Day 1: Universal Studios Japan!

waking up at 4.30 in the morning had never been as easy and exciting as this day (well, subuh was around 5.30am?) and Alyn and I (mostly me lol) wanted to turn up early at USJ! hence the early alarm. there were so many things I imagined seeing before I went there and to be able to actually turn those imaginations into reality? a total blessing! 

I think we waited for around an hour before the opening and the opening was so cuteeeeee, like the staff's synchronized greeting was so adorable.

and omg we waited out there in COLD. like it was so cold, super breezy and windy I would have been a frozen pole at the end of the wait if it ain't for my body heat!

by the time we passed through the gate, everyone was apparently running? so I thought— we should too right? LOL and we immediately ran to.......

HOGWARTS!

please you all need to know how excited I was for thisssss. even this blog name came from a spell from Harry Potter so bet!

and see how there weren't many people there? we were That early and by the time we came out, there were already so many people lining up for it. The 4D ride? was probably the best ride here, for real. We flew *dangerously* around the castle, with all real effects- heat, water, and even when the dementors came to suck(?) our soul. idk how they did it but I felt it through my bones. the spiders and the dementors were real by the way! never had I imagined that I would fly around the quidditch turf but we did that day and phewww, dreams do come real after all haha Alhamdulillah.

and then there was one more ride in Hogsmeade that we lined up for. that, too was fun hihi after we toured around, I felt really reluctant to walk out of Hogsmeade for other rides in USJ but there was no other choice anyway. I didn't pay for just Hogsmeade kan. lol

Jurassic City was next and I couldn't stop thinking of my nieces there. The dinosaurs ;A; we also hopped onto the sit of the roller coaster there and tbh it wasn't scary enough for me. bc o...kay...? 360 degree turn up above the sky? well. do better lol. I certainly wanted more when I was done. but strangely enough, the same night, I could feel the 360 degree turn in my sleep istg 

I want moreee!

and THEN, the turning-into-villain ride at the Minion Park. 

I. DID. NOT. EXPECT. THAT.

I screamed here louder than any ride there. on God, how could they let kids in for this? shjkdshdskd

after that, we strolled around the Hollywood City, the buildings were nicely built, it didn't have the Japan feel around it and I guess we could tick off LA out of our travel list now. while walking around we saw the Spiderman hall so we decided 'why not!' 

T'was fun too. Couldn't get enough of it all, never will. even until today, 3 weeks after huhu (tiber emo)

and and and nowwwwww, when I saw in the app that there was a Jujutsu Kaisen 4D show, I made a run for it. hehe. definitely worth it. why? 

because I. was. saved by THE Gojo sensei.

did I cry when he came out? Yeah.

Was being trapped in his ryoki tenkai THAT amusing? YEAH omg.

Was Alyn a victim of my multiple soft slaps as I sobbed? Yeah.

Was I offered a time to calm myself down as I walked out crying? Yeah.

never underestimate me when I get emotional :P

After the turmoil, we turned up at Hogsmeade one last time to try the butterbeeeerrrrr. Alyn said it was coke with butter in it. well. idk how to counter that so imma agree with her on that lol and whatever coke+butter it is, it was still so sedaaaaap T______T you think I'd get that taste if I put butter in my coke btw? Should I try? haha

Hogwarts at night was truly magnificent btw :") 

and then we rode kids' rides in the last minuteeeessss before the closing and we strolled around the whole USJ,  looking at the stuff they sell while soaking in the viewwww. who knows when is our next time kan? huhu

we went back feeeeeling soooo satisfied. Alhamdulillah.

The day was entertainingly tiring.

USJ entrance ticket: RM292 per person through KKDay. 

wanted to buy on Klook but it was sold out. and a few days after we bought the ticket, we decided we wanted the express pass but to no avail sbb sold out jugak :") that too would cost RM290+ kot. I highly suggest buying it! we didn't get the chance to, so if you wanna buy it, be early! 

Japan Trip: The Planning

this is way overdue as I am now safely back in Malaysia after my Japan trip but um, I would still love to write from the start, which was the planning of this all and how it came about. 

there was nothing special about how this was realised, really, but it was impromptu and I'd never even thought of going to Jap- heck, of ever going on a trip pun  ...until that one facetime where Alyn was at the end of the line, proposing, "Jom pergi Jepun?" 

and I laughed over it until I realised she was actually being serious. lmao. and I panicked bc woah, I really wanted to! because you see, at that point I'd never been oversea or rode any airplane, ever, so it was unimaginable for me that that plan was going to come through. so if it ever did happen, it'd be THE many firsts for me. besides, we'd only have two months to plan everything.

but even then, Alhamdulillah it did! happen! I went to Japan. with my best friend.

the hunt for the flight tickets was hell though, at least for me. bc I couldn't stop hoping that we'd get the best deal (=cheap tickets haha) The hunt was done over the course of several days, with the help of my sister who's an avid traveler and Alyn? welp. after dumping the proposal to me, she HAD to leave me on my own for her exam. I was pretty sure she worried more for me than her exam though, because I. was. just being frantic all over. until I finally sealed the deal— the dates and the flight tickets. (big special thanks to Kak Anih!)

Now onto our itinerary.

I had to wait until Alyn wrapped her exam, which by then, a month to go for our trip.

The plan was: Alyn finished exam ---> straight away come to sleepover at my house ---> do itinerary together ---> done!

but this girl ditched me over a date on the day we were supposed to start our itinerary. 

and I rolled my eyes, real hard. I believe I cried and did the dramatic "WHYYYYY?? HOW COULD CHU DO THIS TO MEEEE??? *sobs uncontrollably*" too? :P

bc pls, at one month to go, we hadn't done anything. hotels, what day at which region, necessary advanced tickets— none shshjhd so when Alyn came, we worked our fingers to the bones for our itinerary. pls, even deciding which days at which region pun pening haha and we Had to write the details down for fear of getting the dates wrong. 

 looking at it now pun tak faham. hshshhs

getting through our day-by-day itinerary was such a hassle. nevertheless it was such a fun experience for me,  even with all the little fights and laughs over our stupidity (most of it was Alyn's :P) haha

and after the sleepover, Alhamdulillah everything was set! All we had to do was wait. and for me it felt like someone had removed a huge stone from my back as I got to go to school ...happier than ever.

 

I'll continue in my next post for my Day 1 - USJ if I rajin wkwkwkwk and 

and I will. be. rajin 😤 sbb I am still excited to write about it! (for now) lol

On this, the budgets were:

Accommodations: RM910 (for both of us, at three different stays)

Flight tickets: Scoot Airlines - transit @ SG. RM1.2k + RM400++ (luggage) each