Shopping expedition

The long weekend is set to start tomorrow yet, but already filed for vacation leave. Why so? Why, to go shopping, of course! :) Ben had this bright idea of going to La Divi. For the uninitiated, that’s good ole Divisoria! The mecca of shopping bargains galore. But it also means where there’s shopping, there’s money, lots of it, and unfortunately, there are also snatchers, pick-pockets and other undesirables. Luckily, we weren’t going to THE Divisoria, but to the airconditioned counterpart, albeit a teensy more expensive, but hopefully, a lot safer, Tutuban Mall. The fact that it’s airconditioned, and an actual covered mall are pluses. You get almost the same price as Divisoria, in the convenience of a mall. So, off we went.

Took the LRT, and our first stop was 618 (or was it 168? I forget). It’s a new ‘mall’ manned by mostly Chinese/Taiwanese sellers. The accent is unmistakable, and though they hardly spoke English, they could bargain in Filipino. Made our way through the crowd, which was surprising considering it was a weekday. Haggled and walked, and haggled some more, then trooped to the cluster malls of Tutuban. Shopped, and shopped some more! :)

It was already 6 p.m. when we decided to call it a day. Yup, a whole day of shopping and what do I have to show for it? Well, dearies, for just Php 2,500., I went home with 1 ¾ yard of linen cloth, 2 sexy white blouses, spandex jogging pants, a picnic mat, 3 packs of facial cleansing wipes / makeup remover cloths, and for the kids, 6 pairs of pajamas, 6 pairs of beach shorts, 3 polo shirts, 2 pairs of house slippers, and as gifts, chinese-inspired placemats and matching chopsticks sets, 7 bead bracelets & necklaces, and 2 kiddie shorts & shirt sets. Happy? You bet. Going home, in a crowded jeep, stuck in traffic, in the rain, and Ben and I STILL had smiles on our faces from our shopping expedition. There will certainly be a repeat. :)