Just a quick one at this coz it was really a quick purchase that has been over due for almost a month, around the time when the MERS cases broke out. Two of my son's pants had been torn around the knees and he is running out of pants to wear to school with the days getting hotter everyday. He has enough T shirts but quite limited pants and shorts. I totally feel this coz I had to wash his pants ever so often nowadays and I couldn't lay out his week's clothes anymore.
So last Sunday, I took the chance to drop by and check out my fave source for kids clothes, the thrift shop! Those thin pants that will be retiring soon were purchased online last year. I'm hoping that we can still extend the use till this year. Nonetheless, I had to add a couple more pair of shorts for him. I ended up finding three pairs which all fitted him perfectly. I only spent a total of 9k which I'm hoping will last for two years.
My next possible thrift shopping for kids clothes will be for some winter clothes this coming winter. And don't forget the shoes! That is another thing to be on the lookout for in the shops or online.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
My First Iherb Order is Here!
I've finally got a couple of EOs after years of finding reasonable sources. I got 2 bottles of tea tree oil, a bottle each of rosemary, eucalyptus, cedarwood, and witch hazel. I should have picked up some lavender and a couple of sweet smelling ones but there was a 6 bottle limit that I didn't expect. Maybe I can try on my next order.
And I finally got a liquid shampoo again. Thank you Iherb. Even though I miss my Human Heart Nature products, I'm crossing my fingers that this poo will work for my hair.
I've tried a bar shampoo early this year but it just wasn't working well with my hair. It somehow leaves my hair very oily after washing. I guess that wasn't really for me. Maybe I should keep it for winter when my hair is pretty dry.
The last of my loot were the two bags of oats which I added in my cart out of desperation for not being able to get a decently priced one locally. I found out later that there was a price drop on the item that I was eyeing before but that was after I've placed this Iherb order. Oh, well. I ended up with two brands of oats, Quaker Oats and Bob's Red Mill. That's about 4.5 kg + 2 kg of oats and muesli all together. This should last me until winter, I guess. :D
The next task on my list is making those concoctions using the EO's. The questions is when will I get to that? I still got a few other projects at hand. We'll see until the end month of July.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Int'l Shipping and Customs Duties
I've been wondering how Ph customs exactly come up with the exorbitant prices whenever we receive items bought outside the country or anything that comes in through mail or courier. We had a very bad experience with having to pay 1600 for an 800 worth of small gadget. There was no explanation except that was from the customs and either u pay or don't get your goods.
Having been here in ROK for a year now with a lot of small gadgets ordered from abroad, I learned that it's easier to figure out their customs tariffs. There's a threshold of 100, 150 or 200 USD and it might be tax free, depending on the goods. I even got my chromebook (worth less than 200 USD) free of tax. We only had to pay about 30USD for shipping through malltail. Hubby says if it goes past the 200 USD, it would be taxed at 10%.
Other than that, we had no worries for any after-shipping cost like tax. We know exactly how much it will cost buying something online from an international site like Amazon.
In the Ph, on the other hand, the rules are not clear. It is a general knowledge that you are in the mercy of the customs officers who happen to handle on your package. Upon reading couriers/forwarding service companies site, I have come across of the 20% tariff that is for customs. I'm like..really? No wonder then.
Here's my list of possible companies that I'll have to research some more.
manilaforwarder, pobox, and JAC.
from manilaforwarder site:
TAXATION FOR FORMAL ENTRY SHIPMENTS.
Items that are subject to tax are those that require AC Power, luxury items, items intended for commerce- have a 20% tax based on commercial invoice for brand new items and 10% for used items. Philippine tariff law applies as we separate formal entry and non formal entry shipments. The fee generally include other fees like arrastre, AMS, and documentations,.
TAX FREE SHIPMENTS.
Personal effects and household goods are tax free. Please see rules.
For tax free shipments, items should not be more than 9 of a kind and for personal use only.
Having been here in ROK for a year now with a lot of small gadgets ordered from abroad, I learned that it's easier to figure out their customs tariffs. There's a threshold of 100, 150 or 200 USD and it might be tax free, depending on the goods. I even got my chromebook (worth less than 200 USD) free of tax. We only had to pay about 30USD for shipping through malltail. Hubby says if it goes past the 200 USD, it would be taxed at 10%.
Other than that, we had no worries for any after-shipping cost like tax. We know exactly how much it will cost buying something online from an international site like Amazon.
In the Ph, on the other hand, the rules are not clear. It is a general knowledge that you are in the mercy of the customs officers who happen to handle on your package. Upon reading couriers/forwarding service companies site, I have come across of the 20% tariff that is for customs. I'm like..really? No wonder then.
Here's my list of possible companies that I'll have to research some more.
manilaforwarder, pobox, and JAC.
from manilaforwarder site:
TAXATION FOR FORMAL ENTRY SHIPMENTS.
Items that are subject to tax are those that require AC Power, luxury items, items intended for commerce- have a 20% tax based on commercial invoice for brand new items and 10% for used items. Philippine tariff law applies as we separate formal entry and non formal entry shipments. The fee generally include other fees like arrastre, AMS, and documentations,.
TAX FREE SHIPMENTS.
Personal effects and household goods are tax free. Please see rules.
For tax free shipments, items should not be more than 9 of a kind and for personal use only.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Oats and Deliveries
(10:45 AM)
It's Friday and I am waiting for my oats to be delivered. I ordered one from iherb last week but it seems to be taking a long time (7-9 days) to get here. We didn't buy some cereal since last week so I found this weeks' breakfast to be stressful. I did get to cook and try some new things (like Pita bread) but still missed my own food. I just had to place my order for oats in gmarket specially when I found that the price has gone down a bit (from 36k to 30k) with a bag of Honey Butter Chips to boot.
I've been checking my iherb order but it just got to the Korean warehouse yesterday afternoon. I think it will have to move from that to the local courier warehouse before it gets to be delivered. It will also have to go through custom check today. So hopefully with the quick and efficient delivery system here in Korea, I might get that iherb parcel by tomorrow or Monday at the most. I'm just hoping that those EO bottles won't be broken coz I've heard that some people who order flour/oat had some problems. I'm crossing my fingers mine won't have any or else I'll have to deal with the Korean language again.
My local gmarket order, on the other hand, is out for delivery soon since it has already arrived in my local area. I just placed the payment yesterday and from what I've seen in the tracking link, payment was cleared right away yesterday. The goods were shipped out early evening and has been on the move while I was sleeping overnight. It got into the town at 8 this morning and already in my area just after an hour and a half. So if I really can't wait, I can just drop by at their office a few blocks from my place and pick it up. But of course, I will rather wait and write stuff here. :D I'm just keeping an ear open for a message or a call from the delivery guy or perhaps just the doorbell ring today.
Delivery system here is really cool compared to how it is in my hometown. It takes a while for payment to be cleared, when they finally ship out, it sleeps in a warehouse for at least a night. It takes hours or sometime a day for a product to move from one part of the metro to the hangar where they will be shipped out to the provincial island. By the time it gets to the island, it may have to stay in the local office for a while before they finally get someone to deliver it coz there is only one office in the downtown to process all the incoming documents and parcels. Quickest time frame can be 3 days but worst case would 5 days or a week.
That is for the private courier service. It's totally different case via the post office. It is worse. Which reminds me about a couple of stuff I've sent through them a few months ago and I haven't heard if it already got there. Oh geez. One was a small packet of paper gift for my son's friends and another is a document for my mom. Gotta check that one out. To make it worse, I just sent it as regular mail forgetting how bad Philpost system is. I should've sent it with tracking no. at least, even if it won't be that quick. I don't mind the slower one as long as it gets there within the reasonable time.
As for my current location, I can finally have oats for breakfast/snack on Sunday when I head out to my all-day Korean class when those oats gets here. However, I just remembered that Team A food thing is happening this Sunday so lunch will be covered I think.
Waiting.
(3 PM Update)
And it got here just now! It came in a big box that for a minute I thought it was the international one. International packages I've opened before usually has tons of fillers and bubble wraps. This one got bigger because of the extra chips that came with it.
Inside the original quaker oat box are just two bags of oats, roughly 2 kilos each. I may have to move one of the boxes in my 1 kg containers and mix em up with my usual nut and dried fruits.
Happy as a bee now so I may have to stock up my nuts and fruits next.
It's Friday and I am waiting for my oats to be delivered. I ordered one from iherb last week but it seems to be taking a long time (7-9 days) to get here. We didn't buy some cereal since last week so I found this weeks' breakfast to be stressful. I did get to cook and try some new things (like Pita bread) but still missed my own food. I just had to place my order for oats in gmarket specially when I found that the price has gone down a bit (from 36k to 30k) with a bag of Honey Butter Chips to boot.
I've been checking my iherb order but it just got to the Korean warehouse yesterday afternoon. I think it will have to move from that to the local courier warehouse before it gets to be delivered. It will also have to go through custom check today. So hopefully with the quick and efficient delivery system here in Korea, I might get that iherb parcel by tomorrow or Monday at the most. I'm just hoping that those EO bottles won't be broken coz I've heard that some people who order flour/oat had some problems. I'm crossing my fingers mine won't have any or else I'll have to deal with the Korean language again.
My local gmarket order, on the other hand, is out for delivery soon since it has already arrived in my local area. I just placed the payment yesterday and from what I've seen in the tracking link, payment was cleared right away yesterday. The goods were shipped out early evening and has been on the move while I was sleeping overnight. It got into the town at 8 this morning and already in my area just after an hour and a half. So if I really can't wait, I can just drop by at their office a few blocks from my place and pick it up. But of course, I will rather wait and write stuff here. :D I'm just keeping an ear open for a message or a call from the delivery guy or perhaps just the doorbell ring today.
Delivery system here is really cool compared to how it is in my hometown. It takes a while for payment to be cleared, when they finally ship out, it sleeps in a warehouse for at least a night. It takes hours or sometime a day for a product to move from one part of the metro to the hangar where they will be shipped out to the provincial island. By the time it gets to the island, it may have to stay in the local office for a while before they finally get someone to deliver it coz there is only one office in the downtown to process all the incoming documents and parcels. Quickest time frame can be 3 days but worst case would 5 days or a week.
That is for the private courier service. It's totally different case via the post office. It is worse. Which reminds me about a couple of stuff I've sent through them a few months ago and I haven't heard if it already got there. Oh geez. One was a small packet of paper gift for my son's friends and another is a document for my mom. Gotta check that one out. To make it worse, I just sent it as regular mail forgetting how bad Philpost system is. I should've sent it with tracking no. at least, even if it won't be that quick. I don't mind the slower one as long as it gets there within the reasonable time.
As for my current location, I can finally have oats for breakfast/snack on Sunday when I head out to my all-day Korean class when those oats gets here. However, I just remembered that Team A food thing is happening this Sunday so lunch will be covered I think.
Waiting.
(3 PM Update)
And it got here just now! It came in a big box that for a minute I thought it was the international one. International packages I've opened before usually has tons of fillers and bubble wraps. This one got bigger because of the extra chips that came with it.
Inside the original quaker oat box are just two bags of oats, roughly 2 kilos each. I may have to move one of the boxes in my 1 kg containers and mix em up with my usual nut and dried fruits.
Happy as a bee now so I may have to stock up my nuts and fruits next.
I guess they will update the tracking info later when they get back to the office. It would be more fancy if it gets updated the minute they deliver. I've signed some electronic machines before for bank cards and I figured it might automatically update somewhere but not with the regular goods.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Phising Rant, etc.
I need to go downtown. But because of the voice phishing incident, all my other plans were scrapped. I had planned on completing my lesson planning this morning and head downtown this afternoon but no, it didn't happen. I won't go into the details for now except that we were just robbed of our time and peace of mind and not exactly of what little money we have. That I have to thank God for giving my hubs some common sense after an hour on the phone with that bogus caller.
What do I have to put down in writing now? Ah..
What do I have to put down in writing now? Ah..
- I need to prep month curri, that should be at least 4 lessons for each month
- figure out my KB payment for my oats
- finalize my Daiso list
- drop by at the MC center tomorrow
- plus, pick up the furnitures
- and do the Thu Yoga
BUSY! Detailed Voice Phishing story next time. Time to get started!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
The Problem of Apologies
June 25 marks the establishment of the Korea and Japan diplomatic relations which brings up the subject of "comfort women." I've heard this many times before and wondered what exactly did the current Japanese officials were referring to when they say that they've already apologized for that before.
This brought me to Murayama's statement on this page from the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry. I've read a bit more about the establishment of the Asian Women's Fund and its purpose, as well as its accomplishments by the time it was dissolved. It made me wonder some more why other Asian nations still harbor ill-sentiments about it.
My hubby pointed out that it was a matter of how sincere the apology came across and it seems that the Japanese government itself didn't really officially apologized. That 1995 was half-baked, and it was even still followed by other actions that seems to downplay what happened in the case of the comfort women issue.
He then suggested that I look up the Germany case after the World War 2. There were several points that I managed to glean from reading a NYTimes article (2014 April) and another lengthy one from here as well and even from a yahoo answers page.
Generally speaking, the German government, the people apologized. Not once, but a lot of times. Not just one person but as a whole nation. There is the pronoun factor "we" instead of just the individualized "I." I think, it is, indeed, an important point when dealing in foreign affairs issues between nations. Specially with Korea who have the culture of "we." This I learned last Sunday in my Korean language class. I have heard this pronoun used so often before but never really understood that it stems from their culture. I had this impression before that they just don't use a lot of pronouns but there's actually more to it.
Another point that came up was how the government treated that era of atrocities and how this is portrayed in their school textbooks to educate the younger generations. There's no better way to rewrite a twisted history but to teach that to the future citizens of the country. I have yet to ask a younger Japanese myself and find out what really are in their school textbooks.
There are more issues surrounding this post-war apologies by Japan and Germany and how they differ. Even though my sentiments lie with the aggrieved nations from the start, a curious mind led me to try to learn what the other party is actually referring to. Japanese apology efforts were not enough. Koreans are not exactly the only one that thinks so otherwise. I believe, I understand it a little better now.
This brought me to Murayama's statement on this page from the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry. I've read a bit more about the establishment of the Asian Women's Fund and its purpose, as well as its accomplishments by the time it was dissolved. It made me wonder some more why other Asian nations still harbor ill-sentiments about it.
My hubby pointed out that it was a matter of how sincere the apology came across and it seems that the Japanese government itself didn't really officially apologized. That 1995 was half-baked, and it was even still followed by other actions that seems to downplay what happened in the case of the comfort women issue.
He then suggested that I look up the Germany case after the World War 2. There were several points that I managed to glean from reading a NYTimes article (2014 April) and another lengthy one from here as well and even from a yahoo answers page.
Generally speaking, the German government, the people apologized. Not once, but a lot of times. Not just one person but as a whole nation. There is the pronoun factor "we" instead of just the individualized "I." I think, it is, indeed, an important point when dealing in foreign affairs issues between nations. Specially with Korea who have the culture of "we." This I learned last Sunday in my Korean language class. I have heard this pronoun used so often before but never really understood that it stems from their culture. I had this impression before that they just don't use a lot of pronouns but there's actually more to it.
Another point that came up was how the government treated that era of atrocities and how this is portrayed in their school textbooks to educate the younger generations. There's no better way to rewrite a twisted history but to teach that to the future citizens of the country. I have yet to ask a younger Japanese myself and find out what really are in their school textbooks.
There are more issues surrounding this post-war apologies by Japan and Germany and how they differ. Even though my sentiments lie with the aggrieved nations from the start, a curious mind led me to try to learn what the other party is actually referring to. Japanese apology efforts were not enough. Koreans are not exactly the only one that thinks so otherwise. I believe, I understand it a little better now.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Officially an Expat in Korea: iherb.com
I have finally completed my first order from iherb and I am now officially an expat. :D
Why? Almost every expat in Korea that I've come across the net would source their non-Korean supplies from iherb ranging from hard-to-find specialized food to supplements for human and even pets.
Sure, there are imported goods in the leading supermarkets but oftentimes they can be limited and would not include other specialized food items and supplements. Moreover, they can also be a little expensive with having to cover the brick-and-mortar store expenses. Shopping online electronically, on the other hand, can be a bit cheaper and actually more convenient as well. The delivery system is quite established with a flat rate of more or less 4USD or even free depending on the minimum order.
I've actually made an account months ago and made a few attempts early this year for my first order which I've never really completed at all. I bided my time, hoping to find some things locally. But alas, with the MERS thing going, people tend to venture out less nowadays. Plus hubby needed some herb spray for his rashes and I don't think any of us will actually see a doctor for that specially now.
What really drove me to making my first order were the essential oils and oats. I have ran out of my winter supply oats which I bought from gmarket sometime around December. It actually took me about four months to finish the 4.5 kg bulk order. I find it a bit expensive now after seeing more choices from coupang and iherb. I thought about trying out coupang but the language complexity of the site would take a bit more time to decipher for me. I ended up in iherb to try out other brands and score other products as well.
These other products are the essential oils. I am pretty keen on DIY sprays around the house for storing our winter stuffs, treating the pests from my small garden, getting rid of smell from shoes and even socks and many other things. I haven't found a decently-priced source here in this small town.
Iherb seems to be the answer. I can pay using my regular check/debit card from a local bank as long as it has the VISA logo. There were two options for the delivery company: CJ and the Korea Post. I chose the former this time. That company usually deliver around midday in our area, unlike Korean Post which usually show up late in the afternoon. (Yeah, I usually keep track of couriers' schedule.^^,) Now, I just have to double check if my order will have additional tax/duty when it gets here. I'm crossing my fingers I won't have to shell out extra bucks later on.
My first order was pretty modest with 10 items, 8 of which were EOs and only 2 were bags of oats. I'll be looking at other food items like herbs and condiments next time, along with more EOs. I just have to be careful not to go overboard on my following orders.
It would take 2-7 days before it gets here via CJ Korea Express. I'll expect it around late next week or the week after. And as every first timer in iherb, I now post my Reward Code for anyone who might want to make use to get some discount on their orders. Just in case some happen to stumble on this blog post. Either type this code LWJ371 at the end of shopping or follow this iherb link.
I'll try to forget about this now until the parcel gets here...and maybe I'll be able to post another about it.
Why? Almost every expat in Korea that I've come across the net would source their non-Korean supplies from iherb ranging from hard-to-find specialized food to supplements for human and even pets.
Sure, there are imported goods in the leading supermarkets but oftentimes they can be limited and would not include other specialized food items and supplements. Moreover, they can also be a little expensive with having to cover the brick-and-mortar store expenses. Shopping online electronically, on the other hand, can be a bit cheaper and actually more convenient as well. The delivery system is quite established with a flat rate of more or less 4USD or even free depending on the minimum order.
I've actually made an account months ago and made a few attempts early this year for my first order which I've never really completed at all. I bided my time, hoping to find some things locally. But alas, with the MERS thing going, people tend to venture out less nowadays. Plus hubby needed some herb spray for his rashes and I don't think any of us will actually see a doctor for that specially now.
What really drove me to making my first order were the essential oils and oats. I have ran out of my winter supply oats which I bought from gmarket sometime around December. It actually took me about four months to finish the 4.5 kg bulk order. I find it a bit expensive now after seeing more choices from coupang and iherb. I thought about trying out coupang but the language complexity of the site would take a bit more time to decipher for me. I ended up in iherb to try out other brands and score other products as well.
These other products are the essential oils. I am pretty keen on DIY sprays around the house for storing our winter stuffs, treating the pests from my small garden, getting rid of smell from shoes and even socks and many other things. I haven't found a decently-priced source here in this small town.
Iherb seems to be the answer. I can pay using my regular check/debit card from a local bank as long as it has the VISA logo. There were two options for the delivery company: CJ and the Korea Post. I chose the former this time. That company usually deliver around midday in our area, unlike Korean Post which usually show up late in the afternoon. (Yeah, I usually keep track of couriers' schedule.^^,) Now, I just have to double check if my order will have additional tax/duty when it gets here. I'm crossing my fingers I won't have to shell out extra bucks later on.
My first order was pretty modest with 10 items, 8 of which were EOs and only 2 were bags of oats. I'll be looking at other food items like herbs and condiments next time, along with more EOs. I just have to be careful not to go overboard on my following orders.
It would take 2-7 days before it gets here via CJ Korea Express. I'll expect it around late next week or the week after. And as every first timer in iherb, I now post my Reward Code for anyone who might want to make use to get some discount on their orders. Just in case some happen to stumble on this blog post. Either type this code LWJ371 at the end of shopping or follow this iherb link.
I'll try to forget about this now until the parcel gets here...and maybe I'll be able to post another about it.
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