Tokyo Disneyland

Disneyland. The place where dreams come true.

I have been blessed enough to go to Hong Kong Disneyland when I was younger. It was pretty fun as there weren't many people at the park. But we went there after two hence missing the parades, and soon after it rained and we were stuck on 'It's A Small World' ride for two hair-tearing hours. 

But Tokyo Disneyland is a different story. It was larger, better and more Disney than Hong Kong. 

We took a long bus ride to get there. We were quite worried while we were going there because the sky was looking gray. But we checked the weather forecast the day before and it assured us that it was the weather was going to be gorgeous. And the weather forecast in Japan is never wrong. 

As the bus stopped at the first station, we immediately rushed out because WE'RE HERE IN DISNEYLAND MUTHAFAKAS!!! It wasn't until we walked quite a distance towards the entrance when we heard: Welcome to DisneySea! Oh hell naw. We got off the wrong stop.

Yes. We were lost. But Tokyo being Tokyo, had a monorail service to bring us from DisneySea to Disneyland. And I s2g the monorail is hella cute, with hidden mickeys all around. 

And then finally  we were at Disneyland!

I was sad that I had to buy adult tickets. 

I think it was at this point that we lost it. I wanted to run straight to the castle and spam the camera right then. It was only 9am but there was people everywhere already, but more on that later. 

The people in charge asked me to get down. 

You think this is a lot of photos, but I wasn't happy with the photos of me and the castle. So I continued it later. Stay tuned. 

After spazzing out in front of the castle, we headed straight for Adventure Land because we didn't get to go to the one in Hong Kong. 

And the first ride we took was Western River Railroad as we wanted to see the sights first.

Map studying

The ride was already spilling with lines of people and Disneyland had just opened. But we got an even bigger shock when the line moved inwards a little. We thought we had reached the point where we could get on the ride, but turns out the line brached off into a hidden section and the line was not as short as it seemed.

This was the part where we thought we could get on, but we had to move inwards and line up longer.

Mum said this looked like a postcard. 

This is a ride. You had to actually canoe. 

It was a pretty mild ride, with fake animals and fake Native Americans. But it was nice, seeing sights with Japanese narration. Next, we went to ride the Pirates of The Caribbean ride. That was a much more exciting ride, but photography wasn't allowed inside because it ruined the magic. 

It was a really good ride. You gotta give props to Disney for their robotics. Captain Jack Sparrow was so lifelike. It makes you wonder what Johnny Depp must feel like, when he rides the ride. It's a truly must-ride ride. (Absolute overuse of the word 'ride', I'm not very sorry) 

And then we sought out the Curry Popcorn. There are actually lots of different flavoured popcorn in Tokyo Disneyland but we were more curious about the curry one. 

Well, it tasted really spicy, but not the hot and pedas kind. It was just the spice. I would have preferred if they made it hotter, but Japanese don't to hot-spicy. But hey, it was a good try. It was 310 yen tho. We thought it was pricey at first, but then as the day progressed we kinda got used to it. 

We bought the popcorn thinking we could maybe slowly eat it while we lined up for the next ride: Big Thunder Mountain, but we were very very wrong. Here's why:

P/s: this was just the outside

Deyh got angmoh at Tokyo Disneyland deyh

You gotta give them props for the decor man

DISNEYLAND JUST OPENED

Yeah the photos above were our semangat faces because we havent's seen how long the line for the ride actually was. Lining up was so boring. I was lucky enough to have brought a book to Disneyland. My brother was farming mushrooms (no he really was. The game). And Joey was listening to music. You could see how the rest of the line was coping with the boredom. The two girls behind us in Mickey ears already selfied like, a thousand times when we got to the middle of the line. And there was a group of teens Mario Kart-ing on their NDSes.

Yeah. We lined up for 90 minutes for a bloody roller coaster. And it wasn't even that thrilling. But it was a nice ride lah. 

Then we brought our hungry asses to lunch! We decided to eat in Westernland because we were at Westernland. And it wasn't that expensive as well. We bought two sets and we split it between the three of us. It was quite filling. I think we only spent around RM 20+ per person for this meal which is saying something because it's Disneyland. The place where we got our food was listed as 'cheap' on their map. You should probably check out the map properly buying your meal because my aunt went to a restaurant that was listed as 'slightly expensive' and spent RM120 for a two-person meal. And you don't have to worry about the quality of the food in Disneyland. It might not be healthy, but it sure as heck tastes good. 

FOUND AFFORDABLE FOOD FACE

And then we went to the parade. Oh. It was magical. The Japanese already booked their places for the parade when it was 11am. The parade starts at 2pm. And the sun was hitting us with full force on that day. You gotta give the Japs a standing ovation man. Being the midget that I am, I desperately tried to capture as much of the parade I could whilst being squished by tons and tons of (taller) people. I hope these photos does the parade justice. 

My favourite princess! :) 

 

Alice

King Mickey, everyone

This is our PARADE FINISH LIAO faces

After the parade, we went off for more adventures at Tomorrowland! But we had to pass by the castle first, and I honestly couldn't resist spamming the camera for an instagram-worthy shot, heh. 

I honestly could not resist. I'm not sorry. 

More adventures at Tomorrowland! We didn't try out the rides that we already played in Hong Kong, but we did go into the 4D theatre for a short movie (Michael Jackson's Captain EO), and we tried out the new Star Wars ride. Those two were totally awesome

We then decided to take a chillpill and have some Disneyland snacks!

It tasted like frozen orange juice. 

Mickey shaped churros! 

We then went to Toontwon in hopes of meeting the characters. But unfortunately, there were none, and you had to line up for 80 minutes to meet a man in a Mickey suit. So instead, we went for the Roger Rabbit ride. It was suhhh trippy. The rest of the rides were a little to childish for our tastes, so we went for dinner instead.  We wanted pizza, so we had to trudge all the way back to Tomorrowland for it. 

Again, us being the smart people we are, decided to buy a few of the pizzas and split it between us. We didn't spend that much on this meal either, and it was delicious. 

By this time, night has fallen in Disneyland and we waited for it's light parade. It was magical. I don't think the photos translate how amazing it was, because I don't know how to shoot in low-light, but #ITried 

Guess who?

Then after the light show, we went towards the castle for the fireworks. But it was at this babi moment that the sky decided to rain. *sigh* The exact same thing happened in Hong Kong, it rained and they kept postponing the fireworks show. But as we were waiting under our umbrellas, there was an announcement about the cancellation of a show. And everyone left. So did we, we had to meet up with the other people who travelled with us. We were dragged along with the crowd and it was all very chaotic. 

This was the point where I was very tired, so there are no more photos because I got lazy. And this is also the reason why I did not take photos of the fireworks show which decided to appear after all because it wasn't the fireworks they cancelled it was another show sigh. The fireworks show was all very technical and cool. Yes. I liked it alot. Pity we left our nice spot. 

So I guess that's it. The Disneyland experience. 

I hope you guys are at least slightly amused by my photographs because they really are extremely gorgeous and it makes me happy to see them. 

To end this, I'll post a few photos of my favourite Disneyland outfits!

I want to go to more Disneylands. I will never get tired of it. 

Disney-fied Angel 

The Hobo Has An Important Announcement

I have been wanting to create this post for a while, but I never really got the chance to. That's a big lie, I had loads of chances, I just preferred to spend it on tumblr instead. But today, the stars have aligned. Today, I will tell you.

I'm going to university. 

Yes. I waited a month to tell all of you this. Which is kinda dumb, really, because the people who matter most know already. But somehow, things don't really feel real unless I blog about it. 

I'm going to university. Saying it aloud always seems so surreal. Especially when people ask me: 'Which university?' And I answer: 'National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan // 国立成功大学，台南，台湾.' 

Here's the thing. When I was a little girl, I had already planned out my life. It was 小学，中学，大学 (primary school, secondary school, university) then a job, marriage and kids. But then I got older, I realized that after Form 5, it was not obligatory to further your studies, and if I were to want to, I had to go through pre-university first. And pre-u was not cheap. That kind of tainted that secondary school to university order a little bit.

I don't know how it works for you, but in Malaysia, once we finish our SPM (O-level equivalent), we have a choice to further our studies or not in Form 6 (A-level equivalent), or to go into college for pre-u (A-levels, foundation, matrix). Most of my friends have already started out in college already. January intake because they are able to afford it plus they have good results. Even if they didn't take the January intake, most of my friends started their pre-u after we received our SPM results. 

I didn't really enjoy talking to people the first few months after SPM. 

Unimportant Adult: Oh Noel, what are you doing now?

Me: *smiles sweetly* I'm not actually doing anything ma'am.

Unimportant Adult: *creases eyebrows* You're not studying? Not working? (GIRL ARE YOU NOT DOING ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE GIRL?? YOU WASTE OF SPACE YOU LARD)

 Me: *smiles sweetly* No ma'am I'm being a hobo (A FUCKING PRETTY AND AWESOME HOBO THANK YOU VERY MUCH BITCH) 

(No, the words in Caps Lock didn't actually happen out loud, but I'm sure it happened internally)

A pretty hobo who has kickass hair hangs out in bookstores holla

I wasn't doing anything extremely productive. I haven't been doing anything productive for a few months already. But then again, I'm not exactly doing nothing. I have been learning French for a few months (Bonjour, ça va? Tu es une putain) and also met up with some of my Twitter friends, I even travelled a little. 

But of course, I had to continue studying. That was the big dream. So after receiving my SPM results, I immediately applied for a uni in Taiwan. And I was thoroughly blessed to be accepted into NCKU (成功大学) which is not only one of the top 5 universities in Taiwan, but also my brother's university. 

Remember early this year when I went to Taiwan, I went to a temple in Taipei and I got my fortune told?

This fortune can be translated as:  Attends a gathering with a single sword and slays six generals, crosses path with brothers in ancient city. Looking back at this fortune, I get chills. Tainan is a historical city. My brother is studying in Tainan. I wouldn't say I went through my applications alone, but I sure went through a lot of shit to get my applications done, hence the six generals (whom I slayed, obviously). So this fortune came true. And all I can do is shake my head at how marvellous the universe is. 

I had no idea I was even qualified to be accepted into the university because I had only my SPM results which honestly wasn't very good. But I guess my co-curriculum helped a lot, as I highlighted a lot of my adventures in high school being a Prefect, scouting, debating, being a teen journalist... I don't really have a true explanation as to why I'm one of the 52% accepted into this acclaimed university. I guess I'm just truly blessed. And it overwhelmed me for quite some time. 

But I don't want to feel overwhelmed by me being accepted to uni any-more. A wise young man told me:

When the opportunity lands on your hand, you don't question it. 

You take it, you thank you Lord and you proceed to justify why you got the opportunity. If not to the world, then to yourself.  

You say thank you, you move forward and glance behind once in a while, but never stop moving forward.

-2/6/2014

I'm honestly extremely excited to start my university life. The things I'm going to learn. The people I'm going to meet. The places I'm going to go. The adventures I'm going to have. 

Of course, besides the excitement, there is also worry. The 'thing' I'm studying is Environmental Engineering. I'm doing my Bachelor's Degree. Without foundation/A-levels/STPM/Pre-U whatsoever. I don't know if I can handle all the Mathematics and the Science. Although everyone will be 18 as well, their high school syllabus is much more advanced in these two fields than our local one. Will I be able to catch up? Will I even be able to understand? Everything will be in Chinese. Traditional Chinese. Of course, the textbooks will be in English, but the teachers will teach and speak in Chinese all throughout the lectures. Me being Chinese, of course I can understand the spoken language, but the written language is a different story all together. I can read it well enough, from all the Taiwanese news and tv shows I watch, but I can't write in traditional Chinese for nuggets. My brother faced the same problem, but he informed me that all the reports I have to do will all be typed out and I might even get bonus points for writing in English. But still, how will I cope?

I have no solid plan on how I'm going 'make it' in university. But I guess 'working hard' and 'shamelessly seek for aid' will have to do for now. 

Also, I will be moving to Taiwan for four years. I don't know how you're feeling about me leaving, but I'm fucking excited (that is the only word that can express how truly excited I am right now). I don't feel that melancholic about leaving my friends behind, as we have sort of parted ways already, what with everyone going to different colleges and us not being able to see each other as often as we used to. As for my family, Mum has already planned to visit me in October and again during my Spring break. Also, it's not like I'm stranded in Taiwan. I will be coming back for Chinese New Year, and also for 3 months during Summer break. Taiwan is only four hours away, after all. And ultimately, I have my brother living just a few blocks away. 

Besides, I swear I'll constantly tweet and update my instagram (although my brother warned me that there is no wi-fi in the dorms and instagram eats up a lot of mobile data so we'll see about that). It'll be like you were right there next to me. 

So please don't give me the: Noel, I'm gonna miss you so much. Life is gonna be so weird without you. Please don't leave, Noel. 

No bitch. I'm leaving. I'm definitely leaving. I ain't gonna change my plans for you. And heck, you can live your life just fine without me. What generation are we living in? It's bloody 2014 yo. If you truly miss me you can loop my youtube videos all day or blow up a photo of my face and staple me to your wall. Don't give me your melancholic sap. Be happy for me. Root for me. Teach me math. 

I'm a university student. I'm a NCKU student. And I'm hella excited to start my adventure. 

NCKU Bound Angel

"In front of @NoelHasFeathers 's house. Waiting for her to open her door."

July 2nd was a strange day. By 6.40am our plane has touchdowned from Tokyo and when I reached home it was 8.30am. Confused and tired, I slept till 12pm, all thoughts of turning 18 gone with the bloody 7-hour flight back to Malaysia.

I then spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house and sorting through laundry. I was just taking a short break, I kicked back on my sofa with the Oat Chocho thingy wanting to savour this moment when I switched on Twitter, and I saw this tweet:

I was confused. Is this a prank? What is wrong with her? They live more then 10 kilometers away. Oh God what is happening??? Then I looked out of the window and my mind exploded. Joyanne, Ashley, Shelvin and Huiying were standing right outside my house gate with a Secret Recipie box in hand.

The first thing I did was to shove the whole bar of Oat Choco into my mouth. Yes. I have no explanation for that. This resulted in me running out of my house in hobo-wear (shorts and tee), my mouth full of Oat Choco, and exclaiming: WHAT THE HELL??? OH MY GOD GUYS WHAT???

Them: Surprise Noel!!!

Yes, surprise Noel. More like surprise, Noel's mum. Hello my dearies. We are Chinese, don't forget that. Being Chinese means, when people come over to our houses we need time to prepare, to make the place clean, to make it presentable. Plus, we just came back from Tokyo. There are lots of laundry and unpacked things lying about. No wonder my mum went into instant panic mode.

I was panicking too, actually. MY HOUSE IS SUCH A MESS AND I AM SUCH A MESS I LOOK LIKE A REAL HOBO WITH MY MOUTH STUFFED AND PEOPLE ARE STARING AND JUDGING ALERT ALERT. I really am Chinese at heart ok. But thank God they allowed me to go and change.

When I came down, they had already prepared the cake.

Ashley: Damn tumblr hor?

Ya Ashley, very tumblr.

Ashley: Noel do that leg thing you always do
Everyone: SHIT ASHLEY YOUR RM5 CANDLES ARE MELTING

The candles have melted beyond recognition, Ashley.

We then spent the next few minutes eating cake and basically Noel blowing water.

This wasn't about my boobs. This was about my Batman shirt.

Thank you my loves. For the cake and shit.

And then we went out. WOWOWOWOWOW NOEL DOESN'T DO SPONTANEOUS TRIPS BECAUSE SHE IS A HUGE NERD AND I HAVE TO ASK PERMISSION BEFOREHAND BUT THIS TIME MY MUM SAID YES (BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE ACTUALLY) WOWOWOWOWOW

We decided to go to C180 because it was near my house and they haven't been there before. Since there were too many restaurants and cafes there, we decided to walk around before deciding where to yumcha. I was the only person who has ever been there so I showed them around and to their delight, we found this fountain and we decided it would be ingenious to take photos inside the fountain.And also because #YOLO #WeCameOutToHaveFun and #WeAreYoungAndWeAreSupposedToDoCrazyThings

Here is me looking fly among the water

Here is Huiying, Shelvin and Ashley running to the waterless fountain

Here is the water height being all cute and shit

Here is all of them running terrified because the water decided to have a spontaneous erection

And here is a decent photo finally

And here is me and Joyanne lookin' all cute and shit

And here is a GIF of the precise moment the water level decided to rise suddenly and us going from all fab to all terror

Everyone got wet.

 After strutting down the whole C180 Sex And The City style (with damp shoes), we decided on a little cafe called Sweethut where they serve 'snacks' with more potato than snacks. It's really weird. We basically sat there and swapped stories whilst constantly annoying the waiters to refill our plain water because we refused to order other drinks.

Anyway, there was an incident at Sweethut which Joyanne so accurately tweeted:

I even have the photo.

Pain, u kno.

As yumcha sessions usually go, we talked about our lives. But the true highlight was probably Ashley's weird Facebook courters. I would screenshot them and post it here if I could. But I can't because Ashley is nice. But I can tell you, boys who stare at gorgeous Ashley from afar and then resort to Facebook to send her romantic messages have issues. "Random like summer rain."

It was really nice, to be able to hang out with them again. So of course, to celebrate, we camwhored, Noel style (TIMER TIMER TIMER GIFs GIFs GIFs)

The relatively normal  one

The really awkward one where pedestrians passed by

The almost there one where we starting to let loose

The wtf are we doing one

The goodbye image one

And towards the end; the we were trying to be creative tapi we sesat one

 And finally, car selfie GIFs. Ashley was driving Shelvin's Myvi because she said she like Myvis and I rode shotgun because I'm Queen. 

I want to thank Joyanne Ling for planning this. Thank you for freaking my mother out and also for the cake and also for the damp socks. And the rest of them too. Huiying, thank you for coming specially for me. And Shelvin, for using your tiny car. And Ashley for dangerously driving us around and telling me awkward boyfriend stories. I truly love you all. (And not forgetting Yiwen who was with us the whole time on snapchat/whatsapp). 

I have the best people as my friends man. Ya'll rock. 

Every second spent with these bitches are worth it. 

Surprised Angel