I Wander

Travel Blog, Itineraries & Guides, Hotel Reviews

General Travel

iShopChangi.com – Purchasing Travel Essentials From Changi Airport With 7% Off On Top Of Duty-Free Prices

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It’s that time of the year again when the travel season is coming into full swing – with school holidays starting and many people taking their first major holiday of the year during the long Easter weekend. I am writing this as I touch down in Mauritius and embarking on my first trip to Africa. Prior to departing for my trip, I came across iShopChangi, a platform that allows passengers to pick up products being sold at the airport online. I buy a lot of duty-free items at Changi Airport both for myself and for friends overseas and the platform saves a lot of time.

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The Best Ways to Deal With Jetlag

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The jetsetting lifestyle isn’t always as glamorous as it’s always portrayed to be. Unless you’re fully prepped in celebrity ways, armed with oversized sunglasses and a mini toiletry kit for landing, you’re likely to end a long-haul flight looking and smelling like you’ve been dragged through a bush.

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How To Earn Up to 5 Skywards Miles Per $1 With Mileslife

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I first wrote about Mileslife when it made its debut here in Singapore. In the few months since then, their list of dining and lifestyle merchants has expanded and now include some of the most well-known restaurants in Singapore. One of the earliest merchants to accept Mileslife was Crystal Jade – probably the most recognizable Chinese restaurant chain in Singapore with dozens of branches and sub-brands within the country. I recently paid them a visit with the intention of using Mileslife as it adds Emirates Skywards as its newest frequent flyer programme in its list of partners.

For every $1 spent, members will earn up to 5 Skywards Miles and an additional bonus based on their Emirates Skywards tier. Emirates Skywards Silver members earn 25% bonus Miles on every purchase, Gold members earn 50% bonus Miles while Platinum members earn 75% bonus Miles. The tiered bonus is unique to the Emirates Skywards programme.

There is also an ongoing promotion which allows Mileslife users to earn triple  Skywards Miles on all spends until 30 November 2017 when selecting Emirates Skywards as their frequent flyer programme (FFP) of choice.

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Shopback: Better Savings With Travel Deals and Cashback (11.11 Singles Day)

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I have previously written about cashback websites, or portals that provide rebates for purchases made via affiliates. The previous one I recommended was geared towards an international (i.e. American) audience. For those living within Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore, you can actually look at Shopback which essentially follows the same mechanism but has merchants closer to home and in many cases, higher rebates.

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Mileslife: Earn Miles When You Dine and More

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Mileslife, a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices that allows you to earn miles in 12 frequent flyer programmes by dining in participating restaurants, has launched in Singapore. The concept is simple and allows users to have their miles posted to the frequent flyer account within 3 to 5 days from date of purchase. So far, MilesLife is available with partner merchants in Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai with plans to grow within Asia.

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6 Hair Care Tips for Frequent Travelers

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As I am usually on the go, I never really pay much attention to personal care when I am traveling. I just bring my usual face wash and shampoo and that’s it. However, my recent trips this year prodded me to pay more attention, especially with the hair. I noticed my scalp really drying up as I was traversing the arid but bitterly cold conditions of Mongolia.  Ditto for my trips around Southeast Asia where the heat had caused some painful acne to appear on my scalp.

As I am no expert in hair, I have collaborated with the folks at Beijing 101 for some hair care tips while on the go. Make sure to scroll down to the bottom for a chance to win shopping vouchers and free hair and scalp consultation sessions.

Wear a hat

Prolonged sun exposure can dry your scalp or worse – cause discoloration. Wearing a hat is a great way to avoid hair damage whenever there is direct sun exposure.

Put sunscreen on your hair

beach volleyball by diego david garcia | cc 2.0

For folks who have greasy hair, do note that the heat can stimulate your scalp’s oil producing glands and can trigger folliculitis or hair acne. If you prefer to let your hair down uncovered, an alternative is to use sunscreen. Spray-on types work best for the hair instead of cream-based ones. The former is also easier to use.

Wash your hair frequently

If you happen to be traveling around a humid and hot country – most places around the region fall within this category – you would do well by washing your hair in the evenings after coming back from a day around town. This can help wash away dirt and excess sebum from your scalp – too much of which could lead to hair loss.

Be careful about pool water

Pool water is often filled with lots of chlorine that can unnecessarily dry up and damage your hair. One way to keep your hair from soaking up pool water is by using a swimming cap. Alternatively, slathering your hair with conditioner / moisturizer before a swim can help protect against the chlorine drying up your hair.

Just chill

Holidays are experiences to enjoy and cherish but sometimes, unforeseen circumstances could spell disaster. Prolonged periods of stress could lead to hair loss so remember to chill.

Consider going for scalp treatment after your trip

Traveling can expose you to foreign bodies or climates which your body is not accustomed to. This can have varying effects on your scalp – from excessive dryness or greasiness. In my case, my recent trips to Mongolia and Russia – places which are very dry – sapped my scalp of moisture. Going for a scalp treatment after your trip, especially when you visit places that are vastly different from Singapore in terms of weather, could help restore your hair to healthier conditions quicker. It will also enable you to identify any serious conditions before they become chronic.

Exclusive Promotion for my readers! Enjoy a Hair Gro Treatment for S$42 w/ GST (UP: S$366) and stand to WIN a Hair Care Hamper worth S$240. Sign up HERE.*

*You will be redirected to a third party site.

This post is brought to you by Beijing 101

Singapore Credit Cards Points to Miles Conversion Chart (Plus Their Frequent Flyer Partners)

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With different ways credit cards in Singapore value their points, I thought it would be helpful to spell out the equivalent miles that each credit card reward point converts to (at least for the major banks) in one table for easy reference. For those who are new to the miles game, 1 point in Citi is definitely not equivalent to 1 point in DBS when it comes to miles. Hopefully, this table will enable you to quickly calculate the number of miles you have available (or need!) in your various credit card accounts.

I found myself having to frustratingly refer to the websites of various banks to extract their conversion ratio over and over again. To end all that, this table came to being. Do let me know if you think there are more banks I should add!

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