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Toiletry Shopping in Jakarta and Berlin

October 2, 2013

OMG you guys we have finally run out of toilet paper from Jakarta! We thought that Jakarta toilet paper was cheap and good quality, TD and I stuffed the empty spaces in our bookshelves with toilet paper during our pack out! Little did we know that toilet paper in Berlin is even cheaper and better quality!

This is so not fabulous, but I will talk about our crazy urge to shop for toiletries before moving to Berlin. It’s super dorky, but I love hearing from other expat trailing spouses about the prices of toiletries in the city they are living in compared to the city that they come from. So if you are like me, read on!

“It is altogether different making a home in a strange place, knowing that your happiness depends on you making it work. It is hard. It is exhilarating and I am gloriously bad at it.”

“What keeps me going are the crowds of homesick, wonderful women I have found wherever I have ended up. Each one is creating her own small version of her homeland around her and wearing it like a protective snail-shell, trying to make the puzzles of everyday a little easier to cope with.”

“The simple cry of ‘Does anyone know where to buy loo paper?’ can bond a group of women in seconds.”

– Diplomatic Incidents,  Cherry Denman

When we move to a new country, the strangest questions pop into our minds…

  • Will beer be cheap? Jakarta NO, Berlin YES
  • Will getting a plumber be cheap? Jakarta YES, Berlin NO
  • Will pork be cheap? Jakarta NO, Berlin YES 10x
  • Will toilet paper be cheap and nice? Jakarta YES, Berlin VERY CHEAP & NICE

*Our point of reference is Manila, so people coming from different cities with different cost of living will inevitably not have the same view point. We all have different perceptions and experiences based on the different choices we make so it is expected that we will have completely different experiences of the same cities, yes? Also these are the prices to the best of my recollection at the point of purchase, if there are any errors please drop me a comment and I will try my best to correct the mistake. 

It helps that we aren’t very particular with brands. The private label in Rossman, can be very cheap indeed! Rewind to Jakarta…

TOILETRIES IN JAKARTA

I used to be brand sensitive when we lived in the Philippines (Diba dapat Colgate, Safeguard, Pantene, etc.?) but living in Jakarta we learned to let go. In Jakarta it was funny that it was risky to grab a familiar brand. I would have to double triple check the price, box and where it was made. Sometimes there would be two boxes of Colgate toothpaste but one would be 5-10x more expensive than the other because it was imported (and I would have a mini-heart attack in the cashier if I picked the wrong one). After awhile I gave up and just started buying the cheapest one, Pepsodent (even cheaper than in Manila).

I also figured that if I bought a big bottle of sensational-smelling body milk instead of buying pre-packaged strong-odoured hand soap, it was not only better for my nose, but also my wallet.  Brands like Bath & Body works were practically non-existent when we arrived so I would treat myself to a bottle of handwash in Manila and bring it over. This was a definite treat. When they were made available in Jakarta, they were too expensive to buy anyway.

The toiletry brands were limited when we arrived in Jakarta, though there were many improvements as our 4 years progressed. They could be cheap if you  compared prices and not just grab your favorite brand off the rack.

We used to love the toilet paper and thought it was pretty great for the price. That’s why we brought oodles and oodles of it to Berlin LOL!

quality_brands

via

TOILETRIES IN BERLIN

I am no expert, but the Rossman nearby has been pretty amazing. The Quality Control in Germany is naturally pretty fantastic and they are really into using natural ingredients etc. These are just sample comparisons of the stuff that I get in Berlin and in Jakarta. I try to get items that are gentle (and moisturising for soaps) on the skin because I have very sensitive skin, but I get the lowest possible price while trying to get quality.

The same-sized bottle of liquid soap that was USD6/7 in Jakarta, I can get in Rossman in bubble-bath-soap-form (they all work as hand soap to me!) for only €1 during their sale. I think it’s about €2 when they aren’t on sale.

I can get a Rossman brand soap for €0.30 or $.040 here, while in Jakarta our soaps were IDR 6,000 or about $0.52 for Nivea.

If a 8-10 roll bag of 3-ply toilet paper (that feels 2 ply) was about $4.50-6 in Jakarta, it is €2.75 or about $3.75 for 10 rolls that feels like 3-ply.

A friend of mine mentioned that she would bring shampoo from Berlin to the Philippines because it was so darn cheap here. Especially for products that are on sale!

These are just examples of the prices. It can vary widely and change because of the exchange rate and inflation. I am writing this post because I had a hard time find this information when we were moving to Berlin, and I packed things I shouldn’t have bothered packing haha. There are many things that can be more expensive in Berlin, but when it comes to toiletries, there are  easy ways to cut costs, like using “house brands” or “private label.”

So my take from this experience is that if you are attached to a particular brand and moving to Berlin, then by all means, hoard a little. But things like tissue paper, shampoo, conditioner, hair styling-products, is cheaper and great quality here compared the Jakarta and Manila provided that you aren’t brand sensitive.

Also it’s so exciting  because so many fine products are made in Germany, so be sure to check before bringing something like Persil haha.

I felt completely insane, when I realized these things after bringing my hoarded stash from Jakarta. Because TD, who is more well traveled than I am, was completely traumatised by the most expensive tube of toothpaste that he bought in Paris, that one time. He was really insistent that we bring toiletries! Panic-buying before moving posts is a natural expat impulse for sure.

The one good thing about it is I can learn the German word for “shampoo” and “toothpaste” a little later than I would have needed to. Finding new toiletry brands in the pharmacy/supermarket can take much longer the first few months, because of all the translating you need to do when you don’t know the local language. When our luggage got lost coming in to Berlin, we mistakenly bought savory tasting toothpaste – imagine my face when I put that in my mouth haha!  Getting the completely wrong products, when you are new, is totally part and parcel of the expat experience.

I’d love to hear your take on panic/buying pre-move! Is there a particularly memorable or funny  hoarding experience you had when moving to a new city? Let’s discuss!

*featured image via

8 Comments · berlin good to know

Comments

  1. Tess says

    October 2, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    Hi Diplowife

    Longtime lurker, first time commenter. I love your blog. I enjoy reading your entries. I live in Illinois. Back in 1989 when I visited Munich, I remember a brand of soap called CD. The scent reminds me of a cool dip in the stream on a hot summer day.

    Reply
  2. diplomaticwife says

    October 2, 2013 at 8:40 PM

    Hi Tess, thank you so much for dropping me a line! I love hearing from readers and getting to know them better, like their own shopping preferences, etc. And I love hearing about this soap! I will be sure to look for it in the supermarket/pharmacy. I love scents that evoke an experience instead of just a floral scent. Personally I love coconut scented body washes because they remind me of the Philippine beaches which I miss so much. I can’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t go on beach vacations several times a year and now I am doing without for years at a time. A cool dip in a stream sounds delicious! Thanks again! I hope to hear from you again.

    Reply
  3. ebe says

    October 7, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    A soon-to-be immigrant to Berlin was asking me about paper products here and all I could do was dumbly bat my eyes because I have literally no idea. Of course I buy toilet paper etc but I had never really compared or cared about quality.

    And what to my surprise should appear but your post! Perfect. I forwarded it on to them so they can rest easy in Berlin’s toilet paper. Hilarious – thank you!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      October 8, 2013 at 8:53 PM

      Haha thanks for sharing Ebe! I hope that my “toilet paper standards” hold up with Debi LOL!

      Reply
  4. Debi says

    October 8, 2013 at 6:34 PM

    Let me start with a wave to Ebe. Thanks for the link!

    Yes, there are things I must know about. I’m a spoiled American expat already living in Sweden and we’re looking at Berlin now. Ebe was kind enough to let me ask her a load of questions about Berlin and Germany.

    My Puffs tissues, super-soft White Cloud toilet paper, Ziploc bags, and even A-1 Sauce are either impossible to find here in Sweden, excessively expensive if you do find them in the import shops, or have been given up as brands due to being unable to afford having family ship them over every month.

    There’s a brand of toilet paper here that I’ve come to terms with – Lambi – and they are wonderful. But we couldn’t find that in Berlin. Which is why I asked Ebe.

    I did not pack enough of my “comforts of home” when I moved to Sweden. And the discovery period was difficult. At this point, however, I’ve gotten used to the search. And we are actually looking forward to the search in Berlin!

    Thanks for a great giggle!

    Reply
  5. diplomaticwife says

    October 8, 2013 at 9:02 PM

    Hi Debi,

    Hahaha I am so happy that you found my blog through Ebe. I have to say though that I am not quite sure if my “toilet paper standards” are up to par with yours because I come from Asia. If I remember correctly (it’s been a LONG time since I was in the USA) the toilet paper is AMAH-zing!

    I am surprised with the variety of stuff here, but that is because I came from Jakarta. But by the sound of it, Berlin should be better for you in terms of toiletries. =p We even found my husband’s favorite BBQ sauce brand, Bulls Eye, which we loved when he was growing up in the USA. So that sounds promising aye?

    I am no expert on Berlin yet, but I hope to be of help to you in any way. Ask away! I always look for this kind of information when moving, and it’s hard to find information on this non-fabulous topics, so I thought I’d start writing about them! I read in the same book something like: when expats move, the question of is there a God is not as important as “what are the toilets like?” Haha

    Reply
  6. DiploMama says

    March 3, 2014 at 4:37 PM

    We are a new Diplofamily getting ready to move to Berlin in a few months. Is there anything you can’t get in Berlin? Peanut butter? Certain spices?

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      March 3, 2014 at 9:53 PM

      Dear DiploMama, it depends on where you are coming from. There is definitely peanut butter here. And there are spices from all over the worlds. There are Asian Supermarkets and I found more Filipino products here than in Indonesia. There are groceries that handle specific food from different region. I.e. Turkish, Vietnamese, Persian, Spanish, Latino, Portuguese. Where are you coming from? I may be able to help you better if I know.

      Reply

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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