August 16, 2015

[ Digitalian : Disco Star ]

ごきげんなweekend イカしたworld
この感覚はデジャブじゃないのさ
A cheerful weekend in a crazy world
This feeling isn't deja vu

Day 3, April 10th : DisneySea!

Disney Sea is more of a rides attraction in theme park; I personally wanted to go here because this was a promise to myself 10 years ago when I came to Japan and went to DisneyLand.

Early in the morning we took the train to Tokyo Station, then changed to Keiyo Line to Maihama (¥210). From Maihama station, we walk to the Tokyo Disney Resort Welcome centre and buy another train ticket (Disney Resort Line Monorail) to DisneySea (¥260). 
In the Disney Resort Line Monorail
It's DisneySea, y'all!!
Easter Mickey!
DisneySea has 7 main 'ports' : Mediterranian Harbour, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon and Arabian Coast. Attractions and rides will of course depends on your preference; our aim was to catch all the 'big, thrilling rides' and we made our journey clockwise. Note that you'll prolly missed some rides when you priorities others, unless you're spending more than 1 day in DisneySea =)

Roughly how we made our round, with the main attractions at each port 
Let me tell you a secret, planning the order of the rides is important! DisneySea has FastPass (sort of like VIP pass), you can take your FastPass and they will allocate a time frame for you to enter the ride so you don't have to queue for a long time. While waiting for your turn, you can go on another ride with less que time. On your FastPass ticket however, it’ll tell you when you can take your next FastPass, so it IS possible to have 2 FastPass at the time, with timing just after one another. ;) Oh, you will need to scan your ticket entry code to gain the FastPass though.

From the left to the right, the convo went like this:
Iz: "Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"
Ij: "Wait. I'm confused, let's look at the map again"
 Wa: "I think it's that way... that's the landmark"
Sh: "Guys, I think we're supposed to go on the opposite direction!"
Finally we found it! Yeeaayy!!
So, Ija and Sham acted as our leaders and we made our round starting with getting the FastPass for Tower of Terror. While waiting for our turn for Tower of Terror, we lined up for Toy Story Mania! ride where you try to hit as many target as you can. Yes, it’s a 3D ride. Right after Toy Story Mania!, Sham ran off to get FastPass for Journey To Centre of Earth (but since the line was not so long, she came back with FastPass for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea instead).
Other rides with FastPass include: StormRider, Toy Story Mania! Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, Raging Spirit, The Magic Lamp Theatre, Mermaid Lagoon Theatre (opened Apr 24th).

This awesome 3-D ride! Recommended! And the line is always long, so worthwhile going as the first ride earlier on ;)
While lining up
As per in the story, the big door into Andy's room
The Elevator in Tower of Terror (ToT)
Really LOVE this ride, I went on it twice!
ToT in my opinion, one of the best rides I’ve ever been to- a freefall sitting-in elevator that made your stomach jumped out! By the time our ride ended, we were just in time for our next FastPass ticket! 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a ride where you’ll go deep into the water (of course not technically) and experienced the deep sea ride. It was a nice slow-to-medium paced ride.
Lining up for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Next was of course Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, the waiting line wasn’t too long. Unfortunately, not even halfway of the ride, there was some technical problem so the ride had to stop and we were ushered out with a Priority Admission Ticket (akin to “FastPass”) to any ride, except Toy Story Mania.

And suddenly we stopped. Similar event occurred in 2013 while we were riding  the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase in Universal Studio Singapore! Zeti and I both went "Whaaatt?! Not AGAIN!!!" XD
Priority Admission Ticket. At this point we haven't decided to use it on which ride.
Up close
So we head to Indiana Jones Adventure (where towards end of the ride there was awesome surprise!), Raging Spirit (a 360 degree loop Roller Coaster) and StormRider (a-4D ride where, just as the ride’s name, we ride into the storm). Yup, you can see that we were taking those rides with FastPass first. 

"Api yang basah (wet fire)," according to Ija, with Raging Spirits at the back
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of Crystal Skull
At Lost River Delta, with background of the Arabian Coast
 

We then walked to Arabian Coast with an intention of getting onto Jasmine’s Flying Carpets but unfortunately it was closed for maintenance. So we went into Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage, which reminded me much of DisneyLand’s ‘It’s A Small World’ , a happy-sing-a-song water ride. And who ever could resist Caravan Carousal? Haha!

Jasmine's Flying Carpet was closed so we take picture with Raja instead.
The beautiful background for pictures
The colourful and cheerful ride
And Singing Sinbad of course!
Ija still couldn't understand why half of us wanted to ride this XD
Group picture!

When we left Arabian Coast for Mermaid Lagoon, it was starting to drizzle. So we took shelter into the indoor port of Mermaid Lagoon and ride Jumping Jellyfish. The line for Scuttle Scooters were long so we skipped it and Mermaid Lagoon Theatre was closed with re-opening date of April 24th so we left Mermaid Lagoon in favour to find a place to pray; you can make your way to Guest Relations Office at the Park Entrance and request for a room to pray, although it's easier if you make your ablution first. 

Mermaid Lagoon
At the entrance, Zeze's must-photo with the dolphines ;)
Inside
By this time, it was already pouring outside, to a point that Ira had to buy a raincoat. Mermaid Lagoon for me was catered more for kids. We stopped by Mysterious Island on the way to Guest Relations Office and use our Priority Admission to go into the ride JTTCOTE since it had been fixed again.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth (JTTCOTE for short in my entry)
At one of the pathways connecting Mysterious Island to everywhere else

The staffs at Guest Relations area were very helpful when we asked for an empty room to pray. By this time, it was already late in the evening and as you can guess, we hadn't had proper meals yet, only snaking onigiris and biscuits in between the rides. Some wanted to go straight to eat (they headed to Mermaid Lagoon where it was sheltered and warm and had seafood option) and some (me, Ija, Izzat and Sham) wanted to go on 2nd round of ToT. By this time, the line was short so we got in pretty fast. The second time was less scary but not less thrilling XP By the time we went out, there was a sudden influx of visitors, I guess because it was raining. We then headed all the way across to Mermaid Lagoon too to join the others for dinner- Hot chocolate never tasted better!

Mount Prometheus.
The weather was cloudy throughout the day and finally a heavy downpour towards late evening.

We were wondering if they cancelled the Fantasmic! Show (nighttime show involving water and fireworks) due to the rain, but since it has come down to drizzle-like rain only, they proceeded- I was in the shop trying to choose souvenirs when it started so I missed a good 10-15 minutes beginning of the show. Later on there was Happiness fireworks, actually coming from DisneyLand side but could also seen from DisneySea. It was still raining when we left and we did left out most of the other rides as well, but nevertheless, it was a fun day!

If you want to delve into your inner childhood with Disney character and just immerse yourself into a fairyland of wonderfulness (seriously, this was how I felt 10 years ago), go to DisneyLand, but if you’re looking forward to rides and thrill, at the same time enjoying Disney element, you can go to DisneySea instead.

Next: Hakone, trip of Spring-in-wintertail!

August 12, 2015

[ Digitalian : Asterick ]

Starting over 行こう 常にnext stage アスタリスク描こう
星も眠る宙の果てに 君と二人漂うように
愛を求め脈打つeverything 幾千もの時空を越えて

Starting over Let's always go to the next stage and draw an asterisk
At the ends of space where even the stars sleep, you and me are wandering aimlessly
Everything pulses with the desire for love Crossing through thousands of spaces and times

Day 2, April 9th : Tokyo & Ikebukuro

6AM, after praying and washing up, we took the monorail to Hamamatsucho Station (¥490); from there we bought the Tokunai pass (unlimited Tokyo Metropolitan District Pass for JR East line (day pass), ¥790).  

Two excited fangirls.. Haha! If you were wondering how these two met, you can pretty much guess now =P
Sham and Zeze booked a different apartment & wanted to check in first so the rest 4 of us kept our luggage at the coin lockers in Ikebukuro station and found the 2 their place. The coin lockers have different sizes and they were everywhere so it was really handy! The only thing is you need to remember exactly at which area you kept your luggage ^^;

By 10 a.m. we made our way to the Imperial Palace, stopped by the park opposite it to take pictures of what remaining of Sakura trees. 
Tokyo Station
Up close
Don't you just love the scene?

Near the Imperial Palace

Then we went to Akihabara, ate some Takoyaki and just strolled around... 10 years ago, Zira and I were excited to go into the shops to find Naruto stuff but now we no longer read manga. We then made our way to pray at Masjid As-Salam / Islamic Community Centre which was set up by the Sri Lankan muslim in 2012. The place is located between Okachimachi and Ueno Station and had to walk a little. 
Akihabara

Takoyaki!

As-Salaam Mosque a.k.a.Okachimachi Mosque 

On the way to Ameyokocho market, we dropped by a Pakistani restaurant called Salam, to eat- believe it or not, we finished our lunch in 10 minutes!  (since it was almost 3 and everyone was starving I guess). At Ameyokocho, you can buy fresh fruits, seafood and miscellaneous items for souvenirs. They also have halal places to eat here!



By the end of the road (for us anyway since we started at Okachimachi station), we were at Ueno station. But instead of taking the train, we walked across Ueno park, konon-kononnye nak makan sambil picnic, but we ended up walking and taking pictures and were trying to find our way to the train station to to to Asakusa via the Ginza line. Initially we thought of walking around Asakusa then along the Sumida river to Sumida Park before heading to the Skytree. But, we ran out of time and everyone’s feet were starting to hurt, so we took trains instead to Skytree. We bought the Fast Skytree Ticket at Fast Skytree Ticket Counter on the 4th floor (inside the West Entrance) which cost ¥2820, compared to ¥2060 for the same-day-ticket.
Ueno Park

Skytree
View from the Tembo Deck (observation deck)... You can see Tokyo Dome there
You can go further up to Tembo Galleria (Floor 450, extra another ¥1,030) and the ticket can be bought at the Tembo Deck
View at night time ♥ 
Tokyo Tower at far distance
In front of the Tokyo Skytree Station
Spent some time at Skytree before going to Shibuya to meet Anis and Izzat at Gyumon Yakiniku (needs a reservation prior), a halal meat restaurant. We then walk around Shibuya area – the famous Shibuya crossing and took picture at Hachiko statue. Shibuya crossing at night was beautiful and it was less crowded.

Yakiniku, suki! *drools*
Looked like a pro, right? To be honest, SO NOT! Haha!
In front of the shop ♥
Shibuya Crossing, at night with less crowded people
the famous Hachiko statue
With Anis, our host during the dinner ♥
Checked in at our apartment in Ikebukuro at around 10.30 pm and what do we find there? (I was super SUPER excited, I swear) KOTATSU!!!! Our host, Kenji was nice to leave some snack, fresh flowers (smell so nice!) and little instruction cards around the apartment.

Welcome message from Kenji ♥
The fresh flowers for us- apartment smelt really nice when we came in!
Kotatsu!! ♥♥♥♥
By the end of Day 2- we were dead tired ^^;

Next: Day 3 = DisneySea!
Love love love Tower of Terror ride , the tower behind the Easter basket there!

August 9, 2015

[ Digitalian : Take Off!!!! ]

色とりどりの虹の向こう 行こう (Oh)
素人なりの我がこの飛行方法
Let's go to the other side of that multicolored rainbow (Oh)
Like the amateurs we are, this is our way of flying

Really sorry for the delay. This entry and the next 9th entry will be the much belated post on our trip to Japan; perhaps some tips on where to go etc. Enjoy!

Day 1, April 8th: From KL to Haneda

Day 1, I got a little nervous as this was the first day that 6 of us were going to meet for the first time- a trip involving 7 people from different backgrounds and were connected via 2 people- me and Ija. The masterminds behind the trip were Ija and her work colleague, Nik. Long story cut short, Ija's friends (Nik and Izzat) and my friends (sister Zira, Zeze and Sham) were all going to this trip, planned by Ija and Nik almost a year ago.

We checked in at KLIA2, deposited our luggages and then met inside; smooth introduction, and I hoped the rest of our journey would also be as smooth =D At 2.30 PM, we departed KL and set off to Haneda, Tokyo. To be honest, this was a much needed break for me.Our aim in the plane: SLEEP! Haha! I slept late the night before to pack and finish up some last minute work. 

We reached Haneda at around 10++ pm and it was announced that the weather was 5 degree Celsius. Excuse me, WHAT?!!! Ok, so no one actually was prepared for that T___T Our plan for the night was to rest and sleep while waiting for the morning to come and go into the city. Found us a spot of benches on near the Prayer Room, on the Departure Lobby on the 3rd Floor.

There were a lot of other travelers with similar mindset, either waiting to check in and board the night / early morning planes or in similar situation to us. I have to salute the airport staff for making the place safe for travelers to have a rest (you can charge your phone at the charging place and not worried it be stolen!!)  and have to salute and thanks the Nihon government for catering a place to pray for us =)

The view of the Departure Hall, Haneda Airport, from where we were sleeping XP

Next: It's Spring!! (Spring-in-Winter, which explained why I was so excited about kotatsu! XD)
From left: Ija, Nik, me, Sham, Zeze, Zira (Izzat hasn't arrived yet)

June 12, 2015

Alin's Fairy Tale

So last weekends was packed with events for Alin's wedding. Amal & I were searching for matching outfit, mind you for 9 people with different sizes, and it was not so much of an easy task as it sounded, but nonetheless we found them at the end! Yay! A number of impromptu stuff too, but it worked out well in the end.

Congrats to Alin & Fahmi!


The solemnization ceremony took place at Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, Putrajaya, or better known as Masjid Besi. We were the 'dulang' girls that day.


Us with the bride, her mom and Zarra, fellow ex-CUCMS

Macam kumpulan nasyid pulak...

The reception took place the next day, on Sunday in PJ. We arrived early since we got some new instruction to escort the couple into the hall.

Pelamin

Amal explaining and demonstrating the event flow

Chilling with ice-cream while waiting for the bride and groom

Selfie with my sister

The flower Girls


Yeah, being in that 'seiza' position for quite some time was.... errr.... one heck of an experience

Look who came!

More Frontiers!

Cake cutting~

Syafiq, Nani & Radly and Liyana & Amirul already went back by this time

And Nisah was the last to arrive, so we HAD to take picture!