Showing posts with label shopee ph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopee ph. Show all posts

Friday, January 10, 2025

September 15-21, 2024 in Taiwan Photo Diary 3 of 5: Sun Moon Lake Day Tour in Nantou County

This post may contain some affiliate links related to tours and travelling to and around Kaohsiung or just Taiwan in general. A click on those links and a purchase supports this blog (and the blogger, herself). As always, thank you for your support and for visiting, reading, browsing through this space. 


Now THIS, this one, this part of this trip, I liked very much. I'm the very chill person type and this tour is the very me in a nutshell.



I copped this at a 7-11 at the one stop we did on the way to Sun Moon Lake on September 18. I got somewhat addicted to it, still kind of am, I wish I bought 2-3 more packs of this thing to bring home even if it meant I have to like, suffer bringing this around while exploring the lake. 

So basically, I booked me and my aunt the:

Sun Moon Lake One-Day Tour Departure from Taipei

....and set the pick-up from or around the hotel we were in because I knew we might not make the pick up point mentioned on the tour. I also booked this one a day or two before the flight to Kaohsiung, Taiwan so we were all set for a day out of Taipei and into a more relaxed Sun Moon Lake area in the Yuchi Township of Nantou County. It's a totally different but nearby region of Taiwan from Taipei or it's even closer to Taichung. It's about 3-hours ish from Taipei by drive/van. 

If you want to book the tour as is, with the hostel/hotel pick up option unchecked, the meeting place would be somewhere around the Taipei Main Station and you would have to be early there. 

Anyway, so I'm quite addicted to this one I can't help but feel...I should've gotten 2 to 3 packs of this one to bring home just because...it's just THAT good for a Taiwanese snack I wish they sold it somewhere out of Taiwan too. I'm sadt now and missing snacking on/eating this one.



We made it to Shuishe Pier maybe around 8 or 9 in the morning and started the day tour from there.




The first place we visited was a Christian Church...more like a chapel because it wasn't as big as a church by the said pier. I don't remember who had this one made there but he was or is a prominent figure of Taiwan History. He had that church made for his wife or so, if I recall correctly. Based on what our guide told us of it.

I would say the view of the lake from the chapel is beautiful because it is but I didn't take any photos of the chapel itself for some reason. Well, someone there did make us try tea with mint and it was sooo goods so that was nice. I'll leave it at that.





The views of the lake, like, every part of it are beautiful so I had to take pictures.  I took as much of it as I can during this trip. A good number of those photos were taken on our way down to the Sun Moon Lake Shuishe Wharf where our ferry waited to take us to Xuanguang Wharf to see the Xuanguang Temple across it.

Before we went down to the wharf, however, we first visited a Christian church by the pier for a quick second. The tea they offered there for us to taste was immaculate. It was refreshingly minty.







The views here on the way to the Buddhist temple is also really nice but the smell of the ocean, as my aunt said/commented, isn't exactly the best. 

By the way, no one swims in the lake every year. People are not allowed to swim there except 1 day in the year as our tourist guide told us. I forgot what day of the year that was he said to be or I think it could be the leap year which is every four years... Hmn... I don't think the water's that clean for swimming anyway. It's color is beautiful but yeah...nope, it's not it for swimming.


I like going on trips to do stuff like hiking, walking, maybe bicycling and well, mostly those. It's the activity around nature that gets me going on trips like this. So going to Xuanguang Temple from the wharf there was just that, lots of going up flights of stairs towards the temple and what waited for us was a treat of black tea boiled eggs from the tour guide, our group's tour guide.

Anyway, there were more pretty views of the lake on the way up to the temple and going back down from it so more pictures and a photo of the entrance to the temple as well. The entryway part to the temple had some benches with trees as shade so it's a good place to eat, have a picnic and rest from the hike up before going down and we did just that.

Other than this temple, further along this area is a pagoda I'm curious about, the Cien Pagoda. I heard it's really pretty and like this temple, is also quite the hike especially inside the pagoda and to the top of it to get the prettiest views of the lake but yeah, we were pressed for time so we didn't really go to that one anymore. 

I plan to make the Cien Pagoda again on a trip solely just in and around Sun Moon Lake. I'd actually not mind staying there, within that area for around 5 days or so to just relax, chill, and explore it. I plan to see more sights then than I did during this day tour and maybe do some cycling around here. This place, I have been reading and heard or watched from others' vlogs on youtube, has a very good scenic cycling trail. Of course, I'd like to do cycling here, too!





After the Xuanguang Temple, it was back to the wharf, into the ferry and into the, what is to me the highlight of this trip, the ferry ride to the Yidashao Wharf close to it where the Ita Thao Visitors' Center that has a cute and very quaint souvenir store I got some cat magnets from for white boards or refrigerator doors and the Ita Thao Market I'd been looking forward to checking out the whole of this day trip are in.



Random 'fit check at a store along Ita Thao Market that had locally made stuff!

Shacket: old, it's thrifted from a favorite thrift store in Dumaguete City and I'm still the most obsessed with this thing I am never without it when I travel now
Top and skorts set: the boat neck top and midrise skorts in sepia brown from Stitch It by J and C on Shopee PH.
Bag: kipling defea in blush/rose
Tote bag: anik-anik on instagram
Shoes/sneakers: found in Marshalls in NorCal and gifted to me by an aunt there Asics from maybe 2 years ago or so (2023 ish...so, just almost 2 years ago)


The only decent lunch we could find in and/or around the market. Hehe.


I didn't really buy a lot of things to bring home but I anticipated that there'd be tea, loose tea leaves to buy there since I've read the area around or before the lake is into farming tea, so I brought just enough money to get those. I got a couple of different loose tea leaves across the beef noodle place we ate lunch at, at the Ita Thao Market.

I've just opened the red bag and I drink this one lately with a squeeze of calamansi (a squeeze of lemon will also do) and some sugar or with milk and some sugar. I normally drink these iced so they're even more refreshing and they keep me from having to go to my favorite boba place here, Chingkeetea, to get my regular dose of milk tea/boba and others.

I didn't take much photos of the market but it's a good one. Just one whole street of it. Most you can find there are souvenir stores and the one I was most curious about were the ones selling flavored vinegar. They also have their own brewed wines if you're into that. Their vinegars are very fruity, they're very different from the ones we're used to here for cooking, making food, etc. 

I don't drink alcohol anymore so maybe I'll skip on the wine they make/brew there should I be able to come back to Sun Moon lake again on my own and have more leisure time or so to spend there.


Another random 'fit check at the bathroom/toilet at the Ita Thao Visitors' Center. Their bathroom/toilet is pretty nice.


I bought this milk tea to try before going back to the Yidashao Wharf for our ferry trip back to the Sun Moon Lake Shuishe Wharf and Shuishe Pier. This was only milk tea number one of this trip for me because the other I had in Ximending was a cocktail of fruits tea kind so I'm slow on the boba/milk tea intake during this trip. I know other tourists that's not me and my aunt would've bought milk tea number 5 or 6 by now at this point of the 5-day trip in Taiwan if they are there for this one. I wasn't. I wanted to really immerse myself in sight seeing and getting lost in Taipei for this trip instead as it was something I didn't get to do last time I was here back in 2018, for the Pentagon Prism Concert Tour stop. Heh.



This staircase apparently has 365, 366 steps representing every day of the year (including the leap year). There're also famous people's names inscribed per step coinciding with their birthdays. If you're birthday is in September 17 like mine, then you might like to look for that step here to see which famous person you're celebrating your birthday with. Ah, and these people's names inscribed per step here aren't just Taiwanese, some are also celebrities, maybe some heroes, too, from all over the world!

I do wonder who has the same birthday as I do...hmn...








Something about Taoist temples get me. It's probably because there is one that's just a few steps away from here at home in Cagayan de Oro City. I used to play in their lawn as a kid with my then teenaged and/or early 20s aunts. Toaist temples are also something you'd see in Filipino-Chinese movies. I see them there anyways and how people worship and pray to the deities there. Taoism and Taoist temples are likely the most familiar to me of all East Asian religions or belief systems.








I like that this temple has a lot of room. It's one massive temple made up of smaller temples or shrines to different kinds of deities Taoism has. The last photo is of a room where you pray to find love or something like that.



This one is where you make wishes and throw coins into the mouth of the dragons so your wishes can come true/get answers. I didn't have any luck with this one compared to the claw machines in Taipei. Haha.



....and this was our last stop for this sight seeing tour in Sun Moon Lake in the Yuchi Township of Nantou County in Taiwan. It was a pretty relaxing and chill day trip there. We went to a souvenir and treats shop for pineapple cakes etc. before we drove back to Taipei, Taipei Main Station specifically.

*****

You can DIY your Sun Moon Lake stay and tour via Taichung if you wish...this something I'd do in my next trip there. Or you can also book a day tour there from Taipei and from Taichung. Buses going to Sun Moon Lake are in Taichung hence this is more accessible from there. There are also those from the bus station in Taipei but it'll take you longer to get to Sun Moon Lake if you took that one instead of those in Taichung.

I opted to book a tour with the Klook site, app for me and my aunt because it was easy and convenient and were going to be in Taipei for like, 2 days and about 2 nights anyway. This is a join in tour so we had two other Filipino men with us and about 3 white people---a couple and 1 other girl---with us for this tour.

Here are some of the Sun Moon Lake tours you can book if you choose to go for this one on your trip to Taiwan:


I've forgotten if this was the one we took but yep, you can take this one.


I think this is much more expensive as it is a private tour but this is ideal for families and those who do not like join in tours and prefer privacy in their tours/travels.

I don't mind join in tours (and even staying in hostels now) so I wouldn't really go for this tour package unless I want the day tour or so to be more intimate.

Here are some Sun Moon Lake day tours that depart from Taichung:




You can also do a combined tours with Sun Moon Lake and other interesting places in Taiwan:


This one departs from Taipei.

Or if you just want to hang around Sun Moon Lake and explore the place, you can always take the buses from the high speed rail station in Taichung or the shared transport to Sun Moon Lake here:



Should you plan to stay around Sun Moon Lake to explore the place for like, 3-5 days for example, as I wish to the next time I'm there, here are some activities there you can partake in:


I've read from blogs, tourist reading materials, and watched from vloggers who went to Taiwan solely just to go to Sun Moon Lake and chill and explore the outdoors that this place has a good cycling trail. Renting a bicycle and going around the lake and explore the areas of it I've never been to like the Cien Pagoda is in my bucket list for the next time I find myself there. I can ride the bicycle, yes, I don't do, like, stunts in them like other cyclists do however.


There are some places of interest for tourists in Sun Moon Lake that are easier access with the yachts or boats/ferries. The two wharfs we went to here in this post are examples of these. If you want to access these places by ferry or boat, you can get a private tour like this on the Klook app and/or site so you can have the guide, the driver of the yacht, too, to yourself.


If you prefer to DIY your trip to these other wharfs in Sun Moon Lake and see what they offer there like the souvenirs, locally brewed wines, fruity flavored vinegars, tea and more from Ita Thao Market, you can always get this boat ticket to get there via Klook app and/or site.

I went there in a join in tour group so I didn't really need to get the boat ticket through the app and/or site. The tour guide got it for us and it's included in the amount we paid for to book the tour.


There are other rides like the cable car in Sun Moon Lake. This is, I think, like, a few steps from the Ita Thao Market? It's around that area anyway. If you have the time for this one, you can book this to see Sun Moon Lake from above. 

You can choose from any combo of their offering on the app and/or site for this one. I would personally go for the bicycle rental, boat ticket, and cable car combo if I had more time to spend at Sun Moon Lake back then. I'd definitely go for this one when in Sun Moon Lake again one day and that would be when I have more time to explore the place! 

Yes, they allow people to board with their bicycles in the ferry or the boat so you can definitely do any of the bicycle rental and boat ticket combo here.


I like tea---it doesn't matter if it's black, green, flower teas, strong, mild, moderate although I'm currently very much into Hongkong style milk tea again lately all thanks to both Gongcha (their house blend black tea is sooo good. It's totally my thing. Yep.) and Macao Imperial Tea House so...---so I think I'd be the type to enjoy this activity. I like doing stuff with my hands as much as I like to do stuff with my legs and body while running, jogging, hiking, and bicycling. 

If you're into tea like I am, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too!

There are many other activities to do in and around Sun Moon Lake though I like that I can just chill and relax in there for days because it's just really pretty there and there's just nature everywhere...plus Ita Thao Market is my vibe because it's not that big and everything Taiwanese you might like is there (like it was or is in that one market I went to in Cijin Island or...two markets...I think?) including milk tea so yep, it's a great place to be in when in Taiwan.

This place is good for solo travelers like yours truly who just wants a place to chill and relax in and also do some nature-related activities for physical fitness and more. But you can also come here with a plus one and just chill. Yep. Any of the two will do. Yes, please.

*****

3 down, I still have 2 more to go for this Taiwan travel series' photo diary of sorts (with some chatter at the beginning, between some photos, and at the end, of course).

See you in the next one!

-K
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Saturday, December 21, 2024

Christmas 2024 Gift Guide

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**Photos here are all taken from Shopee PH unless otherwise stated below them.

It's 4-5 days until Christmas 2024 and if you don't have any gifts yet, then...well, there's still somehow some time to get them for friends, family, and more. You can go to the mall or any small business you like going to (to avoid crowds for one) and get them in person or if you're like me who doesn't like the crowded malls and like to avoid a ton of people buying stuff last minute anywhere in person during the Christmas rush, well, then here's a purely online gift guide for you that I hope, if you purchase them ASAP or now, arrives the quickest to you before Christmas or maybe only just a few days after it so you can still make it to the gift exchanges at home and out:

1. Papemelroti 2025 Pocket Planner | Calendar | Daily Weekly Monthly Yearly Mini Journal Notebook

I don't know about y'guys but I'm a huge advocate of gifting people something they can put to good use from the beginning of 2025 to the end of it. Considering the prices of goods, our needs, wants have skyrocketed over time and continues to do so, still, I think it's only right that we give people we hold dear to us the things they may forget to get for themselves and more this Christmas.

Now, regarding these pocket planners...I know people use their phones now as planners but for me, nothing beats having a traditional paper planner around you can doodle and write in for when you're bored at a doctor's appointment or when in a cafe and you just want to write down memories from today, the past week and more. Also, this practice can keep us off of our tech that makes us forget we can still actually pick up a pen and write, draw, doodle, whatever anytime we wish to, to keep ourselves preoccupied somehow.

These planners are pretty thin so they don't take up a lot of space in your friends' and family members' bags at all. 

I got around 5 of these when I visited Metro Manila back in October for the Big Time Rush concert. The concert was around...the 15th if I remember correctly and I had some time to chill at the U.P. Town Center near the new family's place so I wandered around there, found Papemelroti and stocked up on these to give away to friends and more this Christmas.

Here's the undated version if you'd like your friends and family to exercise their creativity with pens and papers even more:

Papemelroti Undated Pocket Planner | Book of Days Calendar Weekly Monthly


2. Papemelroti 2025 Wall Calendar | Undated Dated Planner | Daily Weekly Monthly Hanging Calendar

Every house, every room or bedroom in the house should have the wall calendar and it's never to early to stock up on these than a few days or weeks before 2025. 

I purchased one from National Bookstore some time ago, before I left for somewhere with my dad which I'll be blogging about later, at like, Php 99 (about 2 USD when converted) and then found that this is just Php 65 (1 USD, basically just a dollar and some cents) on Papemelroti on Shopee PH. Ugh. If I'd known, I'd had ordered one of these for myself and more for family and friends in multiples. Well...next time, I guess.

Just a random note: Papemelroti is a local company and even though I avoid their religious stuff (they have prints of this nature) because I'm not at all religious (either just a moderate or refuse to be, I'm actually an agnostic apatheist. More of an apatheist than anything) I have 0 qualms, 0 regrets buying stuff from them because I'm supporting a local, small business and I know money I spend on stuff from them like this and the planners and more are put to good use (for the wages of their workers, production, etc).

Back to regular programming after that quick side trip to what this stationeries, paper etc company is all about, this wall calendar has many uses. You can hang it on your wall as it should be but if you don't like to do that, you can always just use it as a planner and keep it on your desk somehow. ....like, for easy access.

Other calendars from Papemelroti you might be interested in if you're not a wall calendar person or you don't like wall calendars you have to flip to get to the next month like this one:



Papemelroti has other stuff you can gift to friends and family and more that aren't calendars and/or planners. They also do customization of various things like tote bags and more so if you want something more personalized, you can go for those. For me, these are my other options to give people with that are more personalized and of course, are really the prettiest of what they have or offer there and they're not just for Christmas gifting but for birthdays, Mother's day etc too:



I think you'll notice in later posts here, especially the 'fit (outfit) posts that I'm lately very much into keychains, anything to make bags look the cutest so this definitely is in my wishlist rn. I might just get one or two or three of these for myself and friends next year.  



I dunno. I drink a lot of water, tea, juices and more lately (minus alcoholic stuff because I ditched those in the middle to the end of the pandemic lockdowns and all that jazz) so I definitely could put coasters like this to good use and I have some I have made out of or sewed with scrap fabrics I still use from time. If you have family and friends who love to drink a lot of stuff like me, then this is a good one to have to gift to them this Christmas or even if it's not anymore Christmas. Hehe.

3. The usual personal use products like fragrances/perfumes, soaps, etc. Emphasis on the PERFUMES/FRAGRANCES.

I'm lately very much into dupes of some popular fragrances and currently, I'm into Givenchy's L'Interdit and Maison Margiela's Replica's Beach Walk (I'm a tropical island girlie so it isn't surprising this one appeals to me a lot these days). 

I don't know. I can't get myself to buy the original ones because for one, they're expensive and I'm not fond of the fragrance industry or high fashion brands piggy backing on workers exploited to produce these things for fragrance enthusiasts like me and more. These dupes in 10 mL bottles I can slip into my bag and carry and spritz on me when needed are enough for me for everyday use.

My current favorite shops on Shopee PH to get these fragrances from are:

I'm currently looking into the TSC Fleur de Lait Inspired Perfume from them. It's originally by Miu Miu. I find its fragrance notes interesting hence why I'm considering getting this one next. I'm a sucker for summery, tropical island girl scents like Maison Margiela's Replica's Beach Walk so it's only right I'm curious, very curious about this one.

My current favorite from this shop is their The Forbidden which is Givenchy's L'Interdit inspired. I'm looking into trying their Diptyque Ilio dupe, Powdery Iris so I'm likely getting both this and the Miu Miu inspired one from the other shop above soonish. The soonest I can.

I would add Poperi stuff here but the shop and seller's on vacation so I can't really add anything from there here for now. I have their lipbalm in blush/pink though. It comes with spf 15 or so and I've given another to my bestest friend along with a really cute teddy bear keychain also sold there so yep, should they come back out of vacation, I'd say go for their products. There's something there for the girls in your life. Things that are quite useful daily.

Here are some alternative lip balms and such with spf that you can get at a mix of prices but still quite affordable or accessible that I'm looking into rn:


It's colorless but it comes with Spf so this would work well with any lip or multi-use tint or even lipliner and lipstick. It's only Php 130 (a little over 2 USD converted).

I've always been somewhat a fan of Beach Born. Them, Human Heart Nature, and Rraw from Iloilo were my introductions to the organic, plant based skin care industry and I'm happy these three are still standing til now and still are producing and selling stuff I know I'll love once I try them. I have a few things from this brand I'm quite curious about so let's see how this thing with Beach Born does me later once I've tried their stuff I've been meaning to try.


It's on sale for only Php 88 now so come and get it! It's only available in two shades now, however. This would be a good stocking stuffer or addition to care packages for friends and family who're into anything girlie...well, women's self care. 


Beach Born's may be a cheaper alternative to this one but if you're more into mainstream brands, this would make a good gift for someone who finds skin care and self care products with spf a necessity in their make up bags and all. Personally, I would still try this one out if I could but I'm not one to hoard skin and self care stuff so yeah, until I can hold off getting this one because I've others I'm trying to finish (my BLK one and Poperi's), I'm good.


Beach Hut Sunblock has a similar (gift) set as this but as expected, that one's much more expensive since their sunscreen stick costs around Php 700 (14 ish USD converted) ish on its own. This duo would be a more accessible one versus the former if you're gifting someone who is into skin care with Spf, sun heat/light protection.

Personally...I would give this a try over BHS'.

Speaking of spf, let's go to skin care...sunscreen is important here so I have a lot of options for this one:


I've been curious about this tinted sunscreen for a while now. One of my favorite vloggers raved about this one and it's been on my local tinted sunscreen list to try for a while now since. It's local and I think the company making this is in Pangasinan (up north in Luzon Island) hence why the vlogger who's from the same place raves about this.

For its price, Php 280 (about 5 USD plus some cents converted), I think it's worth it to try and have on the sunscreen rotation. I currently have 2 Biore sunscreens from Taiwan from October's trip there (oops...I wasn't supposed to reveal this until later but it's already, I already posted and wrote about this on instagram anyway so...) and I still have of Fairyskin, the old pink one, to finish so it'll be a while before I can get into this one. I want to finish those first since I seem fine with them anyway, especially Fairyskin.

This is definitely a good one to gift someone with especially if they're very into good local skincare.

A cheaper alternative for this would be:


I have this in my to-try list in forever now. It's so much cheaper than Schades' sunscreen and it's just as tinted...I can't really ask for anything more in a sunscreen I could use everyday. I also see they've changed and improved the packaging for this one. It looks nice now though the last packaging for this was just as good. 

They have a clear, non-tinted version of this sunscreen here, too:


I would gladly replace my Fairyskin sunscreen with this and the tinted one next time because this is definitely, like, a fraction of the price of that one and this one seems to be getting good reviews on platforms like Tiktok. 

Who knows? This might even become my holy grail here other than the other ones I'm currently using rn. 

Anyway, if you or someone you're gifting these things to are into skin care with sun protection, these are definitely good options to look into.

I normally make or build care packages rather than just one specific gifts to friends (family, it's usually a different thing for me as I know what they are into in some way or form) and I'm definitely the type to put some of these items I've linked to here into said package...s for the closest friends (sometimes even, the cousins since I currently have 2 lady cousins here in Cagayan de Oro City with my brother and me). Are you the specific something gifter or the one that's similar to me, the care packages builder and gifter?

Fragrancies, lippies, sunscreen, what else should I put in here?

Ah...

4. Health and Wellness (Tita, Tito things) stuff

Seriously, seriously, seriously...at this time, we should all be looking after our health. 

Due to how depressing our global and local economy is rn, we might forget to get things that actually are good for our health. We may even not be able to maintain first aid kits, vitamins etc we carry with us daily to work or just for going outside, maybe even travelling because of how expensive these things are lately.

Best things to gift someone who's into looking into their health would be:

Vitamins - go for either multivitamins or in my case, I usually have vitamin C separate from Biotin and both, separate from vitamin B12. These three are the only vitamins I'm taking lately. I'm slowly going to incorporate multivitamins here so I can lessen the amount of stuff I carry regarding this one anyways.

....and for multivitamins, I'd go for...



I'm currently taking a separate vitamin C and vitamin B12 but I'm looking to take them in one go next time. My current stash of these vitamins include:



Ever since this company or corporation, whichever works, visited a previous company I worked for some years ago, I've been hooked onto their stuff. Vitamin C and their Vitamin B12 or B-complex mostly. They conducted an random health check along with advertising their products there and deemed me healthy at my semi-vegetarian/vegan best self at the time so I've been a convert and like, more of a follower of their stuff since. They're vitamin C and B12/complex aren't that expensive, 3 pads for the latter at Php 100-150 ish (around 3 USD) and Php 100-150 ish too for a pad of 10 tablets of their vitamin B12/Bcomplex and they're vegetarian/vegan friendly too (or so they told me back then anyway), yep. I buy these regularly as I can since then and until now.

The have other variants of their vitamin Cs...for the acidic, since vitamin C is pretty acidic itself, there's:


and there's one with Calcium, too:


It's pricier at Php 300 (about 6 USD converted) but at least your calcium source and vitamin source will just be 1 capsule a day.

Their vitamin B12/B complex is:


I find it weird this isn't listed in their company's Shopee PH page but it's their, Bewell's product and I usually bought this with my vitamin C stash in person from Watsons Ph.

I don't really drink Stress Tabs or anything similar, just these so far and I'm still alright, functioning right and all so these work for me. I'm not entirely sure if it'll work for like, you, your giftee/gift recipient but well, these are worth the try. Berocca rn is still expensive so I'd wait for a sale of it in Watsons Ph and get them in person from there. I read somewhere they do buy 1 take 1 sales of this one at times so those days would be a good time to stock up on this, yes.

Other tita, tito (older people, maybe older working and all millennials stuff) essentials that are a good idea of gift people would be the everyday, pain-, itch- etc relief balms I know a lot of us have in our makeup bags or first aid kits.

I currently have this one here to last me a while:



This works fine for me so far along with this one...



This is way too expensive and impractical to have if you're moving around like I find myself to usually be doing so these days so I only have this one in 5 mL and I left mine in another new place of the family's somewhere in Iloilo City just sometime early this month. Hehe. Well, at least I have something of this sort to use while I'm there. The 5 ml one is cheaper and practical for the always on the go so it's a good fit for me and should be very much appreciated by your gift recipient/giftee too.

Ah, I just discovered they have a White Flower Philippines shop on shopee PH here and their travel, on-the-go friendly 5mL one is sold in twos here so...:



....you can stock up on this for both yourself and your fellow always on the go, grinding 24/7 Tita, Tito friends here.

I'm not going to lie but the bottle for this, it's tiny, and the print on it and design really got me when I found this in a Watsons Ph store, one of about 3 or more they have there, in SM City Iloilo in Mandurriao, Iloilo City last...sometime between December 13 and 15.

Oh and...when I got home following this purchase, I opened the thing and smelled it from the bottle and its smell is addicting. I get why some people are into this one here now. 



I'm honestly more a Omega ointment girl since I was a kid because it's really, really proving itself useful to me versus really itchy mosquito bites which is what I usually use these balms and ointments for along with muscle soreness, pain, colds, clogged nose, and more. I would still get this one more than the other two above I'm trying out these days because well, it's tried and tested by me and for a long while, this one has just never really failed me. I think, price-wise, this is also more accessible than the other two above as, to me, I think it's a local product. You won't see this anywhere else but here. (To compare, White Flower is a Chinese product and TIGERBALM is, if I recall correctly, Thai.)

Omega ointment now comes in a tube form as a cream and as a sort of mist. I'm not a big fan of the latter and have never tried the former so I stick with this OG form of the liniment/ointment in the bottle which I have known and I'm the most familiar with for years and years and years. Since I was a kid, really.

I rarely get mosquito bites now (I think the mosquitos here now know me well not to bite me or so often) but I'd still find this handy to have everywhere and I'd get this in Watsons Ph, in Gaisano Supermarket or maybe even Rose Pharmacy (which is, I think, affiliated with Gaisano here), or our own Ororama Supercenter whenever I can. In person/personally. 

The verdict, for me, is still out on TIGERBALM and White Flower but Omega is definitely king of ointments/liniments for me for about...well, itchiness, pain and more. Even headaches/migraines. 

Some will say Efficascent Oil is better than Omega but I find the former too weak versus itchy mosquito bites so hard pass on that one...for me anyways.

The debate on Omega versus Efficascent Oil has been around since both started, since I was kid so I won't even go there and just say or leave it here that I like what I like and it's Omega. This is like Bench versus Penshoppe all over again from my teenhood here in Philippines, yes. And I want 0 to do with that anymore now.

Older millennial Tita things. Our health really matters these days especially if we work a lot, like backbreaking type of work a lot just to survive in this age of...well...the global economy being a mess of sorts.

I feel like there are fun gifts to give but a lot of them are unnecessary so it's best if we give/gift one another necessities we forget to get for ourselves. It'll definitely lessen the weight on one another's shoulders if we do this and we know there's someone looking out for us, caring for us and more...someone, people who always have our backs whatever we may do daily.

5. Snack treats/food, beverages

At this point, we might as well give one another grocery packs. Haha. But that isn't that bad an idea to gift one another with this Christmas 2024, I think. At least grocery packs are very useful at home and we don't have to run to the grocery stores, supermarkets to get stuff this season if we gave one another this.

It might be ideal to go the healthy snacks route for this one, however. Christmas season, because it's a time to celebrate something (the birth of Jesus Christ) and a time to gather with family and eat all sorts of food (in the homes here in the Philippines, most will even have the sinful lechon on their tables...roasted suckling pig or something of the sort in English)...it can get quite unhealthy for some of us.

Some ideas I have for this one would be sugar free drinks and a cocktail of nuts/trail mixes. Maybe soda crackers too (Skyflakes, especially, I'm a huge fan of this one...I like it more than I do the other one, Magic Flakes which is too salty for me). These can easily be found in the supermarket so you really don't have to agonize over where to find these around with Christmas coming fast rn.

Some will definitely give baked goods but I don't know...still too much sweets for me. I think people need to tone this one down a bit somehow and give one another the much more healthier things like tea, etc.

I've just been diagnosed pre-diabetic early this year so lately, I've been stocking up on this one:



For the locals here in Cagayan de Oro City wondering where one can get this one, they stock this in Ororama Supercenter, Cogon Market. It's the one across Xavier University's Dr. Jose P. Rizal College of Medicine (XU - JPRCM). It's in the tea and such isle of their new wing, top shelf.

You can opt to get it online here but you can also just head there to get this offline and in person...there.

I'm going to have to stock up on this today, too, before the holiday's in full swing.

For the teaholics in your life (I'm one and I'm currently into loose tea leaves I got from this year's trip to Taiwan with my aunt back in October...I got two different bags of these from the Ita Thao Market in Sun Moon Lake on a very brief day trip there), there's:


I currently have my eye on the coffee replacements and digestion aids/aids in digestion bundles from their:


If you know anyone who's looking to get out of the coffee addiction (coffee's overrated anyways, I don't get why people are sooo crazy about this these days when most coffee rn are overpriced and either taste the same or...well...really, just not worth the money you throw on it on the daily, really), I would recommend the coffee replacements bundles from here. 

My favorite black tea so far is Earl Grey as far as bitter black teas with a pleasant smell or a slightly different but still pleasant aftertaste is concerned. But I drink it interchangeably with English Breakfast when I just like a 3-in-1 coffee-esque drink with milk and sugar in it.

Oolong and Assam, but mostly oolong if you can find any loose tea leaf for this, is the best for those who like a milder flavor in tea as both Earl Grey and English Breakfast can be strong and too bitter for the tea lovers' palate. I rarely actually drink black teas now outside of the Taiwanese loose black tea leaves I'm drinking rn which I suspect is either oolong or assam...I think they farm both around Sun Moon Lake, more in the mountainy area of it anyway, but I have a small box of Twinning's Earl Grey 10 tea bags in the pantry in case I decide to get back into this one somehow. It's best to have a small box of this handy in case you feel you need a quick pick me up or something to keep you awake or maybe even if you want some to take with you while you travel and you don't have access to your loose tea leaves, tisanes, and tea brewing tools. (Speaking of tea brewing tools, I just got:


....because the snap mesh tea strainers with handle my mom and I got from Ikea in the US years ago don't...didn't really last as long as I hope they would. Well, my mom and I hoped they would.

If you don't like ordering teas and stuff online and if you're based here in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, then you can always check out Chingkeetea for their teas and tisanes they usually have in cans or so. They have pretty interesting blends and I find their tropical ones especially interesting (I usually got them in cold brews to try on and off when I go to the Velez St. branch) and they're good to gift to the recovering caffeine holic/addict in your life. Teas are much more interesting and relaxing to drink, sip the afternoon/evening away in my book over coffee. The only coffees I usually crave at odd times lately is anything with caramel (caramel macchiato, sea salt caramel) and even then, I usually prefer these non-coffee. Lol. Idk, my family and I just never have been really coffee drinkers. My mom's acidic and cannot take regular 3-in-1 coffee which is acidic in itself and my brother and dad just were never coffee holics/caffeine addicts either. The latter just takes his coffee instant and black with little to no sugar, the former...just drinks whatever's available and with less caffeine content like flavored 3-in-1 coffee in a packet like I do.

For coffee, I'm a Culture Blends, Salted Caramel/French 3-in-1 coffee fan I drink iced when I feel like and if not available as it seems to be a sellable variant of the brand in supermarkets and online (I only ever find this one in 7-11 so I get them by the packet now which is Php 14 [just a few cents in USD] a piece), then I just default to Nescafe's 3-in-1 or Kopiko Brown. I don't drink coffee that much anyway so to people who say 3-in-1 packets of coffees are unhealthy and the brewed ones are healthier...eh...tea, water, and fruit juices are healthier than the overpriced coffee (espresso based stuff) you drink on the daily and waste your money on. 

If I really like coffee that much and lately, I'm going back to it but just ever so moderately into it, I just go for Dunkin Donuts' caramel macchiato. I don't despise Starbucks that much, I just don't care much for it, same with CBTL now when I used to be more into this one before (you'd know if you followed me here since years and years ago. Hehe).

For the drinker, like myself/yours truly who likes to drink stuff cold/iced, here're the perfect gifts to give them:









Story time: just a week or so ago, my dad had me go to Starbucks to buy a mug for his exchange gift mate at their Christmas party at the hospital. He asked me to get the cheapest Starbucks mug and what I found was the Php 695 ish (12 USD and something cents, close to maybe 13 USD converted) mug that's from their Been There series. The print was Cagayan de Oro City, ofc. There's also the Philippines one which he already has and it's displayed in the bookshelf in our receiving area rn. 

I did go to the Starbucks in Limketkai Center's/Mall's grounds because I knew they would have the most options for mugs my dad requested/asked for and true enough, they had a lot. The really good and sturdy feeling/looking ones were Php 1000 to Php 1500 (that's around 20-30 USD) and though they'd make a great gift for anyone...I just cannot fathom spending that much on such a thing for myself or even to gift to someone. I'm admittedly a cheapskate and also, I just can't justify spending that much on anything in this mess of a global and local/national economy lately.

I think, after the Php 695 Been There series Starbucks mug I found, there's the Php 700 (14 USD converted) which was plain but alright but not really likely something I'd give to someone (not too presentable anyways) so yep, I settled for the former. 

Starbucks really seem to have a knack for overpricing not just their coffee but their drinkware too and it's annoying. It annoys me anyway. To compare, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's is so much more affordable and logo-wise, much more pleasant to the (my) eyes. I'm getting both Focus and Unwind one of these days. I didn't find them in store when I checked both CBTL in Limketkai grounds that is or used to be my go-to CBTL branch here in my city and the one in SM Downtown Premiere so I guess I have 0 choice now but to get this online from their Shopee PH shop instead. It's fine. I can at least use the Shopback app for this purchase the soonest I can. 

And yep, that's it for drinkware gift-ables...if the word ever exists...from here. Some people usually prefer these as gifts because they can be used anytime, anywhere as long as they are handled carefully (not dropped and broken). I'm currently good with my Mason glass jar type bottles from Shopee PH so I'm just biding my time before I can get these two for myself and maybe including that stone mug. I'm sure my good old regular store bought (I think these are from SM or Ororama Supercenter or something) mugs are about to give up soon, anyways. My old that I used a lot of did...two of them, actually. They just cracked then broke into pieces after a lot of use over time. 

So yeah, for the other food and beverages gift-ables, I would suggest to look into MSMEs or small businesses and support local. Support the local-est ones you can find. Those are made for all of us out of someone's, the business owners' hard work and it's good we can contribute, give something back to the local economy at the same time, too.

Oh and here's another idea: gift cards! Or credits to your loved ones', friends' favorite food and beverage establishments. Maybe a Starbucks pre-loaded with credits card would be good if you know a starbucks nutter around (my family doesn't have any. We all balk at how expensive Sbux drinks are so we only get this one occasionally and yep, non of us are coffee addicts and we're mostly good with the occasional 3-in-1 coffee packets so...yep). 


Photo taken from Google. From Pick Up Coffee's own website. Hehe.

I would personally go for/want a Pick Up Coffee, even just their Php 250 (5 USD converted) or Php 500 (10 USD converted) load or something. I'm huge on Pick Up Coffee stuff lately after the more local, Cagayan de Oro City only Always Coffee because their drinks (coffee and especially the non-coffee ones I like the most) are really accessible, affordable so yep, I'd be the happiest with this and I'm sure the non-picky coffee lover (or non-coffee lover like me and my whole family) in your life would love you a lot for this.

For Pick Up Coffee (I have their card, btw) you can preload that card through their app. Or you can just load Php 250, Php 500 and so on up onto your Pick Up coffee App and you're good to go for your coffee and non-coffee fixes without having to shell out money from your pocket for the next few days of the month or so, and so on.

You can top up your or your friends', family's Pick Up Coffee apps through our local ewallets, Maya and Gcash and even via credit cards so you're good to go even if you didn't get them any physical gifts at all.

I just wish the local establishments here that I like the most like, Always Coffee and Chingkeetea had the same system, like, a similar app to Pick Up Coffee's. And that they'd have some sort of rewards system too because I'm quite the fan, supporter of both here, too. I think these two local, Cagayan de Oro City homegrown and still growing brands would really stand to benefit from their own app like Pick Up Coffee's and more (even like the rewards system Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf/CBTL had before they were taken over, bought by Jollibee Corp.). This is just my personal opinion on these two and how they work versus Pick Up Coffee, anyways.

Other alternative? You can load someone's FoodPanda app with money and make their day, too. Source: I'm a Foodpanda convert because lately, I use it with my Shopback app along with my Shopee PH orders/purchases so I can earn some cash back while I buy stuff: food, random things, necessities and more without having to leave the house. Haha. Yeah, I'm a hermit, homebody type, I absolutely hate going out unless I really have to so I just buy stuff online, in apps and have them delivered to me here at home when I can.   

6. The usual clothes, tshirts etc.

....for this, I would go local, too. We have our own Tsaya CDO taking part in bazaars in the malls right now so you might want to check them out, check their offerings there out. Their stuff, merchandise are average Filipino worker friendly budget-wise so you could definitely find something there for everyone. Maybe the cat lovers (like me) in your family, the superdad or supermom, and more. I got my dad's father's day gift from there this year because they had some prints for dads there that I liked that time.

Of course, you can choose to personalize stuff to make things more...intimate or meaningful but honestly, I'm not big on that one so I wouldn't bother. Every thing you get for someone is personal and intimate and meaningful anyways.

******
With how expensive things are today, I don't think gifts have to be that very personalized and expensive. Here in the Philippines, we usually put a ceiling price or a limit to how much one can get another's gift with so we don't overspend on them.

I love gifts that I make good use of like maybe load or credits to my Pick Up Coffee App and card (it's one and the same, sort of, as the card can also be like, topped up via the app like in Starbucks, if I recall correctly) or planners, notebooks, maybe pens...mostly because I love to write and maybe even pillows I can sleep on because I love to sleep. Personal care products as gifts are also welcomed here.

I get more and more sustainable with every passing year these days so I definitely am the type to gift family and friends those that they can use daily like soaps, maybe lotion, clothes, some useful accessories (socks, etc) and more. I think that we should be the same: focusing only on gifting necessities people can use. We should be mindful of the gifts we're giving out and to who or whom we're giving them out to. 


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