Shopping

I am a certified shop-o-holic. There is no question about that. I have shopped everywhere, like literally everywhere. The Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the internet and of course, the good ol' US of A.

I have very fond memories of each of these places. I would have to say that the place that I enjoyed the most was the Philippines. It has anything and everything. the prices are cheap and the quality, if you know where to get it, is good. I remember my cousin and I were both in the Philippines for vacation and we went to SM Edsa, started at 10am and left at 8pm and did not even get to go to all the stores. My kids and I going to Mall of Asia when it was newly opened and spend two of our four days of vacation in that mall because we wanted to go to all the stores.
Or the time that we had to book a hotel to stay overnight in Makati because we just had to check all the stores in Glorietta.

Hong Kong is another favorite place of mine with its night markets and big department stores. Night markets are a big thing for us. Asking for discount and walking away when the seller says no always both impress and embarass my kids. The seller eventually calls you back and gives you your asking price.

Singapore is another exciting place to be. We went there during their National Day and all the stores were having left and right sales. We came home with two extra suitcases and ended up paying extra for baggage.


Japan was the most expensive place we ever shopped. You really have to ask the local people where to shop because it is really e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e. Shopping is a very frustrating experience not only because of the language barrier but also because of the size barrier. When I say size barrier, the clothes are small and are just meant to be for Asians. The only joy we find in Japan are the 100 Yen stores. There is one in Machida called Daiso, 5 floors of nothing but 100 Yen items.


South Korea is the latest adventure for us. Itaewon, Dongdaemun and Namdaemun, need I say more? For those of you who have been to Korea, you know that these places rock it as far as shopping is concerned.


We are back in the USA for spring break and went shopping on our first day back here. We were at American Eagle for 20 minutes and my daughter dropped a cool $150 for a couple of pieces of clothing. Ahh.. it just feels good to be back home.