Taiwan Summer Trip Beauty Items 2018

I was looking at the last major haul that I've done and it was a year ago!

Since the last year, I have moved from NYC to a smaller metropolitan city so there was less sales meaning less buying. I do still buy stuff, but more as a need-basic. I was trying to use up product that I already had and I was doing a great job. Also I learned more about my skin and what it needs instead of buying what was hot on the market. I was focused on getting sunscreen because the sunscreen in the states aren't as strong and can't protect you from the sun as the Asian brands.

Below is what I got overseas!

Beijing Summer Trip 2018

I spent a week in Beijing this hot summer.!

I took Eva flight and food was decent.


Everyone comes to Beijing to view the Tiananmen Square...


And exit...




Onto the Temple of Heaven




Onto the Great Wall of China




Onto the Summer Palace
















Onto the Bird's Nest where they hosted the past Olympics. 





When I was at the Beijing Airport, I spotted a Starbucks and ordered the Mano passion fruit frap because this drink wasn't offered in the US.
But it was a disappointment. This taste like juice instead of a frap.



Meal on the way back from Beijing.

Taiwan Trip June 2017 Part 3 - Shopping (skincare) and Food

I finally had some free time towards the end of my trip to do some Asian skincare shopping!
Look at all the fast food in the picture below - it's a combination of western and eastern.

Must keep yourself hydrated!

All the skincare that I hauled on this trip. Of course there is alot of green tea and brightening related products.

Green tea and red bean are always a part of Taiwanese snacks and pastries.

Mangoes and dragon fruits were in season! They were delicious!

If you visit Taiwan and you love matcha and red bean as much as I do, you can find these ice bars in the huge chain-supermarkets.

Below is an old alleyway where you can find snacks and dried medicinal things.

Below is the common 8-flavored shaved ice. All the toppings are on the bottom.

If you visit Kaohsiung, you must come here to eat the mango shaved ice (if you come in the summer time when mangoes are in season). The owner makes all her toppings!

The strawberry and banana pudding toppings were so yummy!

My mornings were usually matcha milk and pudding pastries orientated!

Of course, we visited this American-styled diner and had some grilled salmon, cod and steak. 
The portions were huge!

Sushi and Seaweed was all I had my eyes on here in Taiwan!

10NT each and you can see that I love Jasmine black/purple rice.

Going back, I took the High Speed train from Kaohsiung to Taipei. I'm sorry for the person that was caught in my pic, but I really wanted to take a pic of the sign "Zuoying" before my train left!

This was my lunch of guava smoothie and Japanese bento that I brought at the Taipei Main Station when I got off the High Speed train in Taipei. The eel bento was only 200NT (~$7US). 

I went near Taiwan University to find some cheap and yummy food with a cousin and was recommended to try this Cantonese-styled place. I ordered the typical BBQ pork fried rice. It was really good. The 3 desserts are unlimited and self-served. The teas are self-served and really delicious. 

My last drink was from a vending machine at the Taoyuan airport. 
This British milk tea tasted better than milk teas that I had in England...just saying.

The food coming back from Taipei to the US on United Airlines wasn't tasty at all. 
Maybe my taste buds were spoiled in Taiwan-haha.

View from the skies!!

Below is an extra pic of an almost ripe Mango from the branch. 

China - $49 Nine-day Jiangnan Deluxe Gourmet Tour - Days in Shanghai

This was my first time travelling to China. What shocked me was that the China visa was about $140, but it is for multi-entry for 10 years, so that was ok. I participated in the 9-day Jiangnan Deluxe Gourmet Tour. I was more into food than China at the beginning of the trip so my expectations were low.

Here is a link of the destinations : Click here for link!

Technically the trip is 7 days (a week) because you spend 2 days on your trip to and from China. It is best that you have a foundation of good Chinese speaking and understanding because you are entering a different country and please be considerate of another country's customs. For the price of $49, I was blown away. The hotels were 5-stars and the food was good. Basically, you buy stuff from the sponsors (jade, silk, pearls, tea) and they pay for your hotels and food. Below is our itinerary for the week. You just have to pay for your round-trip plane ticket and the tips for the tour guide at the end of your entire tour.


Day 1 - leaving NYC to Shanghai

Day 2 - Shanghai - We were picked up by a driver that was hired by the hotel from Shanghai Pudong airport and the rest of the day was free for us to roam around. So we went shopping around Nanjing Xi Street and meet up with a family relative later for dinner. Below is a temple just 5 minutes walk from our hotel.



We stayed at the Portman-Ritz-Carlton Hotel which is at the central of luxury shopping. We were hungry but didn't want to eat alot before dinner so we went to Food Mart and got carry-out sushi. It was pretty good for US$5.

  

Not including in the tour.  We met up with my uncle and eat at Lu Lu Restaurant 上海鷺鷺酒家, located at 南京西路1266号恒隆广场5楼.

  

 Afterwards we did a bit of night market shopping. There's a lot of Korean cosmetics brand shops here. But I got my haul in Taiwan so I wasn't interested here. I kind of regret not getting the Bioderma product there. There's always my next trip to Asia...

  

 Look at the China flags on the streets.

  

 

Police cars and tour buses.

 

Downtown and the main attraction at night. 

 

Complimentary breakfast at the hotel in the next  morning.  My favorite part of the day.

 

I separated the entry blogs by locations so after the entire trip we went back to Shanghai.

I'm going to jump to Day 9 because we came back to Shanghai. I wanted to keep each post on one city. The next couple of post will continue after Day 1 - The last day of the trip means coming back and saying good-bye to Shanghai. We woke up in Shanghai at the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Pudong Hotel and pack and went to the airport for the 11am flight.

 

My entire perspective on China has changed since physically visiting China. I think if you have an slight interest in China or Asia, you should visit here once in your lifetime.