Living It Up in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, or more fondly known merely by one of its prominent and primary post code made famous by the tv series, 90210, is another star in the City of Angels (Los Angeles).
Known for its highly publicized and affluent neighborhood which was said to be home to many of the celebrities, Beverly Hills is definitely more than just your usual district in the county of the California state.

History of Beverly Hills
The home to the rich and famous, as it is often referred to in a casual manner, Beverly Hills also had her own simple story to tell of its early days when it began as a land or rather, a Spanish plantation/ranch for growing the lima beans. The area was also originally thought to be a prosperous land, and a potential oil field by a group of investors interested in that area. However, oil was not found in their exploration of the land but it was water that they found, and since then, they decided to develop the land into a residential town instead.



Today, Beverly Hills is home to more than 30,000 population and rose to such prominent status due to its close location to Hollywood and cities of Los Angeles and thanks to the producers who came up with the highly acclaimed tv series watched by all around the world featuring this city.
The TV series was originally Beverly Hills 90210, which was first broadcasted in the 1980s and following its popularity of the series, there was another version of the remake, named 90210, produced in the last few years.



With the hefty tag of being an affluent township, it is no surprise that the town housed one of the most renowned retail district, Rodeo Drive. Celebrities and famous figures in the movie industry can often be spotted in this area, which is home to most of the world famous luxury designer brands.
Rodeo Drive is definitely an upscale shopping district, and there is nothing short of luxury when one walks down the high end streets of this area.









Besides the celebrities and high end retail reputation, Beverly Hills is also home to a large and still active oil field; the Beverly Hills Oil Field. Yes, there was oil after all in this piece of land and is definitely prospering well from this oil field which was discovered in the year 1900 and spans underneath the city of Beverly Hills to some parts of Los Angeles.
Read all about it here in Wikipedia

The city of Beverly Hills is indeed designed in an upper class manner and definitely a city that lives it up to its reputation with its chic urban lifestyle depicted here through the scenes seen in the city.

This is truly one stylish neighborhood; and one will definitely be living it up in style and sophistication (or even feel like it) in this prominent city.





All we need now is that familiar tune of the theme music from Beverly Hills (the TV series) to play in the background to complete the picture~

The Hollywood Story

Hollywood, a name that we have come to know so well from the movies we have watched on the screens and the mere mention of it brings to mind the picture of glamour, style, fame and glittering moments on the red carpet. It is no secret that Hollywood is the representation of the motion pictures industry in the United States which many longed (from their screens) to be a part of all that fame and celebrity lifestyle with the glitz and spotlights shining on them.
Hollywood is definitely known for its entertainment hub; with the movie studios and galas taking place in this very location every year.

Located in the central region of Los Angeles, Hollywood is a district with a humble beginning. Starting from an agricultural past, the area slowly bloomed under the direction of H.J. Whitley, who had also became known as the founder, or fondly referred to as the "Father of Hollywood" when he first purchased a 500-acre land and planned for the development and resale of the land. In the age when the real estate business embarked on its early period of boom in late 1887, it was when Hollywood showed signs of minor growth.

The name "Hollywood" was coined by Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, who was also known as the "Mother of Hollywood"; a co-owner of a ranch located in the eastern part adjacent to the district. It was probably inspired by her neighbor in Holly Canyon (now known as Lake Hollywood) and she wasted no time in recommending the name to her husband, Harvey H. Wilcox who then filed it with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office when he sold the property, naming the place "Hollywood".
Daeida Wilcox was a well-established investor in her time, and was coincidentally a friend of Whitley (the Father of Hollywood).

Who would have thought that the place would today be one of the most talked-about place in the world, and even an important representation of the movie industry in the entire country and the world?

Despite the small population they have back then in the 1870, Hollywood became a municipality in 1903 and then eventually merged with the city of Los Angeles in the year 1910 where the film industry started to pave their way in, making them today, the capital of entertainment.
Hollywood is today,  the 7th most dense city in the county of Los Angeles, and is truly a melting pot of multiple ethnicities and diversified backgrounds. Besides entertainment, Hollywood is also varied in its economic sectors and flourished as one of the major retail business hubs in the country.



It is no surprise that Hollywood is home to affluent communities and also buzzing with the movie icons and filmmakers who are often spotted in the district; owing to the fact that the district is also filled with the movie studios. In fact, some of the movie studios have come a long way and have even become part of the historical background which made up the history of the district.

Hollywood Sign
The famous Hollywood sign, located on Mount Lee in Hollywood Hills of the Santa Monica mountains is today a major tourist attraction and it is so famous that it has become an iconic landmark for the city of Los Angeles.





While many would probably dream of standing next to the lettered-sign to capture that jubilant moment of being in Hollywood, it is probably disappointing to learn that the sign is not accessible as it is situated on a rough and steep terrain on the part of the hill and is barricaded with alarm systems set to be triggered upon any unauthorized access which would have the local police notified immediately.

History of Hollywood Sign
It is interesting to note that the sign was initially made to state "Hollywoodland" in a marketing effort to introduce a new housing estate in the hills above Hollywood district of Chinatown, in the year 1923. The sign, in its early state was constructed to be 30 feet (9.1m) in width and 50 feet (15m) in height; along with an approximate of 4,000 light bulbs studs to light up the sign. The intention was to partition the sign into three segments; with HOLLY, WOOD, and LAND to be lighted up individually alternatively and in sequence, before lighting us a whole sign, in a design conceived by Thomas Fisk Golf, the owner of the sign company.
The total cost of the project was about $21,000 at that time, and the sign was initially planned to be placed for only a year and a half, for the duration of the development of the housing project but as fate would have it, the sign was retained and eventually became an iconic landmark sign until this very day following the emergence of the movie industry in the United States which continue to flourish and grow.

The sign has also been through many incidents in which the letter H was destroyed in an accident caused by the sign's official caretaker himself, Albert Kothe when his car crashed off the cliff; destroying the car and the letter, leaving Albert Kothe uninjured.
Following the incident, measures were taken and discussions were made to restore the sign in 1949, between the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the City of Los Angeles Parks Department in a contract which states that the word "LAND" would be removed to reflect the identity of the district instead of the housing estate project. The light bulbs were also removed at the decision of the Chamber of the Commerce who were supposed to maintain the costs of the lighting and hence, the new sign, Hollwood, sans the word "LAND" and lights was constructed and remained until this very day.
This sign was also marked as the site associated with the death of a starlet; Peg Entwhistle in 1932, when she committed suicide by jumping off the letters at the age of 24.


The crowds would usually gather at the peak in the quiet and affluent neighborhood; to catch a glimpse of the iconic sign and to take photos, which led to major traffic congestion in the area, to the displeasure of the local residents. This have raised various issues of controversy over the sign as residents complain about the flocking of tourists to an area which is clearly not designed for crowds and posed much inconveniences to their local community. Furthermore, the steep hilly area with narrow winding turns could pose a safety hazard to large tour buses and vehicles thronging the area.

I could empathize with the sentiments raised with the residents, and hopefully, there would be a good solution to end the residents' woes in the near future.

Hollywood is indeed a place where most dream to be, with its buzz of glamour and glitz, and even I myself could not believe the surreal experience of finally being here; of course, sans the Academy Awards and floor sweeping gowns, but still a memorable experience and yes, the sign is living proof that one is finally here.

*The Academy Awards continue to be held here every year; in the months of February/March since the year 2004.

Hollywood, is truly the capital of Entertainment....and will continue to live it up to its reputation and legacy~

Taiwan Travelogue: Exploring Xinyi District at night

Taipei is a city that never sleeps, like most of the major and capital cities in the world where nightlife is just part of the lifestyle. As most capitals in the world, Taipei is also focusing on its financial city status where most of the banking and financial institutions call the city their homes in the center of the hustle bustle of the metropolis.
Xinyi District fits in exactly as the financial center of Taipei; housing the major corporations and important landmarks well known to the world, such as Taipei 101, Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei International Convention Center, Taipei City Council and large shopping complexes with internationally known luxury designer brands in its alley.



Vibrant city scenes and buzzing traffic in both directions on the main road; swerving between the lanes and the beeping sounds of the traffic lights notifying the pedestrians to cross the road, switches interchangeably between hordes of people standing obediently behind the borders and then crossing the road are just the scenes so strikingly familiar to cities; especially when you are right in the center of the busiest part of the cities. This would probably be part of the description for Xinyi District which was kept alive by the seamless transition of the scenes at one point or another, forming that big picture of what would constitute the main theme of the streets themselves.



While I was here to visit the famous Taipei 101, I couldn't help being fascinated with the commotion and the lively scenes playing before me, although this is just another part of my lifestyle from where I came from; having grown up in a big city myself. The colorful and animated moving picture in Xinyi District just reminded me of my own home city, but with that foreign touch to it as a reminder that I am in a foreign country, but it still felt very much like home (if you get what I mean).
With the festivities around the corner, the streets were also beautifully lit with bright and blinking neon lights to create that fairyland-like environment, and without a doubt, it was indeed quite a sight to revel in at the time when darkness falls.











Besides being a financial district, Xinyi is also a major shopping district in Taipei, filled with major departmental stores and huge shopping malls. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is one of the anchor departmental store; hailing from Japan as one of the high end retail stores in the area, alongside the Taipei 101 Mall which housed the majority of the internationally known luxury designer brands from around the world.
There is also the premier Eslite Bookstore which is located in this area; and with its seven floors of a book store, it is the city's largest bookstore to date.
    



Scenes of the decor in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year near Shin Kong Mitsukoshi






Be it for the shopping or just purely for sightseeing at night around the city of Taipei to experience a little of the nightlife, Xinyi district should be on the list as it is truly a window to the vibrant cosmopolitan city depicted of Taipei.



Also, what is there so say no to when the city's pride of the iconic skyscraper is in your photography landscape, and there is a good opportunity to capture it in its full glory?

Taiwan Travelogue: Wufenpu Garment Wholesale Area

Wufenpu (五分埔), literally translates to the "Land of Five Divisions" is a name derived from the five families who migrated from Fujian, China and bought over the land from the aboriginal tribe here (Malixikou). The natives were said to have been the inhabiting the area since the era of the Qing Dynasty, and the land was mainly used to rear pigs; with the farms dotting most of the space here.
In addition to that, it was also said that there was a number of mental institutions in the same area and it was probably due to the above reasons whereby the land has been mostly neglected due to its poor conditions, and also the fact that the land was infertile as nothing could be grown here.
The other reason for the name was also probably due to the fact that the area, located in the Xinyi district of Taipei encompasses five neighborhoods; within the section 5 of Zhongxiao East Road to the Zhongpo North Road.

So, how did a barren land in such poor conditions, filled with only the pungent smell of the domestic farms and mental hospitals ended up to be the largest garment wholesale market in the whole of Taipei?


The story dates back to the beginnings where the place started had a turning point in its fate after the World War II, where a gush of flooding waters which almost had the whole of Taipei underwater (infamously known as the Flood of August 7), caused by a major typhoon left many of the elderly residents of Taipei homeless. The government stepped in, taking immediate measures by donating a piece of land; yes, this piece of barren land and the Ministry of National Defense chipped in to do their part following the donation where they built an approximate of 1,200 temporary homes for the poor homeless veterans.
Economy in Taiwan flourished thereafter; attracting many from the other states and districts to take an interest, and to try their luck at making the bucks in none other than the capital. A huge group from Fangyuan town; Central Taiwan migrated in flocks to Taipei and ended up renting these homes from the elders in the district, which they soon turned the homes into a garment business hub. The homes were turned into shophouses; where the making of the clothing would take place on the upper (second) floor along with their residence while the first floor would be converted into a business space or a pret-a-porter shop to sell their works. As the home owners; the earlier veterans retire, they sold their houses to these folks and the prey-a-porter business hub continues until this very day; filling the whole district with all these shops and eager clothing entrepreneurs ready to make a good living out of their businesses.


Most of the shops here are open for business on a daily basis, and the place can get pretty crowded on weekends; filled with avid local shoppers and tourists eager to walk away with a good bargain.
While the place is generally a wholesale garment area, there are shops which will sell clothing by piece as well.
It would help to have good negotiation skills around here when bargaining with the shop owners, and as the general shopping rules apply, do not be too keen to close a bargain.
Shop around, or take a browse around and go by your instincts. If you think the item is overpriced, it probably is. I can't tell you to tour the entire area before you make your mind, for the place is filled with crowded alleys and with the many intersections, you could probably lose your direction to get back to the original shop where you saw the item you liked.
Therefore, the gut feeling really applies here, and just be careful when bargaining.

They will typically ask the number of pieces you would want when you are interested in a particular style, as with most wholesale strategy. The reason is because prices would vary significantly; with the larger number of items you are purchasing, it is just common sense that there would be bulk discount applied. Do not get fooled by this if you are not interested to purchase more than the number of items you are interested in; unless of course, if you are also looking for wholesale items for your own business, then that would be a totally different story.
(However, I have noticed that they are rather cautious and wary of non-regulars who deal with them on the wholesale and the discounts seem to vary; whereby they would charge the regulars a fixed price (possibly much lower) and then give you a different price, which they will say is a standard.)
As mentioned, just be cautious and you might be surprised with some of the really good bargains you can get off the discount rack around here.





Besides clothing, there are also food stalls available, and there is a whole street where food and drinks stalls are located (haven't I emphasize enough that there is no end to the availability of food everywhere in Taipei?)





Walking around can take easily 3-4 hours; especially if you are a shopper or just trying to get your way through the crowd in the narrow alleys with two-way traffic and indecisive shoppers in front of you. Throw in the wholesalers pushing their goods on those barrows and you get the picture.
Navigating can be confusing, but not totally bad as the alleys always lead to the main street or the main intersection so it is not such an easy task to get yourself lost here. However, locating the shop that you spotted and decided to browse further, might be quite a challenge unless you make a mental note of the directions yourself.

If you are not a shopper, this is still an interesting area to drop by to check out the business and interaction between the locals. Besides, this is a lifestyle and where you can see the locals in action, so yeah, this is more of a people-watching (if you're not into clothing and shoes and bags) area.
Majority of the shops here are more appealing to women, but there are also shops for men, and children.

One thing though, you will need the stamina to keep up with the walking to explore the market (I hardly think that's a problem for the ladies), as there are no seats or comfy couches for one to sit on. In fact, there is not really a space or pavement when you can just sit and wait either and even the stalls or shops do not have seats for their customers. So, keep up with the walking if you are there to really knock yourself out with the shopping.

I found this stall, which was quite interesting...


They were selling egg cakes! It's amazing that I only managed to try these on my third day in Taipei, but still, these were freshly baked and hot, so they are good!
(I did seem a little carried away with these egg cakes instead of the shopping!)


Wufenpu in the evening



The food stalls on the outer perimeter of the wholesale garment area





Overall, Wufenpu may appeal as a large wholesale garment district with low to medium range of pricing and clothing quality and fashionable trends inspired by Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Most of the clothes/fashion items here are locally manufactured with a small percentage being imported from the above fashion hubs as well.
Not a bad place to check out, if you are a shopper, or not....there's always the food, and the local culture that you can watch out for here, not to mention the fashion trends sported by the locals and the boutique owners themselves!~