STYLEBOOK BY SYAHIRA ZAKARIA: Travels

CANCELLED: Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Vienna, Austria

I am deeply heartbroken when I got the news about the cancellation of the Eras Tour in Vienna.

To my knowledge, Taylor was already in Vienna, having dinner. Merch already started selling and Swifties were already gathering out and about town.

At the time the announcement came out, I was in Flemings Hotel in Vienna on my bed, after a full day of travelling from Hallstatt. I was already in Austria since the weekend and had already spent close to ten grand. That's not including my custom-made outfit, inspired by Taylor's purple cupcake dress from the Speak Now era on the tour.

When the announcement came out, I saw it before Taylor Nation even posted on their IG Story. Before the oeticket was updated. Naturally, I didn't believe it. Didn't want to.

But after understanding the danger of the situation, my sister and I decided that even if it's fake news, we would most likely not be attending because tragedies do happen, and we cannot take such risks.

But all these did not make us feel any less heartbroken.

I was fortunate to attend the Eras Tour in Japan, but my sister wasn’t able to due to her demanding work schedule as a doctor at a public hospital in Malaysia. She had rearranged her entire work schedule to attend the Vienna show, and we had hoped to make this a special experience together. I managed to secure tickets for the show in London on August 17th, but again, my sister cannot join me because of her work commitments. On top of that, flights were about RM13,000 each, which adds to the difficulty.

We also tried securing tickets in Australia and Singapore, but the intense competition and high prices from scalpers made it impossible. We had pinned our hopes on the Vienna show, thinking it was finally our chance to experience the magic together.

I’m not asking for anything—I just wanted to share our story with all of you. We’ve done everything we could to attend the Eras Tour, and it breaks my heart that my sister missed out on this experience. I’m deeply grateful for all that Taylor Swift and her team has done for Swifties, including myself. I just wish there was something I could do to make it up to my sister.

However, I do have to say that Vienna city handled the cancellation in a very lovely way. With Swifties gathering all over the city, mainly in the shopping district, giving everyone a sense of camaraderie. We got free Swarovski crystal necklace, free entry to museums, free burgers etc. We exchanged bracelets with fellow Swifties on the streets, in train stations and made new friends on tour groups.

Although we were heartbroken over the cancellation, I had a wonderful holiday with my mum and sister. Suddenly, we were teenagers again. We'll always be Mama's baby girls.

With Love,

Sya.

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# Travels,

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan

Dear readers,

As you all should know, I am a HUGE Swiftie. So it should come to no surprise that I spent thousands just so I could go to the Eras Tour. Nobody ask me for this trip's cost okay? Because I will cry if I have to write it all down. Hahaha.

So here's the story on how I ended up in Tokyo, Japan:

The Difficulty In Getting Eras Tour Tickets

I started with trying my luck for the Australian leg. I queued with 6 devices and my friend also queued with multiple devices for pre-sale AND general sale for both Sydney & Melbourne. We LOST.

For Singapore, there were a whole bunch of us that wanted to go and registered and 0 of us got the code. ZERO. ZILCH! I am NOT KIDDING. We queued for UOB pre-sale and UOB general sale as well as Klook. We didn't get anything. Similarly, I didn't get any code for UK, Amsterdam and a bunch of places in Europe.

So that's when we decided to give Tokyo a try. We know it's by luck so the few of us that could afford to pay for the tickets went in for the lottery. So we actually tried for a few nights and all ticket types. So if we were really lucky, we might have gotten like 32 tickets or something HAHAHA.

The Night We Knew We Won

At 2am in the morning of the day results for the lottery came out, a bunch of people in the Tokyo TS Eras Tour group got notifications from their respective banks about a deduction from Japan. I was not so lucky.

But my cousin was! We were excitedly waiting for 11am for the email to come out even though we knew that we got it. That morning, I was at an investors conference with my uncle and he showed me the bank charges. I cried, inside of course.

However, my sister, realized she would not be able to go as it was Chinese New Year which means she had to be on call. Because we're Malay. (So instead, we're going to Vienna. But that's a whole other post okay? In August 2024, I promise)

I have a million friendship bracelets and I wear them all the time.

The Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan - Night Three

I took only took a day's leave for this thanks to CNY. We booked an overnight flight so I could sleep in the plane...although, I can't speak for the others. I guess, for my family, overnight flights are our usual choice because we can sleep anywhere and feel refreshed in the morning and we don't waste a whole day on travelling.

We arrived Narita airport on THE DAY! After checking in (at Richmond Hotel which is just across the road from Tokyo Dome, where the concert is, we went to grab food from Lawson and lined up for merch. It was a really long line and we were only done after an hour and a half. I knew Swifties were crazy I just didn't know there's so many of us!

After we were done, we went back to our rooms to rest and get ready. Danea and I had our outfits chosen many months ago. So I was really happy to see our looks that day! I was inspired by The Man's suit look with matching boots and Danea was inspired by the tiered dress worn by Taylor Swift for folklore Era.

We were allocated our seats a day before the concert and I had already studied Tokyo Dome's seating chart so I knew exactly where to find our seats. Luckily I did that because the crowd was crazy. We couldn't even enter at our gate because it was too crowded and were directed to a gate even further from our seats and I lost all feeling in my legs.

After finding our seats, taking photos and exchanging friendship bracelets, the show was about to begin! We all saw the cleaning cart and just started screaming a few minutes before 6pm.

The show was crazy! It was overwhelming and I did cry at the beginning as I screamed the bridge to Cruel Summer. After that, I opened my boots and went barefoot and made myself at home right there in Tokyo Dome. AHAHAHAHA!

I have no words that can describe the feeling I had at the concert other than overwhelmed. I cried, laughed, screamed and danced the three hours+ away. And the next thing you know, it's ended and we're all outside and the wind was so cold but I had to meet fellow Swifties and exchange bracelets.

Finally, before 10pm, we were in our hotel room and I was cooking dinner. I don't know when I slept and in what order everything went. Just that we were all on a high and it never ended.

So...to Vienna we go! See you on August 9, Taylor!

With Love,

Sya.

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# Europe, Family

Warm Winter: Swiss Alps

Dear Readers,

After COVID-19 hit the globe and we went into all kinds of lockdowns, I had not travelled overseas. Basically, ever since I can remember, 2021 was a year without the chop in my passport and it pains me to even brain that.

So, before 2022 ended, most of my family members packed our bags and flew off to Switzerland, again. We had not visited Switzerland in about 7 years because since my brother began his studies in the UK in 2016, we stopped our annual trips to the neutral country and had annual trips to visit him instead.

During one of my eldest nephew's conversations with his grandfather, he said that he really wanted to experience the snow. As we used to ski on the Swiss Alps, my dad thought it's the perfect place to revisit.

Little did we know, Europe would be facing a heat wave during the time we were there. And that was the first time we saw Switzerland not fully covered in all-white snow.

As usual, we went skiing and that was certainly the biggest mistake of my life because I already had knee injuries before flying here. But I really miss skiing! We chose Murren which was another big mistake because it's one of the hardest slopes for me and you know I have conquered multiple ski resorts in the Swiss Alps. So there I was, acah facing my fears when I fell, face down and tried to grip the ice with gloveless hands (it was hot!) and scraped my hands and knee.

Honestly, I felt like it was so weird that I'm shaking because I always fall. Until I saw blood. I didn't realize that I had cut myself quite badly. So the next day, I didn't ski again.

Instead, I got to spend time with my babies and tried out cafes in Interlaken. There's this one cafe near Hohematte, what I like to call Interlaken's central park, that serves amazing bagels and crepe. Maryam shared mine and was so angry when I finished it off, I had to order another one.

In Zurich, the Husband and I got some us time due to a miscommunication. We went on a very expensive date at Cafe Elena which is this pink floral cafe, which ada je kat KL but this one is in Switzerland and it's halal! I told my fambam so they all came to eat as were about to leave.

Overall, we had a fun time, as usual and I look forward to more family trips in the future! In the meantime, here are some of my OOTDs.

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# Family, Looks

Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi: Thermomix Parties & Multiple OOTDs

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# Family, Travels

(Last?) Annual Manchester Trip, Summer 2019

I have gone to the UK at least once a year since 2016 but this is the first time I've gone to the UK in summer. And this is most likely the end of our annual trips there because Danial graduated!

And now that the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world, international borders are closed so, this was definitely our last trip to the UK (at least for the foreseeable future).

The UK was home to my family back when we were kids. Everyone who knows me knows that English is my first language and I do mean this literally. I only started learning Bahasa Melayu when I was 5 years old. Anyway, enough fun facts about me. Let's talk itinerary and things to wear on a summer's day.

My parents and brother's family went earlier because their annual leave is double mine. My sister and I flew on a Saturday morning and arrived in the evening, just in time to buy some groceries with my dad and brothers. We went to the house to a feverish Faisal because my darling boy refuses to wear his jacket even though it's cold! I went straight to bed that night after fighting with my eyes for hours.

DAY #1: Knowsley Safari & Kenyon Hall Farm

We woke up bright and early and checked out of the Airbnb as we've already booked ourselves a week in the middle of the city. In the UK, we usually check-out at 10am and are only allowed to check-in after 3pm. So we have to find things to do to occupy the 5 hours in between. Which isn't that difficult in a foreign country especially if you have a car.

Tip #1: If you are travelling in a huge group in the UK, renting a car is a really good idea. Especially if you want to do some exploring. But if you are a small group, you really don't need a car. Public transport can bring you most everywhere.

As a huge family, we usually rent a huge car, 7 - 9 seaters, depending on how many of us are joining the trip. So we put all our luggage in (which is a LOT of luggage) and headed to Knowsley Safari. According to my parents, this is not our first safari but I felt like it was! We saw lions, giraffes, meerkats, baboons on the car and so many more animals that came out to play. Faisal and Faris had a great time and honestly, so did us adults.

After our animal adventure, we stopped by Kenyon Hall Farm where we did some strawberry picking. This is an activity my family has always enjoyed except me. I love the idea of it, but not really the doing it. But Faisal enjoyed it tremendously. He came running to me while I was in the middle of taking photos showing off how many strawberries he picked. If picking strawberries was real life, I probably would be the one that lazed around all day. Probably not moving to New Zealand.

Tip #2: Notice how in the beginning I was wearing a jacket and in the next, I was just wearing a t-shirt? That's because the weather in England in summer is like crazy. One minute (when there's no sun), it's freezing cold and the next minute, I'm sweating sampai ketibas sis. So my advice is to always pack layers. Wear something light underneath and a jacket on top so when it's cold you can put on the jacket and when it's hot, you can just take it off.

DAY #2: Danial's Convocation Ceremony

This one was pretty straightforward. As my parents were the only ones that could go into the hall, we (the others) were fashionably late. We headed to University Place to watch the ceremony on the screen until my dearest nephew decided they wanted to eat. After the ceremony, we lined up for a formal photoshoot and then went out for an informal one.

That night, we went to Ribeye Steakhouse, a Halal steakhouse on First Street for a celebration. That night, my dad stayed up looking for caravans to check-in for the next day. Which is how we ended up with our plan for day three.

DAY #3: Lake District & Haven Lakeland Holiday Park

Why did we decide to stay at a caravan? Because it's fun, duh! In 2016, we stayed in a cabin in the woods, in 2019, we went for a caravan stay. We are adventurous like that. And we would only be able to take this shot in a caravan!

This shot was actually taken on Day #4 but eh, who cares. We got in the car bright and early after Mama made fried rice and packed them for a picnic and off we went to Lake District where it drizzled and was pretty chilly. We had to take a boat to Fell Foot Park and it was such a pretty boat!

After some kayaking by my brothers and feeding the ducks and swan, we headed to check in to our caravan. I have to say, Haven Lakeland Holiday Park is AMAZING! There's so many activities you can do and they even have cafes and convenient shops so that you don't have to go out to find food. We played football right outside the caravan and just had so much fun reminiscing (we used to stay at caravan parks when we were little).

DAY #4: Sizergh Castle & Shopping at intu Trafford Centre, Manchester

After a cold morning in England, we headed back to the city. On the way, we stopped by the beautiful Sizergh Castle and the public walk in the middle of nowhere.

Then, we headed to intu Trafford Centre for some shopping. And, boy, did we shop! I finally got a designer laptop bag so now I can look professional when attending client meetings instead of the bright purple laptop bag I've been using.

DAY #5: Liverpool: Anfield, Albert Dock & Croxteth Park

I have mentioned that we used to live in Liverpool. So every chance we get, we would head back to windy and chilly Liverpool and reminisce on my kindergarten days.

At Anfield, Faisal actually wanted to play ball on the pitch. But he got a stare-down from everyone around. Liverpool is our happy place and it feels like home whenever we head there. I've always had a soft spot for the English weather, I guess.

DAY #6: Arndale, Whitworth Park & Home

After checking out, we left our bags in the car and the car at Danial's place. We then went to Arndale for some serious shopping, with that being our last day in the UK. Of course, I had to stop by Charlotte Tilbury for a lipstick and face palette because they are just soooo good. I, then, looked for my brother and SIL who were also shopping with Faris who was 10 months at the time.

Here's when shit got crazy. We went back to Arndale because my brother wanted to buy some game when we saw crowds of people just running for their lives screaming "He's got a gun!". Having no idea what was happening, we went into one of the stores in a state of confusion, only for us to be chased out by the guards , screaming "He's got a bomb. Everybody, get out!"

So we ran out and saw that they evacuated the mall and shut it down with lots of police around. I was shit scared with my anxiety acting up and creating all these scenarios in my head. We found out later that there was no bomb or gun via news. Nonetheless, it was the scariest experience I've ever had to go through.

Once we left and headed to my brother's place, all of us just wanted to go home. That pretty much sums up my last annual trip to Manchester.

Love,

Sya.

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# Photoshoot, Travels

The Mai Series: Love you to the moon and to Saturn

With the various forms of the Movement Control Order ("MCO") in place since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the inter-state travel ban has been in place more often than not. During Mai's birthday, the ban was still enforced and as such, we (Jasyu and I) had to get creative in the celebration.

Mai had requested for non-city vibes (so demanding right?) but I had the same feeling too. After more than one year of (mostly) being in Kuala Lumpur, you get sick of the concrete jungle. You just want some real jungle, you know?

The night before her birthday, I told her that I would pick her up at 7.30pm and asked her to dress pretty. "Pack an overnight bag. Wear something pretty tomorrow too. Think....beach?"

She had NO IDEA what we had in store for her!

That night, we went to Tamarind Hill, a restaurant in the middle of KL but felt like in the middle of nowhere. All three of us have never been there and so it was a new experience for us. We ordered food like the Malay people we are and had a small celebration with cakes and all.

After dinner, we went to Jasyu's place for a sleepover and planned out to start the next day early.

The first thing we did in the morning was headed to Pantai Remis for breakfast by the beach. There's a weekend market that sells food (amongst other things) and we sat on the rocks while enjoying our breakfast in the breeze. While hanging out, Mai thought we should go to Kenny Hills Bakers for lunch as they had just opened another branch near her place. Jasyu and I agreed with her and off we went.

She thought this was her birthday celebration. HAHAHAHA!

Little did Mai know, we had other plans for her.

We followed Waze which took us through random roads in the countryside as the main roads were filled with roadblocks we assumed were courtesy of the MCO. When we arrived at the destination, which was a fishing village with loads of huge seafood restaurants, Mai thought maybe we were going to lunch there.

As we were late, I told everyone to grab their things and sprint towards the destination. Lo and behold, we immediately were handed life jackets and we got onto a speed boat. Sumpah, terbeliak mata Mai! She was shocked and had absolutely NO IDEA what was going on.

We arrived what is known as Sky Mirror, a huge sandbank near Kampung Sasaran, Kuala Selangor, when the tide was still high and the waters were about knee-high. With our own eyes, we witnessed the water level go down and a huge island of sand appeared. Subhanallah.

“And the Earth, We spread it out, and cast therein firmly set mountains and We have made to grow therein of all beautiful kinds; to give sight and as a reminder to every servant who turns to Allah.”

(Al-Qur'an, 50:7-8)

The photographer was really fun and took loads of photos for us. I told them that it was Mai's birthday, so the team all wished her too. Good job, Sky Mirror Fun Life! The photographer also acted as a tour guide and explained to us the size of the sandbank (which is up to 100 football fields) and how the moon influences the tide, and as such the sandbank's appearances. So it's not available everyday. They do have a calendar on their website together with the timing for the tour.

Overall, the three of us had an amazing time! Thank you, girls, for always being up for an adventure. It was something all of us needed. And happy birthday, Mai. Hope you enjoyed this one!

Love,

Sya.

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, by stylebysya

Pages

CANCELLED: Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Vienna, Austria

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan

Warm Winter: Swiss Alps

Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi: Thermomix Parties & Multiple OOTDs

(Last?) Annual Manchester Trip, Summer 2019

The Mai Series: Love you to the moon and to Saturn

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CANCELLED: Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Vienna, Austria

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Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan

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Warm Winter: Swiss Alps

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Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi: Thermomix Parties & Multiple OOTDs

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(Last?) Annual Manchester Trip, Summer 2019

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The Mai Series: Love you to the moon and to Saturn

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