I really liked using Snapchat as a visual diary during our Tokyo, Japan trip in the June holidays so did the same thing when we went to Legoland Malaysia Resort earlier this week (*^▽^*)
It's so easy to snap, update our family & friends on-the-go and come back to string it all together in the short videos below:
The boy booked us a 4D3N stay in Legoland Hotel itself with 2-day combo tickets for each of us to both Legoland Theme Park {the dry one} and Legoland Water Park.
With the combo tickets, it allowed us multi-entry into both parks on 2 consecutive days.
That was a Godsend, really, because Lil Pumpkin was feeling so sick on our first day at the theme parks! (≧_≦*) She had been looking forward to going to Legoland for oh-so-long and it was such a pity that she fell ill just before the trip!!
So using our combo tickets, we were able to leave Legoland Theme Park after about 2-3 hours of visit, then head back to Legoland Hotel and rest. I went back again a while later with my mum to check out the rest of the park that we missed.
On the second day, Lil Pumpkin felt much better so we were able to leave to Legoland Water Park earlier, spend half a day there, go back to the hotel for lunch and to rest, then head out to Legoland Theme Park for the rest of the rides and attractions she missed the day earlier.
The good thing about Legoland Theme Park and Legoland Water Park is that it is fully geared towards the kids so even at her height of around 120cm, Lil Pumpkin can sit ALL the rides!! Wow!! I think that's the first time she can actually sit all the rides at a theme park hahaha. Her favourite were Technic Twister and The Dragon - both roller coasters!
Unfortunately for me, I'm too big for some of the rides though.. but at least the roller coasters and fast rides were ok ໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७
If you do head to Legoland Malaysia, I highly recommend staying at Legoland Hotel. It's not that expensive, the rooms are themed & decorated well, it has many super-fun and free kids play areas and our package came with an awesome daily buffet breakfast at the hotel's Brick Restaurant {see pics & vids of it in the videos above}.
But most importantly, it really is so convenient to have the hotel at the theme parks' doorstep {literally just 5 mins walk away from both!} so that you can break up your day at the theme parks and go back to rest. I'm not sure about you, but age is really catching up on me haha and I can't really last a whole day out playing at amusement parks... especially when I'm chasing Lil Pumpkin around while I'm at it (●⌒∇⌒●)
Yeah, my both hands are up too. I mean, most of the times you can buy things that are cheaper than what you'd find in a physical store, especially since you can easily browse through different websites to find the best price.
Also, it's so convenient since you can even shop in your pjs haha. Especially when you're a mum and the only free-time you have to shop is at night when the house is quiet and kids are asleep.. tell me how many physical stores in Singapore {other than Mustafa??} are open at 2am in the morning?!
Plus, you don't have to deal with crowded shopping malls. Urgh.
As much as possible, I'd try to shop from local online shops but sometimes the products I'm looking for can't be found locally {or are much too overpriced} and I have to ship them in from overseas.
But then, it is a pain in the a** when it seems like you have to wait like what seems like FOREVER for your overseas package to arrive!!! #thestruggleisreal
A photo posted by Ai Sakura (@aisakuraharuka) on
And that's why I'm absolutely pleased as Punch when I recently ordered at Singapore-based Agape Babies, and the whole package was efficiently delivered to me the next morning. Seriously. Blown. Away.
The super-duper fast courier delivery isn't just the only thing I like about Agape Babies.
They are also known to have one of the widest selection of goods for mums-to-be, mums, and children online as they are home to over 250 brands and 6000 products. From diapers, milk, skincare, food to toys, books, play mats & clothing.. almost everything you need for family life can be found here.
Agape Babies is the authorised retailer for many premium baby brands such as 3M, Philips, BABYBJÖRN, Organic Harvest, Bellamy, Trunki, Ergobaby etc. It really is a one-stop shop for mums and bubs!! ❤
Despite the wide variety of items, shopping on their website is a breeze as everything is neatly categorised with clear product information and pictures. It's mobile-optimised as well so you can still easily navigate the site and shop conveniently using your smartphone on-the-go too.
That's great because I actually like to just chill in bed and shop online instead of sitting in front of my computer at my desk.. I've enough of that at work haha.
Yup, they also sell the stylish and functional Jujube diaper bags that's oh-so-popular with mums nowadays.
I can see why so many of my mummy friends carry it though... it has so many pockets to organise the baby stuff, and the prints are can be so cute / beautiful that they hardly seem like a typical frumpy "diaper bag" but rather a pre-mama glamourous bag to bring out and about!
If you have never checked them out before, now is a good time as they are currently having their Great Singapore Sale {GSS} so over 800 products are on discount.
I saw some pretty amazing deals and picked out some items for myself, sister, Lil J and Lil Pumpkin below.
The Unicorn Skip & Hop lunch bag is mine by the way for me to bring my obentos to work. Because, unicorns (*^▽^*) Quite excited to have regular family board games nights and play some of my fave childhood games like Scrabble & LIFE with Lil Pumpkin but we'll probably start that after our home renovation project heh.
Throughout the year, Agape Babies also has exclusive Weekly Deals every Wednesday and first-time customers also get S$10 or 10% off their first order and a free gift of either a Mustela Trial Kit {worth S$10} or a Bellamy Milk 400g tin {worth S$25.95}.
Happy shopping and let me know if you find something interesting there that I might have missed!! xox
Promo: Quote "aisakura5%" for 5% OFF purchases at Agape Babies. These exclude sale category items, diapers, milk, breast pumps and Jujube products. Valid until Friday, 19 Aug 2016 only. Free courier delivery to local addresses for orders above S$80 and overseas shipping available.
P.S. Next-morning delivery is only for those orders made before 2pm the day before. If you like, you can also self-collect from Newton, Sengkang or Old Airport Road. Since Newton is where their main warehouse is, you can actually drop by on the day itself to collect!!
Disclosure: This is a review for Agape Babies. All opinions are my own.
I'm sure you've all heard about Snapchat. It's a kind of like Whatsapp, Instagram and Vine rolled all into one as a chat, messaging, and imaging app. The unique thing about the free app is that the videos and pictures taken, aka Snaps, will self destruct after a few seconds of a person viewing them. Or, you can add it to your "story", a 24-hour collection of your photos and videos, which you broadcast to the world or just your followers.
Even though it was created 4 years back, I hopped on the bandwagon pretty late and only started getting really into it this year. It reminds me of the good o' days of Instagram when the things people posted were really "instant", raw and not so pose-y. No using of DSLRs or heavy editing to get the perfect photos that we deem "Instagram-worthy" nowadays. Just plain old snap and post.
With Snapchat you can't usually transfer old photos / videos to post {but there's a new function now called Snapchat Memories that allows you to}. You've to use the in-app camera to take the shots and the available in-app filters, stickers or lenses to edit. Everything seems so raw, so unedited, so amaturish.. and I love it.
I love it for being "less fake" than what can be seen over at Instagram.
Not saying that I don't like using Instagram anymore {still love the community there!} but I'm sure you get what I mean ( ◞･౪･)
Some of the Snapchat lenses are sooooo hilarious!!! I'm really amazed by how well it works. It basically uses a facial recognition software that’s able to distort your expression and apply various effects to your face.
Lil Pumpkin gets such a kick out of playing with the Snapchat lenses sometimes too haha.
Anyway I don't usually blog during holidays so during our recent Tokyo trip I used Snapchat to capture the places we went to, things we saw, food we ate, and the feelings of the day.
Basically like a visual diary and I combined it all in the videos here.
Have a look and I'll be writing in detail some of the more interesting and new places we visited, like Setagaya Play Park, where kids get to build a bonfire and chop wood.
Yes, you read right. The kids really got to play with fire and chop wood!!
If you're on Snapchat too, add me as @AiSakuraHaruka and if you haven't gotten to playing around with it too, well, go try it out and let me know what you think!
If the videos above aren't playing properly, watch directly on my YouTube channel here:
I'm back from my 32nd Muai Thai Camp birthday trip!! #YOLO It was an amaaaaaazing experience. Much more satisfying than I expected and I can't wait to share more about it with you. And I will, I will.. I promise!!! ੧(❛▿❛✿)੭
Right after I sort out all the photos, videos and notes I jotted down about the trip. My trainers took some photos for me too and I'm waiting for them to send those over as well.
If you've been following my on-the-go updates on Facebook, Instagram and also recently Snapchat {add me at @AiSakuraHaruka}, you'd see that most of the time, I actually stayed in camp to rest and relax since I had early runs each morning and 2 Muay Thai training sessions each day. Pretty intensive.
The training site was rather out of Bangkok city centre so not near any of the usual touristy attractions or shopping areas at all. I didn't intend to go there to shop, eat or massage as I usually do when I'm in BKK though - just train - so it was ok.
There were some markets for the locals nearby which I bought some stuff from and it was a really nice, authentic Thai experience. There was none of the "touristy" stuff and most of the stall owners did not speak English actually. Thank goodness I'm rather good at communicating with others who don't speak any of my languages {good practice from all my travels & previous work}.. and charades haha
Only during the weekend, I made my way down to Chatuchak Market to shop as a special birthday treat (⌒▽⌒)☆
Overall my shopping haul from this trip is {relatively} small but thought I'd share it anyway since I haven't made a shopping haul video in ages, and it serves as a reminder to myself of what I bought too haha. I had time to make the video on the last day before I flew off...
I'm kinda mad over cute rompers now and bought a few this trip. Wore this one on my birthday.. the first time in that week I was actually out of my fitness clothes and probably the first time in many years I wasn't actually wearing a dress on my birthday haha
Check out my shopping haul video above or on my YouTube channel if it isn't showing properly. If you've seen my previous shopping haul / vlog videos you'd know that I usually do it in 1 take with little / no editing so they might be a bit long. Sit back, relax and watch with some popcorn hahaha.
I'd be posting my Muai Thai training videos too so subscribe to my YouTube channel if you don't want to miss them! Stay tuned to the upcoming blog post on my Muay Thai training camp experience at Khongsittha, Bangkok too! xox
Since I got my first few pairs of Feiyue {飞跃} shoes, I’ve been wearing them pretty faithfully whenever I dress casually. They are very comfortable and I like that I’d probably not see someone in the same pair of shoes as me when I go out (´⌣`ʃƪ)
When we headed back to Shanghai, one of our must-do items on our itinerary was to head down to Culture Matters to “re-stock” on our Feiyue shoes. Of course we can buy them online, and a few shops sell them in Singapore, but the prices are jacked up and the range is limited.
The ones we find locally may not be from the original Chinese makers as well, but the French versions made for overseas market under BBC International. They have rebranded & redesigned the shoes to make them more "atas", and in turn increased the prices too.
Anyway Culture Matters was still the same as I remembered it to be - small and cramped wall-to-wall with popular Chinese shoe brands like Feiyue {飞跃}, Shulong {舒龙}, Warrior {回力}.
Whoever says that men don’t like shopping has obviously not met my hubby.
He never complains about having to wait for me to finish shopping because most likely, he will be happily shopping too haha. The boy’s eyes opened up big like a greedy kid in a candy store and he had a grand time picking out all the Feiyue shoe designs that he liked. Unfortunately, they didn't have his size for all though.
He was open to trying out all the different cuts and styles but I liked the classic sneaker style best.
The saleslady told me that the factory had discontinued making the classic sneaker style in colours other than original black & white, and now just produces the new models.
Not sure how true that is {anybody can verify??} but if it was the truth, I'd be very disappointed!!
What's different between a typical classic and modern style? Well from what I see,
The classic has a rubber toe cap but the modern doesn't.
The modern uses a smoother, and slightly thicker canvas material.
The edges of the modern's shoe openings are padded.
The modern's shoe shape is slightly rounder.
The modern's insole is thicker.
Feiyue was originally designed for martial arts so that's why the classics have thinner canvas {allows more ankle flexibility & foot motion} and insoles {considered desirable for running and jumping}. It's not that they are poorer made. The newer models are designed more for general / casual use so are made more comfy for longer use.
Lil Pumpkin doesn’t share the same love for Feiyue shoes as us and barely wore the ones we bought for her previously {she prefers her Pedipeds}...
... but since we came all the way to the shop, we convinced her to look for one that she liked and she chose a pair of blue canvas sneakers Velcro straps.
I was surprised she didn't choose black or red as she usually seems to prefer those colours over blue.
We wanted them in white actually so that she could wear them for school but they didn’t have any. The kids collection for Feiyue shoes is still as limited as before.
They have a bigger range of ready-to-sell hand-painted Feiyue shoes though! I bought a pair last time and still love love love them (◕∀◕)
That Santa scene sure puts you in a festive mood haha.
All hand-painted shoes are protected with an extra weather-proof coating. They cost considerably more than the average Feiyue shoes, and you can request for a customised design at least 1 week in advance.
We spent about 1.5hours there and happily walked away with a satisfying haul （●￫‿ฺ￩●） Bought a few for my sisters too.
The saleslady didn’t even bat an eye as she’s probably used to seeing foreigners come in to buy in bulk.
I think the prices didn’t change from the last time I shopped there so Feiyue adult shoes start from RMB50 {S$11} and kids from RMB35 {S$8}. If I remember correctly the most expensive pair we spent on was RMB128 (S$28) for the boy’s high-cut sneakers.
Seriously, where can we find such comfy, hard-wearing and stylish sneakers in Singapore at these prices?? Even Bata shoes aren’t as cheap!!
I haven't had time to make shopping haul videos recently but you can see this one I made for my last trip to Culture Matters. Check it out to see which shoes I bought for the boy and Lil Pumpkin previously, as well as tips on shoe sizes. If the video isn't working, watch it on YouTube here.
Culture Matters, Dongping Lu branch
15 Dongping Lu, Xuhui district{徐汇区东平路15号}
Nearest Metro station: Hengshan Lu {衡山路}, Exit 4
Open daily, 11am - 9pm
Feiyue {飞跃} is a sneaker brand produced in Shanghai, China since the 1920s. Today, they are still produced in China but since 2006, Feiyue is also a French-owned company, separate from the original Chinese company.
The boy bought his first pair of Feiyue shoes 3 years ago and since then, he has bought many more, even for Lil Pumpkin. Yes, she has her own kiddy Feiyue shoes too haha. As I was going to be in Shanghai, the birthplace of the brand, I just had to buy back some authentic Feiyue shoes for all of us!
At first, I wanted to visit the official Feiyue store {No. 264 Danshui Road, 淡水路264号} at Xintiandi but decided to go to its authorised dealer, Culture Matters, instead since it was nearer my hotel. Note that these kind of sneakers are not sold in the usual shoe stores, as nowadays, it has reached cult status and is loved mainly by the foreigners {thanks to celebrities like Orlando Bloom & Johnny Depp} and trendy youngsters. Although it's considered a bargain to us {considering how much it costs in Singapore!}, it has become a bit too expensive for the locals to enjoy like in the past.
Culture Matters stocks classic styles and seasonal collections of Feiyue, as well as Shulong {舒龙} and Warrior {回力} which are also old-school shoe brands, all made and designed in China but not available in Singapore. They had only kids footwear for Warrior, and the rest were unisex models.
The store is a really small corridor that's stacked wall-to-wall with the shoes and when I went, it was manned by a very friendly guy and lady. They were very patient in helping me to decide on sizes and models, and never pushed me into buying anything. The guy speaks English too.
I got there just as it opened and during my time there, different groups of mainly foreigners and a few locals came by. The shopkeepers told me that usually, the foreigners would buy about 5-6 pairs back and it was true! haha.. I overheard a few of the locals saying "哎呀！这些是我们小时候穿的呀! {oh! we used to wear these when we were young!}". Adds to the charm of the shoes I guess ;)
A pair of classic Feiyue sneakers {2nd generation} costs RMB55 each. The 3rd generation was just released this year and costs RMB99. Compared to the earlier generations, it is supposedly made of better quality and has softer cushioning. It is also whiter. I prefer the faded white colour of the 2nd generation so got that instead. The first generation is out of stock and not in production anymore.
There really are many models of shoes here and they generally cost around or less than RMB100! Quality-wise, I think they are as good as a pair of Converse.
The boy was looking for some loafers so got him that navy blue pair from Warrior.
You can also pay an extra RMB50 to have your own design hand-painted on your sneakers, but you need to order that a week in advance as the shoes are sent to a factory for painting and proper coating so that it's protected from the elements.
There are some ready stock hand-painted designs in store but they come in limited quantities and are relatively more expensive than the usual designs. I also bought a pair of white Warrior loafers with a hand-painted blue Chinese dragon design for myself. Wanted to get it for the boy but they didn't have his size, and it was too exquisite to pass up!
If you love fashion and want to bring a unique piece of Shanghai home with you, then pop by to get yourself a pair of traditional Chinese sneakers. Sure beats buying a piece of touristy "I love Shanghai" t-shirt! :P
Check out my video to see my shopping haul of Feiyue, Shulong and Warrior shoes! You can also see the actual hand-painted Chinese dragon loafers I was talking about. If the video isn't working, watch it on YouTube here.
Culture Matters, Dongping Lu branch
15 Dongping Lu, Xuhui district{徐汇区东平路15号}
Nearest Metro station: Hengshan Lu {衡山路}, Exit 4
Open daily, 11am - 9pm
Dongtai Road Antique Market {东台路古玩市场} is located at the north-east part of Luwan District in Shanghai, China. With over 100 stalls, it sells an endless supply of "antiques" here, such as writing brushes, Chinese statues, ancient coins, leather suitcases, Mao Zedong memorabilia etc... however, the authenticity of the items is quite doubtful. Although some may really have historical value, most are just likely to be reproductions of real antiques.
I love bargain-hunting at flea markets and could not give this place a miss. It was definitely on my must-see list! We visited it on our first day in Shanghai, which was pouring!
However, the rain might have been a blessing as there wasn't much of a crowd despite it being a weekend, and the store-keepers were more open to settling for lower prices because of the lack of customers. I actually found them to be nicer than those in Hong Kong's flea markets :P
My Shanghainese friends had already told me that bargaining is key when shopping at Dongtai Lu, and we should start from at least 60% off the sellers' first asking price. You can read some of my tips for bargain-hunting at flea markets here but I think the most important thing is to pay what you are comfortable for and not be pressured into buying!
Oh ya, another tip that my Shanghainese friends told me is to let the locals know that I'm not local {by speaking English} as they tend to treat foreigners better. I'm not sure how true this is because I'm thinking if they know I'm a foreigner, won't they want to charge me more??? At least that's what tends to happen in Singapore.
Anyway this being a tourist destination, most of the shop-keepers can speak a little English, or at least communicate with you using the powerful... calculator haha.
I wasn't looking for real antiques {although I did love the old leather suitcases & Chinese locks!} but more on curios and knickknacks unique to China. There were some interesting stuff for sale to see, but I didn't find much on what I actually wanted to buy.
In the end, I walked away with only a cute kungfu panda t-shirt for Lil Pumpkin, 2 sets of Chinese chopsticks and 2 porcelain goldfish chopstick holders. That was it! A far cry from what I got from the Aussie flea markets haha but they were definitely a bargain.
Pretty little porcelain containers, Chinese fans, postcards and jewelry...
Highly doubt that those are real terracotta statues hehe
The antique market covers a few small streets and neighbourhood and if you look carefully behind the stalls, you can catch a glimpse of the local life with people playing mahjong or exercising to their radios.
>
Even if you're not looking to buy, I'd say it's still worth a visit for the experience. It is, after all, the only remaining flea market in Shanghai that is still devoted to selling antiques.
It's also just across the street from the Flower & Bird Market {花鸟市场} and we popped by that after we were done with Dongtai Road. It sells more than just flowers and birds; but also crickets, cats, dogs, ducks, rabbits, bonsai plants etc.! Not stroller-friendly though, and probably not a good idea to bring young kids because it is very cramped.
Dongtai Road Antique Market {东台路古玩市场, Dongtai Lu Gu Wan Shi Chang}
Dongtai Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu, Huangpu district {黄浦区东台路, 近复兴中路}
Nearest Metro station: Laoximen {老西门站}, Exit 5
Open daily 9am - 6pm
Free Admission
