YAMBERRIES

Sitting on Asia’s longest and very popular River --- Yangtze River, is one of China’s key and finest cities – SHANGHAI. It has a perfect fusion of modern and traditional cultures which makes it truly fascinating.
It was a business trip for me in Shanghai. Lucky me, I was with one of my BFFs in this trip – Robbie. And very lucky us, we have been nicely accommodated by our dear friend Carmel who patiently took us around after our meetings, and even opened her Casa Carmel for us. We were also joined by some of our colleagues from Manila – Glowie, Ms Cristy, and AJ.
We arrived in Shanghai on a freezing Zero Degree weather one Sunday afternoon. And yes, my friend Robbie feasted on my “Welcome Shanghai Winter Outfit”… But it’s ok, it’s a “Yam” Trademark to be in short dresses and mini- skirts no matter what season there is.

^{Shanghai Touchdown Outfit
Lace Dress by PRP, Blazer by Forever21, Thermal Inner Shirt by Marks & Spencer, Boots by Sassy Spot, Coach Bag, & Scarf c/o Hubby}

Shanghai for me was all about food and shopping. Oh yes, I think I gained 3 more pounds in 7 days.
Among the restaurants you should visit in Shanghai are: #1 Boxing Cat Brewery (where they consider Beer as Art) and food is superb! Their spicy chicken wings and nachos are a Must! This is located along Fu Xing Road. You will also be surprised that some members of the staff there are Filipinos who are very warm and nice.

Boxing Cat Brewery

Boxing Cat Brewery

1. 2 Lost Heaven Restaurant (a bit more upscale) serves good Asian food. The branch we visited was the one near The Bund. You’ll need to make prior reservations to be able to get a seat. We were told the restaurant is always full – both highly visited by Chinese and International Tourists. #3 Carrefour Food Court --- there’s a bunch of good Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese restaurants to choose from. And with their big serving sizes, it’s really a good value for your money.

Shopping was indeed a very emotional experience especially in the bazaars. But trust me, it’s a good experience. Always be ready to bargain with a smile and have a good price in mind. Some of the sales ladies may sound rude, but I think they’re just like that. They’re very good with negotiation, so be ready for the thrill of haggling. They will not kick you out of their stores when you don’t buy any way. Just enjoy the experience. There’s a huge H&M store there and a 3-storey Uniqlo Store at Nanjing Area. At the back of these stores is a long stretch of Milk Tea and Coffee Places for the tired shoppers.
Shanghai experience will not be complete without passing by Tianzifang. It’s a small neighborhood of art and souvenirs stores, bars, and restaurants. In here you will find a lot of quirky stuff. You should bring home Shanghai’s famous Pop-Eyed Anti-Stress Toys. I have never seen these toys any where yet in Asia except in Shanghai.
Tianzifang is located in Shanghai’s French Concession Area.

^{My BFF Robbie @ Tianzifang wearing his new gloves from Marks & Spencer which he really bought for this trip}

Just bring enough cash, and bring your credit card if you plan to shop. Don’t over-forecast when you exchange currency. There’s a lot of Dollar Exchange Stores there anyway. I had a lot of Yuan left, and the foreign exchange shops here only accept 100 Yuan bills. So I shall keep my 20 and 10 Yuans until my next trip to China.

Hengshan Road, French Concession Area

The Bund Area

It has been 10 years since I last visited Hongkong --- Asia’s World City. And I’m quite amazed with how it has changed over the course of a decade.
Hubby and I chose to travel on a December (which means I blogged 4 months after the trip! Sorry folks!).December is best time to travel for corporate working people like us, it's Christmas Break. Also, i love travelling on cold months. If I remember it well, it was around 10 to 12 degrees when we arrived.

Some quick Info on HK (Thanks to WikiPedia ): This country hits 2nd spot as the highest life expectancy in the world at age of 82.2 …Wonder where Philippines is – we are 100th at age of 71.7 _{(List by United Nations 2005-2010)}! Also, HK is one of the world’s leading financial centers, and HK Dollar is one of the most traded currency in the world. Such an interesting place. No wonder, many people all over the world visit and stay in HK.
Going back to our travel, Hubby and I had two main agenda: #1 visit HK Ocean Park to see the fishes and pandas, and #2 visit hubby’s aquarium & hobby friends at Tung Choi.

HK Ocean Park was such a fab experience. Ticket cost around Php2thou per head which is ok... Just bring along a pocket full of patience especially when dealing with other co-Asian tourists there who would suddenly appear in the lines and insist they have been there for quite some time. Ugghh... Thank God, we were very happy that day so hubby and I decided to just let it go. Oh well... But all else was great at the park. I loved how adorable the Pandas were. And of course hubby was, as expected, happy to see fish and coral aquariums.
We stayed in Cosmo Hotel, Wanchai - a modern and nice small hotel near the Ocean Park making it very convenient for us to visit the Park. This Hotel is also few minutes away from Times Square Shopping Mall. And there's a free hotel shuttle to take us around this area. There's also a bunch of good Chinese Restaurants in the area where you can grab some good snacks and dinner.

I wasn't able to shop much during the Christmas season in Hongkong, as most of our time was spent roaming around parks, trying out park rides, visiting museums, and hubby meeting his hobby suppliers. But it was ok, it was fun. I felt the trip was a playtime.
Hongkong reminds me of childhood fun!

Till we meet again, HK! Thank you for playing with me!

Macau has always been known for its Casinos. But more than those huge casino hotels and brilliant lights in the evening, is a beautiful history of faith and freedom. If you do not know yet, Macau is the first and last European Colony in China. Conquered in the 16th century, It was only in December of 1999 when China took formal sovereignty over Macau.
You will see the influence of Portuguese in Macau today - especially its architecture. It's as if you are not in Asia at all.

^{Ruins of St. Paul}

Macau is a good place to appreciate culture, places and food. I suggest you visit temples like A-MA temple and Templo de SAM Kai Vui KUN. Visit old buildings like the Edificio de Leal Senado Building - this was the first municipal chamber of Macau, the RUINS of St. Paul, SENADO Square, Fisherman's Wharf, and of course, do not miss The Venetian Hotel.

Inside the Venetian Hotel

The Venetian Hotel is a luxury Casino-Hotel. From the outside on an evening, you will see how splendid the lights and design is. It is the 5th largest building in the world, and is also considered as the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. Based on their survey, they have an average of 60,000 visitors per day. On the 3rld level, you will see the retail outlets and the gondola canal.

And before finally leaving Macau, make sure to drop by Margaret's Cafe for the best egg tarts in town. During our visit there, there was even a TV Show featuring the store and interviewing the customers. And amidst the uber long line of people wanting to get in the store, they just didn't seem to care. Everyone wanted a piece of this yummy and chewy tart!

^{Margaret's Famous Egg Tarts}

Dòjeh Macau!

It was a last minute decision.
My hubby and i decided to fly somewhere (maybe Japan) for our Pre-Christmas break. I contacted Rajah Travels, and they were quick to help. Thanks to Ben, our travel agent, for being very efficient.

It was my first time to fly Thai Airways. Good FAs, good food.

Our first place in mind was Japan as we wanted to visit my hubby's former "home"... but the schedule of flights did not match our free time. Next choice was to go shopping in Bangkok.
And yes, we hit bangkok that time.

Bangkok, as we know is the capital of Thailand.
It is the economic center of Thailand, and is one of the hottest shopping spots of South East Asia.

Shopping there is really a good experience. You can opt to shop to "upmarkets" for branded or luxury goods down to the cheapest finds in street markets. You can check Siam Paragon Shopping Center for branded stuff. And you can go to the side street markets near Baiyoke Hotels where we were checked in. We were'nt able to hit Chatuchak, one of the world's biggest weekend market, as our flight home was a friday night, and we had no chance to make it there.
But I am happy and satisfied with my "finds" at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. it was such a great and different shopping experience. Just make sure to bring your own calculator, and be prepared to bargain.

Being the animal lovers that my hubby and I were, we made sure to see the Siam Ocean Park (located at Siam Paragon mall Basement)and Samphran Elephant Zoo. We had a great time in these two parks. We even watched a wild Cobra Show.

^{Penguins at the Siam Ocean Park}

^{At the Elephant Show}

It was just a bit humid then in Bangkok, and traffic is same like here in Manila. But all else was really great.

It was 5 to 7 degrees celsius. And I was loving the cold.

From my Korea Trip, I had a one week rest to prepare for an International Hair Show in Beijing. It was the first that L'oreal has brought to Asia one of the biggest Hair Show in the world- Haute Coiffure Francaise which is normally held in Paris.
With me were our L'Oreal Instituional Artists: Danny Katalbas of Emphasis Salon, Francis Lee of Bridges Salon and Emphasis Salon Owner Mr Teng Roma and Bianca Consunji of Metro Magazine.

Our trip was a mixture of learning and fun.

Beijing, which was also known as Peking, houses some of China's cultural pride such as The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, The People's Palace, and of course the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China


^{*Make sure to bring a bottle of drinking water when you go here.}

Birds Nest (Olympics)

We also visited the Hutong Area. This represents ancient Beijing. These are old traditional houses in courtyard and walled format which is connected to each other. If you're an animal lover like me, you'd be fascinated to see cute over-weight dogs walking around the area or guarding their respective courtyards. You can tour around this very interesting area through their pedicabs.

^{One cute chubby pom guarding his courtyard}

Food is heavenly good. Thanks to Bianca who has done good research on food there. Pecking Duck should not be missed. Try Da Dong for the best and mouth-watering pecking duck.

Beijing's Street Food

Dadong's Famous Pecking Duck

Shopping isn't much exciting, but at least they have H&M there.

March for me is a good time to visit Beijing, unless you wanted to spend winter there which starts December.

I will surely visit Beijing again... maybe next year with my hubby this time.