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For us wee Asian muggles who missed our letters from Hogwarts and despaired of ever setting foot in anything Harry Potter-related, the news of Universal Studios Japan building its own Wizarding World theme park came as an answer to a prayer. Finally! We can fulfill our Hogsmeade dreams of drinking butterbeer! Notwithstanding the obvious language barrier, WWHP in USJ is... in a very cliched term, several kinds of awesome. Several different kinds of awesome. It's like unicorns and rainbows and chocolate and winning the lottery all at the same time. (On second thought, maybe not so much winning the lottery... but it's close!) Here are some hopefully helpful tips for first-timers on their way to demand their much-sought-after letters from Japanese Dumbledore.

Here's a random thing I thought of sharing: I have a love for cute things, so when I saw these bags at Rustan's, I was immediately drawn to them. They were bright and colorful and they starred chibi-wildlife! The brand is called Okiedog , and these animal-themed luggages are from their Wildpack line. It looks like the bags are made of rubber to make them lightweight and easier for children to carry when traveling. They're so pretty, and I couldn't stop gushing over them, that the husband bought one for me. (We "argued" a little over it because, like most things in Rustan's, they're a tad expensive.) I'm going to eventually let the Munch use it for a trip, but until then, it's going to double as a mini-carry-on for me. LOL. Inside the bags.

Honestly, I wasn't prepared for Europe. I thought I was, I thought I had read everything I could to prepare, but the continent threw me for a loop that left the pompous, arrogant, thoroughly pampered Asian traveler in me reeling. So, basically this is a LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES blog post for you who might stumble onto my humble site looking for a few more tips from recent travelers. Apologizing beforehand for the messiness of it all. ----- Don't bring a super-large or heavy suitcase unless you're sure you're going to be on one of those escorted coach tours with its own bus and baggage handlers tipped and paid for. Basically if you're doing-it-yourself, but still not qualified as a backpacker, a small-sized suitcase will do. Prepare to do laundry. Bring a foldable bag you can use for souvenirs when they won't fit in your suitcase anymore. Take note: There's a " tourist tax " for being in Europe, depending on which country or city you...

Here's a delayed hotel post about the place we stayed at in Jakarta. Because the trip to Jakarta was more of a business trip than anything, the choice of hotel was already predetermined by my husband's company. The Rasuna Icon is a quaint little boutique hotel (only 6 floors!) located in the middle of Jakarta. I would say it's near the business district, except there doesn't seem to be exact boundaries on where certain districts are, and so everything looked like the business district to me. It was also partly residential, when I think about it. I can say for sure that it's not near any of the major tourist spots. Also, going there is a bit of a pain because the taxis don't seem to know where it is even if you give them the complete address and a mini-map. And even though the place is at the end of a very long, narrow, two-car, two-way street, I noticed that the drivers like to take the long route and enter it from the opposite end, but I chalk this up to the...

Our big Eurotrip was coming up and I didn't have a single thing packed into my suitcase. But because I am an avid fan of the saying "When in doubt, check the internet", that's exactly what I did, hoping it would give me some answers. I concentrated my search parameters on the three countries we would be visiting and the period of time we would be there--during that crazy transition phase between spring and summer when the weather gets SO unpredictable--and came up with TWO conclusions: One, "Layers!" and, two, "Scarves!" "Scarves" is easy. "Layers" was tricky. It meant clothes that you could mix and match and wear over each other in different ways to create new looks so you don't end up looking the same. They should be light enough to stack on but not add so much weight to your luggage. I understood that part. What I did have a problem with was that most of the samples people posted on their parts of the web consisted of...

I rarely get to catch it on its late night time slot, but on the off day I turn on the TV to Star World and a rerun of Asia's Next Top Model is on, I make sure to watch. Currently, the series is on its seventh episode and half of the 16 girls have already been sent home. Fellow Filipinos will rejoice and wave their #YEYPINOYPRIDE flags knowing that both our representatives, Jodilly Pendre and Katarina Rodriguez are still, and I quote, "in the running to be Asia's Next Top Model." Here's what I think about the girls that are left. Jodilly . I guess, being Pinoy, I'd have to comment first about Jodilly and Katarina. I actually prefer the former over the latter, and part of it has to do with her life story. I know. I know. I've read people online saying "Stop it with Jodilly's sob stories!" "Ugh, her life is SO sad... like duh. Whatever." And while she's not exactly an underdog among the contestants, having already won one Best...