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Join Rem and Alvia as they navigate the joys and perils of adulthood as a married millennial DINK couple in the Philippines, while also trying to break the stigma against the DINK lifestyle or being childless by choice. We tackle challenges like facing adult responsibilities, managing finances, growing careers, breaking generational traumas, generating social impact, cultivating relationships, and determining who should be washing the dishes.
DINKWAP stands for Dual-Income No Kids with a Podcast!
Are you a DINK, SINK, or DINK-curious? Join us at DINK Lifestyle Philippines.
The DINKWAP Show
I feel like I was
meant for it.
What?
I don't want to anymore.
It's enough.
I'm okay
with one if.
I expected more.
This is
really not worth it.
The DINKWAP Show I was just saying, their tourism is so good.
For food.
Yeah.
Food
tourism.
And you can go to Hukusan.
One of the decisions is
why Taipei.
We went there together with Des.
We also know that it's easy to navigate.
We don't have to go on tour or do research.
It's very convenient. We just commute.
We just
walk.
I was left behind in one of those days.
The DINKWAP Show. Dual income, no kids, with a podcast.
Hello, hello! Welcome to the DINKWAP Show and we are your hosts. I am Rem.
I'm Alvia.
My
intro is beautiful.
I wish I finished it
before you did the self-love.
You're becoming a pro.
I've practiced.
Good job.
At least you love yourself.
So for this episode, we followed the previous episode.
If you haven't watched it yet, watch it first.
But you can also say no.
-You can change it here.
-But
in connection to that, because what we're talking about is about the expensive things here that are unreasonably pricey in the Philippines.
So I'm excited to talk about this.
Our trip to
Taiwan.
So how was your first international trip?
For context, it was my very first
international
trip.
I always get distracted because I have a lot of plans.
I always plan Japan,
Singapore.
For
various reasons, it didn't go well.
Or you got lazy.
Or you don't have money.
That's the primary.
So, it's my first trip in my 40 years of existence.
You're already 40?
I'm not even sure.
I'm so self-love-goated in this episode.
I don't want to anymore.
But it's a milestone.
Yeah.
Because...
It was the first time he went through immigration.
His
passport was stamped.
We told him
what happened there.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have an ID.
We'll tell him. It's for him.
ID.
He's the only one watching this.
Yes.
He's
our guest.
He's
the only one listening.
He's the only one watching.
He's the only one reacting.
He's the only
one
But anyway, we're there now.
So how did it feel?
Because when you're on a local travel, you're already used to it.
You just go to the airport,
then boarding,
that's it.
There's no anxiety, just to get back home.
But
anyway, what was your feeling the first time?
The process is longer because we're still going to be declared
online.
And when you get there, you'll have to go through immigration.
So
how was that experience?
I
feel like I was meant for it.
Wow. What?
I don't want to anymore.
It's enough. The
one-if is okay.
I expected more.
This episode won't really have an "in" as in nothing.
But actually, I felt anxiety.
That maybe...
You can watch yearbooks.
Yeah,
because there are
so
many horror stories that happen.
But I feel like it's not natural for you to...
The more you see it, the more you feel it.
Yeah, they're more nervous.
I tried to
act as
natural as possible.
And we're stuck. We're there
for
a
I thought it was a programmer.
I thought it was "Kuya Dev" I thought it was you.
We were just in the immigration.
Who are you with?
You have an internal panic.
Who am I with?
My partner. No, my partner. That one.
So, she looked at me.
I look like a poor person.
I was shocked.
I
feel like
I'm in Taiwan. Are they close?
Yes, I know some people there.
Even visa-free?
Singapore, Hong Kong.
It's
really tough.
It's really tough.
And sometimes, you get nervous.
Yeah.
Which
is good because if it's your first time to go abroad,
you'll get nervous.
And I.O.s are also famous for being arrogant.
For me, it's
okay that I was asked if it's my first time to travel abroad.
I said no.
And they just accepted it.
It's
like you said it with conviction.
I
think they have a plan to add facial recognition.
Maybe it can help.
There's facial recognition at home, right?
But
Des and I said we should go with "No" because it's more accurate.
Ah, it's more accurate.
But
in Taiwan, there's facial recognition. I tried it.
In Atenmolo.
They're going to add it. But I feel like they added a
processor.
That's why RFID is not good.
Benefit of the doubt.
Let's talk about Des.
This is the whole episode.
This is
really about Des.
When the three of us were going to be together, Des was the last one.
Tell us who Des is.
He's our friend.
He's our guest in the previous episodes.
Our only friend, Des.
She's all over our socials.
Anyway,
we were the next three.
So,
we
went.
Suddenly, a new counter
opened.
I was like, "Oh,
cutie!" I
was about to go.
I was heading to a counter.
Then, someone opened the other side.
I was like, "Des,
I'll send you." But no, he saw it cute.
He was about to go.
We were surprised that he was so friendly.
I think he's just about to start his shift.
That's
why he has good vibes.
And
maybe he's handsome.
What
did you ask him?
I asked him if he works in the government.
Then
I told him to put his business card in his passport.
And if he doesn't want to be handsome, remove it.
Because I might ask him about his work.
That's your business card.
That's yours.
Okay, okay.
We're still in the I.O. of the Philippines.
Let's not talk about that.
In Taiwan, there are a lot of people who are in the same group.
They're
strict
about pork.
That's the long
part.
Is it like swine flu?
No, it's not.
It's just a bit intense in Taiwan.
But it's good for them.
I
like their safety.
But
they're
moving. Even though there's a volume,
they're
fast.
And the ushers, they'll
alert you.
They'll
shout "Go!" They'll say "Hello!"
-That's how you are. -That's how you are.
-So,
it's really
fast.
-Hello!
-Where's your boss?
-Of course,
they
don't speak English.
It's just a bit difficult.
But anyway, so finally, we got out of the airport.
-No.
-Do you have any other thoughts about the airport?
-No,
I'm okay with that.
But maybe our conversation is...
What did we do? What did we do? What
did we
do?
Before we left, I prepared an itinerary.
But
it was chill.
I suggested that we stay in Taipei,
in Ximen.
It's in the center. Airbnb is good there.
So I suggested that we stay mostly in Taipei.
We
have a list of DIY
stuff
to do.
And of course, because I made the itinerary, there's a food list.
There's a list
of food places.
It's just that it's hard because the restaurant is all Chinese.
So I just list food to try.
Because
I can't find it.
So yeah.
And then, Jessica suggested that we go on a day trip to Taichung,
which is one of the
provinces.
Because I think you like those two.
Chill vibe,
nature.
We were in Taipei.
We were going to explore food.
We
ate everything we saw.
We were so hungry.
Our flight was a red-eye.
We fell asleep when we got home.
When we got out, we were already on the way.
We had to wait for
the check-in to be at 4pm.
So we just went downstairs to get our stuff.
So we decided to explore.
When we arrived at the first restaurant, it was like, "Oh, that's it?" Yeah, that's it.
We ate right away.
And there was no itinerary.
No, there wasn't.
"This
is nice. Let's eat."
"Do you have this?" "Ah, okay." One of the famous dishes in Taiwan is beef short ribs.
It's
on the list. Des checked it right away.
Within an
hour.
There are
so many dishes that I didn't see on TikTok.
Wait,
we didn't mention the transport from the airport.
There's a train.
Oh, yes.
The train connects to the airport.
And then, if you go to Ximen, there's a choice of bus or actually we can just walk, it's raining.
There's a taxi bay, things like that.
It's so solid.
You
won't have a problem if you don't have a umbrella or you'll get a bruise or anything.
And then, because we're not good at Chinese, someone is helping us to talk to the taxi.
That's a volunteer,
right?
I don't know. Maybe.
Because
they have a lot of seniors.
Yes,
the seniors who are just helping at the airport.
They even have volunteers.
That's so cute.
Actually, it's a good idea for seniors.
Just for real.
And they can get points there.
They claim somewhere.
But anyway, we ate a lot at the food day.
We almost died.
It
was delicious.
We ate one meal and shared.
And the surfing
was huge.
Then, when we went out, we went out and bought water.
Oh, we already found something.
The buns.
Oh, vegetable bun, red bean bun.
I learned
it, right? I was just here.
That too. We went out.
We went out.
We
went to Benilibin.
Yes. And then, afternoon, it was like their bingsu was delicious.
It was really bingsu.
It was shaved ice with flavor.
The one was more fancy.
But it looked cheap. Okay, it's okay.
It's not that bad. We didn't get too much.
It was just our first
day.
And then, we went out at night. We just slept for a while because it was dark.
And
then, we went to the night market.
All of them.
All of them.
Let's just share.
Craft beer.
We didn't talk much.
We just talked naturally.
Then when we
got back, everyone brought something.
Someone ordered beer, then I ordered pika.
It was so fun.
Like I said, their tourism is so good.
For food.
Food tourism.
And also, one of the decisions was
why Taipei.
Because we both went there by ourselves.
And we know that it's really easy to navigate.
So we don't have to go on a tour, we don't have to do research.
It's really convenient. We just commute.
We just
walk.
I was left behind in one of those days.
We went shopping.
They went shopping,
of course we went.
You can't do that long shopping.
So I
took a street photography.
I went to many places but you know, you can't find the code.
I
have a good sense of direction.
I probably can't go even if there's a Google Maps.
I
saw a lot of open
spaces.
There were a lot of parks.
And the place we visited, Huashan.
Even
if it's a commercial place,
you
can buy anything without any pressure.
That's
right.
And then there are the parks. People are just hanging out.
And then you see the seniors exercising.
And then there's
a commute.
The super grandmas and grandpas.
It's so cool.
It's like a beatable city.
There are a lot of trees in their parks.
This Ortigas is so annoying.
We have a park here, right?
They just cut down the grass.
It's so annoying.
I used
to be an anti-polar.
We're stuck here.
I need fresh air.
You're suffocating.
It's so serious.
Concretely,
we
want to leave here.
That's true.
But that's one of the things I like about Taiwan aside from the food.
I just go around.
You just walk around all afternoon?
Just people watching.
And
of course, the night is different.
As in,
people's lives are really different.
All the food we eat is delicious.
Right?
That's what makes it funny.
All seasons, except winter, we experienced.
When we arrived, it was raining and windy.
So the jacket was still double.
And
the next day, it was perfect.
Cold but
sunny.
So
I thought, "Okay, I can wear
sleeveless now." It's like spring, right?
Yes, I
can wear sleeveless
now.
I can wear shorts now.
Then, the next day, it was so hot.
It was so hot!
Oh my God!
My friend was wearing a backless.
She was wearing a shirt.
I
laughed at our conversation.
She was wearing a shirt.
Our pictures were so low.
The clothes
were gone.
It was so hot.
We wore tights.
Then on the first day, Des and I bought a jacket.
Because we
wore it during the summer.
Then the next day, we didn't need it anymore.
It's so annoying.
But it's better now that we have it.
But
we were just bored because we had a lot of cardigans at home.
I
wish it was always cold and sunny.
The second day.
But it didn't get cold.
That was the normal weather at that time.
But
the UV level is high.
Even if
it's cold, we have a sunburn.
So,
yeah.
It's higher.
And for them, for us, it's too hot
during the afternoon.
For them, it's
like 4 or 5 pm.
That's the
peak of heat.
We also enjoyed our neighborhood.
Because there's food, coffee, something.
There's a shop.
When I walked alone, I was just walking around.
It was like a
tiramisu.
It's famous.
It's famous but it was just standing there.
The
road was so tight.
You
were
just walking around.
I
was just following the artworks.
Then I saw Ice 2.
Then Rem suddenly asked, "Do you want tiramisu?"
I asked him, "What is your best seller?" I told him I don't like people, but I was impressed.
I
said, "This is so good. The packaging is so nice." We even went home to the Philippines. The packaging is so nice.
It's so
good!
All the food we ate was delicious.
Except for the one we also visited, the Taichung.
Later because
there were a lot of people.
The
Jufen.
The Studio Ghibli fans.
Those were the vibes.
But Miyazaki said that she wasn't
inspired by
it.
So, it's up to you.
So, that's what I wanted to say.
And apparently, there's a bus that goes straight there.
That's right.
That's what we tried. But you have to be ready to walk because
it's all steps.
It's painful.
If it's just a slope, it's okay.
But the stairs, it's...
And it's so sticky when we're there.
Actually, I think we're lucky.
Because
when we go there, there's not a lot of people.
When
we leave, there's a lot of people.
It's like the
off-peak period.
We even had a beer during sunset.
We really enjoyed it because there weren't many people.
We could take pictures of each other.
We were
really enjoying it.
We were so full that we even got a pre-taste.
But we also tried their famous peanut ice cream with cilantro.
We really didn't
like it.
I have conflicting feelings because the ice cream is delicious but the first bite was the cilantro.
I can't handle it.
Des really doesn't have a redeeming factor.
I said that the end was okay.
But the cilantro was the one that hit me.
Maybe that's it.
But it was more of preference.
It's not because of that.
He liked it.
The stinky tofu.
Yeah, I also like it. Wait, can we really eat it?
Does Des like it?
It's okay, but the smell.
That's right.
But the one we tried, the deep fried one, is
mild.
And for me, I don't know if it's because we ordered the one that's not popular, but the grilled mushroom one is just like a sax.
Isn't that also hype on the internet?
They said that the line is long.
But I laugh because how many days is it?
Six.
In six days, the line is still the same.
It's like it's changing.
But we said, aside from the fact that we have three EQs and we're the only one who's listening, how different is the guava juice here
from
the other side?
The guava juice? Okay.
Right?
Is it like that?
Maybe. But we said, "It's okay if we ate something that's not that long." Like the breakfast place where we were looking for egg fried rice
and an oyster omelet.
They're
two.
The other day, one of them was the one with the long queue.
And today, the other one.
We're
here on the other side, the one without the queue.
Because yesterday, the queue was long.
That's why. They just
passed by.
Almost all of them have awards.
Most
of them are Michelin.
But
all of them are delicious.
Yes,
there's no complaint.
There's no bad taste.
Maybe
the palette is just for the particular ones.
Because we eat
almost everything.
Except the meat.
Des is there to eat.
But that's it.
Then, what else is there?
Rem actually likes the hole in the wall
places.
Like all the
places we've
been to, we were intrigued by the bar.
Because it says "closing is when the boss gets
drunk."
So we were like, "Oh, they're already here?" But we were like, "Oh, they're still
here?" Yeah, they're still there.
Yeah,
they're still drinking.
They left because we came
and there's no one sitting there.
They're bullying the kids.
They're still kids.
It's like getting lost.
I really like it when we
travel, even if it's just
local.
We really want to explore the market.
Local haunts.
If
we can have a local experience.
That's how it is in the US.
It's funny because
we're all local.
We're
not even Chinese.
Sometimes
we're just looking at people like,
"What the f--?" Why are you here?
And it's just
sign language because there's no English.
There's another one, Cedes, where it's negotiable.
Egg tart.
And
the other one we visited, it's a super residential area.
We were still doubting if we were in the right place.
And then we suddenly smelled butter.
That's it.
And then,
across a park.
We
were just there.
There was a bench with grandmas and young children.
We were just there, eating food.
We were just there, eating food.
We were just there, eating food.
We went to the park.
We were like, "Shit, this is so good. Let's go back." Our
chan wasn't broken.
It wasn't.
And it was so safe.
Even if
the skin is dark,
it's
okay.
Where
did you eat the sashimi?
I saw it on YouTube.
The Taipei
Fish Market.
Yes,
that's right.
It's not that famous.
It's
a very local vibe.
But the description of the place was so weird because "There's it there." They were like that.
So we looked like we were lost.
Then Des shut down.
So I
was like, "I'm hungry." So I took charge.
I was the one who chose the food.
But it's crazy.
As in, imagine, the place is a bit social.
They say it's expensive for locals.
But one, you don't smell anything.
At
all.
And it's so fresh.
That's the freshest.
I don't like sashimi.
You like it, right?
Sometimes
I get sick of sashimi, but it's not like that.
-No, it's fresh.
-Wow!
It melts in my mouth.
Even the usual ones, salmon and tuna.
But the first time I ate squid sashimi, it melted in my mouth.
-Right? It's so good.
-It's so good.
And our three meals, there were so many.
There was king
crab
and king crab
claw.
It was worth 4,000 pesos.
-Yes.
-It
was so good.
-Yes.
As in?
For that quality, if this is...
10k
is a lot.
Our
favorite Japanese restaurant here, Yugen,
is even
better.
As
in?
What the heck?
We were just curious.
There's no aburi.
Only sashimi or rice with
rice.
We're Filipino. We like fried rice.
So, just sashimi.
Some people are just like us.
Like custard.
It's like...
Pudding is not the right word.
But it's seafood.
Imagine leche flan, not sweet, but seafood.
Imagine the soup became flan.
We don't know, but a lot of people buy it.
We
were so happy.
It was our first time eating
like that.
We were so happy.
We were so overwhelmed.
We only bought cash.
It was so hot.
When we got home, everything was forgiven.
The food was outside.
The place was so fun.
It was like a banquet.
There were two choices of seating.
The one that was just standing.
I guess it was for those who were in a hurry.
Or the one that was covered.
The other one was semi-covered.
There's a bench.
It's
like a picnic.
We were told that in
Taiwan,
there's a man who said
that
there are seats outside if you want.
I saw it on YouTube that there are seats outside.
It's outside.
I recommend it to people.
It's not that hard. We just took the bus and walked.
All the places were busses.
I think that was
the best meal for me.
Yeah, me too.
Even though
it was the most expensive.
It was worth it.
Of
course, you don't expect it to be Chinese food.
The
egg fried rice,
the grilled.
But I swear.
I feel like it's the closest to the fish
market in Japan.
The
driver of your boss?
Ah, the one who's
not yet caught.
It's directly in your mouth.
Maybe that's the closest.
But it's
really like I saw God.
Not to be religious.
Let's continue.
I already
discussed Taichung.
Maybe next episode.
Let's continue here.
Sorry to those who are hungry.
We'll be hungry later.
I don't
want to put a
video.
Just check the Instagram for food
so you won't get hungry.
Just look at your image.
Here it is, one of the noodles.
We bought a lot of noodles.
But it's
expensive.
I would say it's expensive in Taiwan but it
was right up our alley.
So
it's not that
expensive but for personal consumption, we bought a lot.
Yes.
So let's continue this next episode.
so this has been another episode of the DINKWAP Show and see you on the next one taiwan parent bye you were listening to the DINKWAP Show