Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Imagination of Danny Boyle

It’s the year of the Brits and after invading the Grammy’s earlier this month, this year’s Oscar has proven another triumph from the Brits. 


Slumdog Millionaire swapped 8 awards from its 10 nominations. I’m not gonna  review this movie cause it has been done by others. I’m focusing on the movie trailer since I love watching movie trailers. Starting with the song “Great DJ” by The Ting Tings and ending it with the beautiful “Hoppipolla” by Sigur Ros. It really creates mood to go and watch it. A good movie trailer (right visual, catchy music plus good sense of editing) can attract people to watch the movie, and that’s how important it is. 

By the way, have you watched the movie? We really loved it. It’s beautifully captured thru the imagination of Danny Boyle. (Make us thinking to start planning on backpack India). Slumdog Millionaire is all about his previous works combine into one, from Trainspotting, 28 Days later, Millions to Sunshine. I guess everyone agree with me the movie have won the best picture awards and they know it’s not because of lucky, but… d) it is destiny. 

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Nyepi Honeymoon in Bali

Yahoo! Recently, I've got 2 new pins from Bali.. (thank you, Shah & Jaja ! They just came back from their honeymoon, congratulations again on your wedding).

HRC Classic pin BaliHRC Bali pin
Teringat pulak kitaorang punya honeymoon, pun kat Bali jugak tapi it was almost 7 years ago. (Wow. time flies very fast) Tapi yang tragisnye our hotel dekat tempat terjadinya Bali Bombing October 2002, nama hotelnya Kuta Legian Village Hotel (don't worry it's still there). Hotel ni walking distance to the Kuta beach, but then Faizal tak boleh swim so we didn't spend much time kat beach. 

Masa kat sini la.. Faizal discover my hobby collecting Hard Rock Pin, sempat jugak beli Nyepi HRC Pin (it was Nyepi Day). Nyepi is a day to make and keep the balance of nature. Balinese open their New Year in silence. On Nyepi day itself, every street is quiet - there are nobody doing their normal daily activities.

HRC BaliTanah Lot, Bali
There is usually Pecalangs (traditional Balinese security man) who controls and checks for street security. Pecalang wear a black uniform and a Udeng or Destar (a Balinese traditional "hat" that is usually used in ceremony). The Pecalangs main task is not only to control the security of the street but also to stop any activities that disturb Nyepi. No traffic is allowed, not only cars but also people, who have to stay in their own houses. Light is kept to a minimum or not at all, the radio or TV is turned down and, of course, no one works. Even love making, this ultimate activity of all leisure times, is not supposed to take place, nor even attempted. 

The whole day is simply filled with the barking of a few dogs, the shrill of insect and is a simple long quiet day in the calendar of this otherwise hectic island. On Nyepi the world expected to be clean and everything starts anew, with Man showing his symbolic control over himself and the "force" of the World, hence the mandatory religious control.

Am I that detail enough? For your information only, so plan your trip wisely.

I'm sure sure there a lot of people out there who're collecting HRC Pins, but nak cari Malaysian yang collect tak ramai la.. cuma ada 2 orang yang kitaorang jumpa. Tapi dalam banyak2 pin, the most that I like is HRC Year 2000 Paris, but then I lost it, sebabnya untuk sampai ke tahun millenium bukan selalu.. it takes 1000 years... Huah!!!!!! Sampai sekarang I tengah cuba cari sesiapa yang nak trade that pin with me.

* Agak-agak bila la nak pergi lagi ni? Today is MAS Travel Fair last day, hmmmm...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Studio Jalan Ampas, while it lasts.

Blamed it on the Grammy’s cause we got stucked in front of the cube box rather than updating our Singapore short trip. Congrats to Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, it's undeniable the best album of the year. Performances by the artists really stole the show from the predictable results. Enough on Grammy's, let's start the update on our journey...

KL SentralKTMB counter @ KL SentralTicket to Singapore
Rushing for trainNight Train to SingaporeSleeping Coach - Senandung Malam
Finally, kitaorang sampai Singapore pukul 9.00pagi hari Ahad. Walaupun naik train ni makan masa yang lama, but we still enjoyed it. Price for train ticket RM38(katil atas), RM43(katil bawah), tapi take our advise, buy return ticket it’s more cheaper, otherwise they will charge you SGD if you buy one way ticket. Actually, kitaorang pun baru tahu, return ticket is cheaper. We made mistake coz we thought we could get flight ticket on the way back. Remember, cheaper return ticket please..

Tambak JohorTanjong Pagar Train StationKedai Makan @Tanjong Pagar Station
Lontong SingapuraTanjong Pagar Train StationTanjong Pagar MRT Station
Sampai je kat Tanjong Pagar station, we had scrumptious breakfast.. Yummmy!! lontong Singapore sedap… Price SGD2.50each + Nescafe SGD1.00each, okaylah.. not too bad… Lepas tu we walked to Tanjong Pagar MRT station (since we have been here quite a few times, so we managed to find it) Top-up our Ezlink card SGD10.00 each (one day pass is also available at SGD8.00). Stopped at Boon Keng station and took a cab to Jalan Ampas. Lebih kurang 10minit and SGD5.00.

Jalan Ampas signJalan Ampas signStudio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan Ampas signStudio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan Ampas
Sampai je kat situ, terasa sayu sampai hati diaorang tak jaga tempat tu. I wish they had it at our place. Dari luar tak nampak sangat tapi we tried to peek and saw the studio inside. Suddenly I recalled the scene from Seniman Bujang Lapok where they came for audition. We took some photos thru the gate and we got some. Since there’s nobody around, we went to Boon Teck Road where the artists’ quarters were located but they’re gone. Shaw Plaza and Shaw Corner are there. See?! That’s what I meant.

Jalan Boon TeckAlong Jalan Boon TeckShaw Plaza, Balestier RoadShaw Corner, Jalan Boon Teck
We went back again hoping there will be somebody to let us in. Rezeki kami agaknya, there’s this pakcik called, Pakcik Senin happened to come out from the gate. After we explained to him our intentions, he called someone inside, Abang Atan who is taking care of that place. Apalagi happy betul kitaorang, dapat masuk dan ambil gambar puas-puas. Dalam perkarangan studio, lagi terasa sayu.. you can see all those places dalam filem-filem Allahyarham Tan Sri P.Ramlee.

Studio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan Ampas
Studio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan AmpasStudio Jalan Ampas
Menurut Abang Atan, there’re a few interested parties wanted to buy this land, but they refused to sell it off. They said someone will revamp the place, till now no one comes. I believe it will cost a fortune to revamp the whole place, but compared to what they have contributed to them it’s definitely worth every cent! There’re other actors like Aziz Sattar, S. Samsuddin, etc have come to visit. Through the photos, I’m sure it will tell you the story even more.

Jambatan cerita Madu TigaJambatan berdekatan StudioJangan abang Jamil..!!!
Remember last scene from Madu Tiga, jambatan yang P.Ramlee terjun tu? Dekat situ je sempat jugak la Faizal posing ala-ala "Abang Jamil". Dalam sedar tak sedar we spent almost 2 hours at that place. Even there’s nothing much left to see, we felt this is one of the best discovery for us. Studio Jalan Ampas has proven to be the best place to launch the careers of many legendary film stars during The Golden Age of Malay Cinema. Even foreign stars like Ava Gardner and John Wayne visited the studio.

Studio Jalan Ampas entrance
Sayang sekali, tempat ni dah terpadam dalam sejarah Kota Singapura. For those who loves P.Ramlee’s movies and appreciate the legends , make your way to visit this place while it’s still around. Lebih kurang tengahari, kitaorang dengan berat hati meninggalkan Studio Jalan Ampas sebab tak tahu berapa lama lagi tempat ni dapat bertahan.

Hard Rock Cafe SingaporeOrchard RoadOrchard RoadOrchard RoadS'pore Visitor CenterOrchard Road
Disebabkan train terakhir ke Kuala Lumpur pukul 10.00malam, we spent the rest of the time pusing-pusing kat Orchard Road. Ana, macam biasa tak lepas peluang ke Hard Rock Singapore for latest pin collections. Pukul 6.00petang kaki dah mula lenguh, bahu pun dah penat we made a move to train station.

Kedai Makan @ Tg Pagar StationInside Tanjong Pagar StationMoney Changer @ Tg Pagar StationKTMB counter @ Tanjong PagarMe with Papa Rock, Ramli Sarip
Sementara train nak sampai, had our dinner there again.. price nasi ayam black pepper SGD4.00 and soto SGD3.00 not bad kan… Tapi yang paling best sekali kitaorang dapat jumpa another living legend, Ramli Sarip. Faizal yang paling happy dapat tangkap gambar dengan dia. FYI, abang Ramli kata there will be Sweet Charity Reunion Concert kat Singapore in May, KL maybe in June. Yeaahhhh..

Checking our ticketPlaying hide & seekNot bad... Flat screen TVSleeping Beauty
Tepat pukul 10.00 malam, train bergerak dari Tanjong Pagar. Disebabkan our mistake earlier on, we had to take seating coach from Singapore to JB, and changed to Sleeping coach from JB to KL. Remember! Buy return ticket next time. He..he... and we slept all the way after Woodlands checkpoint.

All together, our trip spent RM290 for 2 person... ok tak?! 
*Interested on Jalan Ampas photos, feel free to email us.