned that it is very easy to apply online comes June 18!  You only need to log online and spend 7 minutes to fill up form and that's it!  Paperless, environmental-friendly!

That said, I am definitely enrolling myself to another Citi credit card because the perks are tempting and for someone who uses Grab a lot!  This is something I am looking for --- value for money!  Because hey, we all worked hard for our money!

Keep smilin'

Stay happy!

 

Things to Do In Taipei with Kids + Tips

We used to travel once or twice a year.  Then when Kyle came along, we skipped going out on out of country trips for the past 4  years.  Then, when we took a plunge last year to a very short Hong Kong trip as Kyle was into Disney characters back then, we realized: "Hey, we can finally travel as a family again!"  

Kyle was amazingly obedient during our Hong Kong trip so this year, after a crazy start of a year and with Kyle's school break in mind, it was late at night when I told Mr. AMW: "Let's go on a trip!  Let's do this!"  With only a week or so planning, we originally wanted Singapore but the heat and humid made us go for Taipei (still hot, at least not as humid!)  

But what to do in Taipei?  That's the first question we had in mind.  I've been to Taipei 15 years ago and Mr. AMW went with his schoolmates for a month-long TAIWAN tour 20 years ago.  I knew we had to go back and refresh our memories on how Taiwan looks like nowadays.

When I searched for Kid-friendly places, I was surprised how Taiwan is actually a kid-friendly country that no one really talks about!  They have their own version of Disneyland called Leofoo Theme Park.  They have their own Ocean Park in Beitou, they have their own Space Museum and a whole lot more!

That excites us so we finally booked a date and time flew by pretty quickly.  We didn't even purchased any tourist pass as we just want to go with the flow and see how Kyle would react to these sites!  And the entrance aren't expensive anyways so this is another alternative for moms and dads who want to bring their kids to a kid-friendly country!  THIS IS IT!  Are you ready?

Taipei Children's Amusement Park

Price: 60NT (kids below 7 yrs old goes in for free!), a deposit of at least 100NT is needed and refunded amount will be given back before 5:00pm

Address: No. 55, Section 5, Chengde Road, Shillin District, Taipei City

How to Get There: MRT to Jiantan Station or Shilin Station and make transfers on a shuttle bus.

Opening hours: 

Tip: Since we booked a hotel at ZhongShan district which is just 2 stations away from Shilin Station, we've decided to take a cab going there since it costs around 200NT only (less than Php400.00 one way).  We want to reserve our energy for fun playing inside the park!  If you live far from the park, take an MRT station to Shilin station and take a cab from there, it will be way cheaper!

This amusement park includes a brand new Ferries Wheel which you won't miss!  There's also Bumper Cars, Ocean Carousel (musical carriage), Dancing Fly (dragon boat), Wave Swinger, Monorail and Spinning Tea cups, Roller Coaster, Crazy Bus, Drop Tower, Pirate Ship, Telecombat and Spinning Chairs.

Tony Moly Piglet Pink Blusher 02 Review

When I last visited Tony Moly store at SM North EDSA, I immediately spotted a cute Piglet Blusher for 2019 and without any thoughts, went for it!

I'm glad I did!

Tony Moly Piglet Pink

Shade in focus: 02 Shy Pig

Price: Php428.00

These cute Piglet blushers gives a soft but vivid color expression on the cheeks and covers up unwanted sebum. Contains oil essence that has good adhesion and lasts long with one touch.

Taipei Travel: Yomi Hotel Review

I am a researcher by profession, I also graduated with honors Bachelors in Science in TOURISM.  I used to dream to be a tour guide, a travel coordinator, an agent.  That part of my dream did not happen but it happened in so many different ways.

Me touring my colleagues when I worked in China as I speak the language.  

Me creating our special itinerary whenever we travel.

Me doing all sorts of tour guide jobs whenever friends from different countries arrive here.

So yes, that job I take seriously and our last minute decision to go on family vacation while Kyle is on summer break tested my research skill once again!  And so far, my gut-feel did not fail me!  I booked one of the best hotel in Taipei and mind you - it isn't even pricey! 

P.S. NOT SPONSORED.  But totally happy with this 3-star hotel!

A tip to mommies or even non-mommies - start with your daily accommodation budget and stat from there, that way, you won't get overwhelm with a LONG list of hotel.  Next, read reviews via TripAdvisor or Agoda.  Take time to read them one by one before you take the plunge! Thing to note for?  How far it is located from public transport, what can the hotel offer?  Do they have nearby convenience stores?  What are the places you want to visit and if all else's fail, how long will it take to take a taxi/cab from your hotel to the place of interest?   (this is very important if you have kids!  at some point, you may feel extremely tired so taxi will be the last option and you don't want to spend too much if the point of interest is far from your hotel!) 

That said, I booked a hotel at ZhongShan district because our points of interest are the ff.: Children's Amusement Park, Children's Astronomical Museum, Shilin Market, Taipei Zoo, etc...

If your points of interests are touristy spots like Chiang Kai Shek, Taipei 101, Ximen, etc... you may opt to look for hotels at Taipei Main Station are, Ximenting, etc.. 

Now back to Yomi Hotel, I got around 3 hotels fit to our budget to go for.  The reason why Yomi won after reading reviews from fellow travelers who have kids!  Now, with pictures, let me share to you why this Hotel WON!

Kid-friendly room, meaning, good-sized bed and spacious room and bathroom!

Huge TV with several channels that are kid-friendly!  We forgot our Chromecast but yay for Disney Channel (note: you just have to change the language setting as they were originally in Chinese!)  But yes, this kid-friendly TV gave me time to put on makeup, dry my hair, change clothes while Kyle enjoy his own me-time.



Now, the FREEBIES list goes ON AND ON AND ON!  Seriously, I can't find another hotel who offers such!

Free use of WIFI unit, you just have to go to the reception area and make sure to return it by 12:00am.  If you stay for 5 days, you can borrow it every single day FOR FREE!  I did not borrow a WIFI unit as I brought my own Big Sky Nation!