Once in a while, something from the past suddenly pops into the present. Not something sinister, but it is something welcome.
It is a Mulberry Ted Messenger Bag!
Back in what may be around 2010 when Mon and I were browsing in a record store in Greenbelt 3 (I think it was in the now defunct Music One Record Store), I’ve seen a guy with the coolest leather messenger bag with a triple postman’s lock.
Triple postman’s lock
(I think it is much better to do a one-time post, instead of the usual multiple posts in our previous trips. This way, I have everything in one go.)
Months before the pandemic began, we had travel plans that did not push through. We already booked tickets to Beijing and Phuket, but had to cancel these trips as I had to transition to a new role towards the end of 2019. We thought it would not be wise to go on leave when I barely started. So, au revoir tickets.
Then COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.
A lot of travel plans were put on hold as we were all not sure what we were dealing with. Traveling surely was the last on everyone’s list. The young and old, healthcare workers and the common people were falling left and right like flies. It was a grim time.
Even as the world began to open up last year after the vaccines started rolling out, we were still apprehensive to travel again. Earlier this year, however, we already began having more confidence. More people were doing it. The tourism sector, which took a big blow in the past 2 years, was also going to great lengths to gain people’s confidence.
So, ready to fly? Yes? Yes!
Even back in 2021, we already knew that our first trip would have been to South Korea this July (i.e. inclusive dates from July 4 to July 11). We had to eventually reconsider this.
We have been to South Korea in September 2011, December 2012 and December 2016. Granted September was supposedly early autumn, it did not feel like it as it still felt like summer that time. The last two December stays were obviously winter. We thought that perhaps spring or autumn would have been better. Spring has already passed, but autumn this year sounded perfect to us.
Yes, this page is now 10 years old. I can’t believe it is a decade already. It seems only yesterday I was figuring out how to set-up WordPress.org and posted my first ever post here on June 1, 2012. Surprisingly, my Tumblr is still alive and turned 12 last April.
I can’t stress enough that, in the midst of the ever shortening lifespan of people, I still manage to maintain these pages. And to commemorate this day, I decided to recreate the first ever photo posted:
An interesting thing about the first photo:
Since finishing my final school requirement, I finally have the time to start cleaning out my bags. One night, of course, won’t be enough. While we were watching a movie on Netflix, I was busy cleaning the leather bags with some leather cleaner spray.
I am not sure when (i.e. what date) I would finish, but I had to start somewhere, right?
Cleaning day! The ‘Bayswater’ family: Piccadilly, Bayswater and Small Bayswater
On the other hand, from time to time, I stumble upon a nice bag for sale.
I have not been buying bags since the start of the pandemic because not only of adulthood (I had to renovate a house for months!), but also I have nowhere else to go. I even switch things up a bit just to go to the grocery so as to air some of my bags out.
But this showed up. And of course, I had to get it:
In all its glory: Mulberry Walter
Welp! My last post was exactly a year ago today! I almost forgot the password for BRYOLOGUE but here I am again with another mega post.
Funny how I keep on posting about religiously posting but haven’t got the chance for the past 364 days. To give a recap of my year, perhaps a mega post will make up for it?
So let’s have a look back at the year that was!
At the newly-cleaned Quiapo area
For our last day in Taipei, Mon still had some last minute souvenir shopping to do. This is honestly my least favorite part. As Ximending Night Market is just a cartwheel away from the inn, Mon has already bookmarked the shops he wanted to visit.
Most of the stuff I will be giving to family and friends had been taken care of the night before. So for the morning’s adventure, I will just be tagging along. We also planned to visit a cat cafe somewhere in Taipei in the afternoon.
The prices of the boxes of mochi were nearly the same as Carrefour. Mon also meticulously looked for small non-food items for his family. Meanwhile, I just sat outside every bench or chair I could find. Before the end of his shopping, I also bought boxes of pastries to be given to my family and his. I also used my credit card for this one-time purchase (NTD 750).
Searching for the perfect pair of earrings
First of all, it was a relief that Taiwan has extended the visa-free entry to Philippine passport holders until July 2019. However, they have shortened it to 15 days from the former 30.
We will be in Taipei for less than a week for our 10th year celebration! The weather was not too good in Manila, and I was hoping we’d have a stress-free night flight.
At NAIA Terminal 3
I wore Doc Martens, but NAIA’s airport security was just too much
We arrived around 9:00 PM at NAIA Terminal 3, even if our flight will not leave not until 11:00 PM. This is obviously a red-eye flight to Taipei.
It is worth noting that of all our trips together, this is my first time to religiously list all of our expenses. At the end of the series, I will be listing our expenses. For our pocket money, I have only used earnings from Google Adsense. The hotel booking (via Booking.com) was also paid for in advance using Google Adsense.
BRYOLOGUE does not earn much Adsense-wise. However, I maintain another website that pretty much takes care of its own. So let us see how far our pocket money will bring us. LOL
Both of us have been on keto diet since May, so we are unsure how we will survive in carb-rich Taiwan. We even had to bake a loaf of bread and a small batch of brownies because we did not want to be kicked out of ketosis! This was, as expected, a big challenge as a keto traveler.
As today is a holiday (i.e. the 119th Independence Day), I took the whole day to sort my things and clean my bags. I had already run out of leather-cleaning stuff, and I’ve been wanting to drop by SM Megamall to buy some.
It was a quick and breezy ride going there, as there was no traffic. As expected, there were a lot of people inside the mall, though.
Getting the good stuff
I went straight downstairs to the Lower Ground area, where this leather-care Mecca is found. I have been hoping to go there again, but could not find the time as SM Megamall was out of the way.
After careful consideration of what I needed (not to mention foresight of not being able to go back again for months), I was able to buy a couple of products to help me on the day’s agenda.
A shelf of leather care products
Aside from the Bayswater, the Roxanne is considered as one of the iconic styles from Mulberry. While the design itself has a smaller (Blenheim) and bigger (Rosemary) variety, the Roxanne hit the Goldilocks’ zone for being ‘just right’.
Mulberry Roxanne Bag in Apple Green Darwin Leather
What would push me to go back writing here? Yeah, a bag post!
To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement. For years, I have been searching for a Mulberry Piccadilly in Oak Darwin that won’t break the bank. It is my HOLY GRAIL. I even wrote this elaborate longing on my Tumblr more than 4 years ago. Up to this day, this EXACT Piccadilly is on the top of my wishlist. How can you not fall in love with that patina, that kind of brown and the sheen only an aged-leather can give off? I’m still in love.
Fast forward to four years after, the fire is still burning. However, my extremely popular and most-Googled Mulberry entry is a cautionary tale – caveat emptor. But my heart skipped a beat when I saw an ad listing back in March. It was simply listed as a Mulberry leather bag, but it surely looked like a Piccadilly to me.