China Trip: Shanghai

Once a city girl, always a city girl.

Among all the destinations I planned in my trip, I never thought that Shanghai will be my ultimate favourite. I've heard so many people say,"Shanghai is just another city." It's a city, it's boring, you can tour it around for 2 days and you're done with it. I get that.

For me, the experience of being in Shanghai was simply amazing. Here are several
reasons why:

The Metro
Shanghai has the world's largest metro network. It's a well-connected city. Trains run at super high frequencies, so less crowd in trains, less waiting as well. With the metro, there's little need for environmentally-unfriendly buses and cars. Furthermore, train tickets are incredibly cheap (as compared to Singapore).

The Architecture
The city amazes me with unique, jaw-droppingly awesome building architecture. Some buildings arouse curiosity and wonder, others display elegance and grandeur. Just walking along the streets admiring these buildings make my day.

The Bund
It probably wasn't as fancy before, but recent renovations to improve Shanghai's image for the World Expo event have made the Bund a comfortable place for a nice evening stroll, complete with fresh air and stunning views.

Eat, Shop, Play
I loved TaoBao City for the wholesale shopping. Nearby, along East Nanjing Road, plenty of shopping malls with big brand names line the path. Xintiandi, which resides in the French Concession incorporates upscale bars and restaurants into French colonial architecture. It's old meets new. Nostalgic yet refreshing.

China Trip: Hangzhou

It's Day 2 of our 17-day trip. Our legs are aching like crazy. Yesterday at Shanghai, we walked nearly 15 hours, hopping from sight to sight, and found a hidden treasure while we were at it.

Today, at Hangzhou, was not a very good day though it has its perks too. For a start, we had a late start in the morning as the only bullet train to Hangzhou arrives at 9.05am. We did a mad rush to Wu Zhen, which was 2 hours away. Our cabbie had advised us against it as it was too late in the day to try to do it as a half-day trip. Kh's parents and sister had gone there before and they loved that place. I knew Kh wanted very much to see it for himself too, and i didn't want him to regret not having been there, so i said we should go anyway, even if it means missing a few sights in Hangzhou.

True enough, it was too late for a half-day trip. By the time we got back to Hangzhou, it was almost 6pm and most of the attractions are already closed. Thankfully, QingHeFang was opened, as informed by our illegal cabbie (kena scammed), who kindly dropped us off there at the pre-negotiated price though it was much further than our intended destination.

Later on, it got too cold for me to be walking around in a fleece jacket (probably around 0-5 degrees), so we decided to go back to our hotel for me to change into my down jacket and also pick up my tripod for some night-shooting at the West Lake.

***
Several people asked us where we were from, and we when we say, "Singapore", they'll be like,"Zhe Men Yuan?!" At the back of my head, I'm thinking, "that's only 5 hours away.-_-" " They think we're from Hong Kong or Guangdong, from the way we speak.

It's funny how they can't even tell the difference between their own people and a Chinese foreigner. To them, even a local from another state is also considered a foreigner. That's how big their country is, that different states can have vastly difference cultures. I'm happy with this newfound "tiong" status though, as it means that they are not treating us differently from the locals.
***

Rapunzel/Easy A/Megamind

Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale
I'm glad Mandy Moore did the voice over for Rapunzel. I think she did a great job and her singing was nice. This Rapunzel story is a spin-off from the classic fairy-tale. I thought, Magic Hair? What a stupid plot. It is actually much more entertaining than I thought and the story unfolded quite nicely which made the magic hair storyline sounds more acceptable. Plus, the Rapunzel in this story is so gorgeous. Definitely prettier than Snow White/Cinderella/Jasmine/Pocahontas??? Great animated film. Definitely a must-watch.

4 stars

Easy A
This movie is about how a small, innocent lie became a rumour that was hugely blown out of proportion. The victim enjoys the new-found infamy, but soon realises that things are not quite going the way she expected. She sets out to set the record straight, and also found love along the way.

This is a very average movie. There was nothing particularly funny about it, and halfway through it gets really boring.

2.5 stars

Megamind
Megamind is about a villain turned hero. I thought the start of the movie, which was featured in most part of the trailer, was quite funny and interesting. Then it got a bit boring from there. The whole show feels quite cliche. Boy likes girl, girl does not like boy, boy does something heroic, girl falls in love with boy, happily ever after.

3 stars

1 more week!

Next week, at this time, I will be in Shanghai already. Anticipating! Checked the weather forecast this morning and it was pretty insane!

-14 Degrees on a midday!

Route Map!

13 more nights to my long awaited backpacking trip! 

Meanwhile, our itinerary is almost 95% done. It has been a long 4 months of planning. As Lonely Planet (China) wrote so rightly, "Knowing where to begin travelling around China can be a headache and knowing where to end is equally tough. And that's even before you've begun to think of the stuff in between."

So in the end, we decided on the Golden Triangle. a.k.a, Beijing-Xian-Shanghai route, with some extra stops around them.

Singapore
>Shanghai
>Hangzhou
>Huangshan
>Tunxi
>Suzhou
>Zhujiajiao
>Shanghai
>Xian
>Huashan
>Beijing
>Tianjin
>Chengde
>Beijing
>Shanghai
>Singapore

This is our 3rd official backpacking trip (5th if unofficial), Kh has pointed out something interesting. In every single trip, we do something different.

Vietnam> Beginner's package.
Got to see a bit of everything; city, mountain, sea, ruins, beach. Very easy to travel in. A great place for a backpacker to start off.

Laos+Cambodia> Rough and tough.
Many border crossings. Sharp increase in difficulty level.  Information is scarce and scams are common. Poverty is rampant. Overall a much more authentic experience. Even Vietnam by comparison is touristy.

China> Wintery landscape.
Winter definitely brings about its own set of challenges. An early sunset means we don't have as much time to travel as we normally would. I also have to make many changes to my default packing list. And there are many minor details to take into consideration. This will also be the first time my DSLR is experiencing winter, and that brings about another set of challenges.

Stupid iPhone

Stupid iPhone dictionary... don't know what to say... Look how ridiculous this is!

Voldermort vs Orochimaru

I must have said this before, but I'll say it again; There's an uncanny resemblance between Harry Potter's Voldermort and Naruto's Orochimaru.

	Voldermort	Orochimaru
Who	Ultimate villain in Harry Potter series	Ultimate villain in Naruto (before Shippuden)
Educational Background	Used to be an elite in school.	Used to be an elite in school.
Hobbies	Experimenting in Dark Arts	Experimenting in Forbidden Techniques
Physical form	Does not have an actual body. Current self is just a mishmash of stuff. Soul is split into 7 parts and hidden in horcruxes.	Does not have an actual body. True form comes in the form of a white snake. The soul has to move to a different body once in a few years.
Lifespan	Immortal	Immortal
Ambition	Desires to kill Harry Potter and take over the wizarding world	Desires to destroy Konoha and take over the ninja world
Fetish	Pure bloods	Uchiha bloodline
Family Background	Only child. Lost parents at young age.	Only child. Lost parents at young age.
Invention	The Dark Mark (All disciples have one on their hand)	The Cursed Seal (All disciples have one on their shoulder)
Friends	Undyingly loyal subordinate Bellatrix Lestrange	Undyingly loyal subordinate Kabuto Yakushi

Red and Harry Potter 7

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
The first part of this movie was 2.5 hours long yet many details were not covered. More so for this movie than the first 6, you have to be a reader to understand it. To a non-reader, it's probably a very average movie. I read book 7 twice and I could only remember the gist and not the finer details as there was just so much content. The movie was a little bit confusing even for me. Also, it would have been nice if the air fight (after Harry left his home) was covered more in detail as it was a pretty exciting part of the book. Other than that, the scenes were pretty much similar to how I imagined it to be. Part 1 ends after Dobby's death.

3.5 stars  

Red
Red stands for "Retired: Extremely Dangerous". Lol. I love this movie. It's not everytime you come across an action movie that is acted by old folks. Fave quote:"Kordeski trained you? I trained Kordeski." Too often young people undermine old folks, and we disregard their wealth of experience. I think this movie says it all. I love the humor. It was really entertaining.

3.5 stars

Joke of the Day

Overheard on the MRT:

A: I just found out that Thesaurus isn't a dinosaur.
B: Me too! I always thought it was something like Rhinosaurus.


It is Rhinoceros not Rhinosaurus, and it isn't a dinosaur either, you ignorant fools. Lol.

The Social Network and Unstoppable

Unstoppable
Unstoppable is about a cargo train carrying hazardous chemicals, going at full throttle towards the heart of the city. The police and train operators race against time to try and stop this unmanned train which was irresponsibly left behind by one of the engineers. Before watching this movie, you probably know how it's going to end. Nevertheless, I thought it was a pretty exciting movie, with an early climax that never came down.

3.5 stars

The Social Network
Frankly speaking, I don't think Mark Zuckerberg was as bad as the movie portrayed him to be. First of all, he has a girlfriend of 7 years, and not some IT geek freak that completely doesn't get girls. Secondly, I didn't think what he did was completely wrong. If it weren't for him, certain people wouldn't even be getting millions for doing nothing. I think he was merely protecting his own interests. I feel that this movie was not very accurate or unbiased in its recount of the events, but nevertheless, it was worth watching, just to see how Facebook came about, how far it has come, and the amazing transformations it has brought to our lives.

3.5 stars

4 nearly action movies

The thing about watching movies with Kh is that he refuses to watch anything that is lovey dovey or arty farty. So I guess I'm stuck with guns and bombs for now. Here's 4 recently watched nearly-action movies which all contains guns and bombs.

Okay I'm having trouble remembering which movie is which since they are quite similar. Will start with TOW...

The Other Guys
(The one with Will Ferrell) Will Ferrell cracks me up everytime. The Other Guys is a typical "underdogs win" movie. Stupid and timid cops triumphing over stupid and attention-seeking cops. The plot is pretty lame and stupid but the humour makes up for all the flaws.

3.5 stars

Takers
(The one with Hayden Christensen) When it comes to movies about bank robberies, I actually like to see the bad guys triumph. I'll want to see them break into a super high-profile bank and not get caught, and I'll want to be impressed by their complex strategies/techniques. Takers is another bank robbery story about a group of professional bank robbers who after a string of success, meet with trouble, and how their lives pretty much go downhill from there. How unfortunate. The starting scene on how they carry out a bank robbery wasn't impressive, and the ending equally dull. Everything else in between are what I call "fillers". They're just there to waste time.

3 stars 

The Town
(The one with Ben Affleck) Another movie about bank robbery. Another bank robbery gone wrong. It feels kind of cliche already. In this movie, Ben Affleck's character falls for a hostage they took at a bank robbery. At least, this bit is unseen in Takers, which makes this movie more interesting. As the story unfolds, this hostage comes to realise the truth of her boyfriend's identity, and we, the audience, are left to wonder if she's on his side or not. I'll say the story is pretty exciting.

3.5 stars

The American
(The one with George Clooney) I would consider this a bit of an arty farty film. Though it involves guns, there isn't much action. Much of the tone is set in melancholy, much like that in The Pianist, as George Clooney (Jack) tries to retire as an assassin and start a new life, while still having to live with the heart-thumping memory of nearly being killed. George Clooney, not so cool as an assassin after all. Unlike The Pianist, which has historical value, The American is just a made up story which seriously bores me.

2.5 stars

Word of the Day

SHITDEAL
noun.
1. An invitation or offer to be part of something that is unpleasant/troublesome and yields no benefit to anyone other than proposer himself.; i.e., a deal that is shitty. Usually occurs when proposer only thinks about his own benefit and fails to put others into consideration. Often requires monetary expense on victim's part.

2. An unpleasant situation one finds himself in after doing something good for another.

Sentence:
1. We've been getting a lot of shit deals lately. Perhaps we should disappear for awhile.
2. I can't believe she's taking all that benefit and credit when it was my idea to begin with. So much for sharing my ideas. What a shit deal.


Thoroughly sick of the shitloads of shitdeals I've been getting all my life.

Piranha

Piranha
With so much hype going on about it, I really thought this is a must-watch blockbuster. GV even postponed the release date for a Piranha movie event. Clarence is right. This is a B-flick after all. In fact, I would classify this as "Gore" more than "Thriller". Thrillers generally focus on plot and suspense. This, more gore than anything. What you'll see is people screaming in half-skeletal bodies, bodies getting split in half, etc. It reminded me too much of Final Destination. At the very least, Kh, Yt and I agreed that its plot is better than FD. It is more realistic in a sense. Piranhas, as we all know it, do chew on human flesh. However, if this were to happen in real life, surely we won't find people screaming as they did. Most people will generally faint from the shock before they can even scream. Some shark attack survivors also claim that they don't feel any pain at all when their limbs are bitten off because the body goes into such state of shock that it doesn't know how to react anymore. Oh well, I can't say I didn't enjoy all that drama though.

3.5 stars  

Reign of Assassins, Buried, Chen Zhen

Long delayed movie reviews.. lol... Certainly, this streak of lousy movies isn't making me excited to blog about it.

Reign of Assassins
Watched this movie at GV Vivocity and there was what seemed like a 3-min delay in screening. During that time, all of us were sitting there waiting patiently in total darkness. The great thing about it is, we were all given complimentary movie passes by GV management as a form of apology. And that's good because, I didn't think it was worth it to pay $7 to watch this movie at all. All I can say is, this movie is very average by standard. There was nothing particularly appealing about it. I probably wouldn't even watch it if it's free. Time is precious!

2.5 stars

Buried
I think most of us in the audience thought there was a technical fault at the beginning of the screening. Apparently, this is how the movie starts- in total darkness. After that, you start hearing some heavy breathing. And then you see a dim light which goes on and off. And it practically stays like that for the rest of the movie. I couldn't believe how budget this is. I thought they would at least do some flashbacks to show what happen etc. Coincidentally, about a week before watching this, I was watching an old episode of CSI where one of the leads was kidnapped and buried alive 6 feet underground in a glass coffin, and I have to say it was one of the best episodes of CSI. This movie here could have turned out much better. I think one person said it best,"This movie has no head and no tail."

2 stars

Legend of the Fist: Chen Zhen
What a disappointment. I know now not to trust that every Donnie Yen movie is a good one. I was told that this is a true story. But looking at the way the story played out, I wasn't sure how much of it is actually true. Lousy script aside, too much of the action looks too similar to that in Ip Man. And in a few scenes, Donnie Yen actually made that Bruce Lee trademark shriek. I was shivering in disgust. Ew. More originality please.

2 stars

Playful Kiss

Without a doubt, my fave Taiwanese drama of all time has been "It Started With A Kiss" aka 恶作剧之吻. Fave Korean show, "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon". 

Now with the Korean version of Itazura na Kiss (original manga version)/It Started With A Kiss/恶作剧之吻, i.e., Playful Kiss/Mischievous Kiss, depending on how the story continues playing out from now (episode 12), I may have to re-think about my Korean fave. Hahaha! 

What I like about it:

- MUCH less long-winded than the Taiwanese version

- some parts follow more closely with the original manga

- lead actor and actress MUCH MUCH better looking 

- Background scenery so much nicer (very korean-ish)

- the OST! 

What I do not like about it:

- some parts of the script 

- acting not as good

- some great parts from the Taiwanese version is not included


Looking forward to Episode 13!

Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home

I went to the Crumpler shop at Raffles City last week with the intention to buy the Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home camera bag. 

As it turned out,

5 MDH- $112, no shoulder strap

6 MDH- $156, a bit bigger than 5MDH

7 MDH- $166, a lot bigger than 6MDH, can mount my tripod too

Not bad, can put quite a lot of stuff. All these above including a netbook. 

Another strike of wishlist!

Kopi Madness

These days we've been having our meetings at the kopitiam because C and T thinks the instant coffee in our office isn't real coffee.

I suppose it's been quite a norm because I can remember everyone's quirky choice of caffeine.

During a typical kopitiam meeting...

C: Kopi O!
T: Kopi Kosong!
W: Teh O Peng!
Me: Kopi Peng!
YY: KOPI PO SIEW DAI PENG!

C,T,W,Me: @_@" YY so troublesome...

I thought my order was the easiest, but kopitiam auntie got everyone's order (including yy's) right except for mine... What I got instead was Teh Peng. Zzz...

Too many too little

Too many hobbies, too little time. Nowadays I'm getting my weeknights and weekends packed full of stuff to do.

Someone once asked,"Where do you find the time to do so many things?"

Well, as Elliot Spencer would say,"You make time. That is why I only sleep 90 minutes a day."

Haha. Joking joking...


(That said, blogging is NOT my hobby. I think it's a chore sometimes yet I feel slightly obligated to blog at least occasionally, for what reason I do not know.)

My Portfolio

I came across this website www.wix.com and I thought it was pretty cool. So I created an account with it (since it's free).

www.wix.com/gerlynncai/GerPhotography

I think it's great for putting up portfolios for commercial or personal reasons. The flash interface is really cool. It displays the photos nicely and also prevents it getting stolen. On the user side, the admin interface is idiot-proof. The downside is that it does not display the photo specs, and probably does not display the photos at maximum resolution either.

Well, not that I'm complaining.

For me, this is a space where I can put up some of my better works. Rid the clutter, focus on the good, draw some inspiration, work towards improvement.

Stool Pigeon

Stool Pigeon
This movie is about how the HongKong Police uses Stool Pigeons (usually commoners/ex-criminals) to act as spies for them in triads/drug rings. This is an extremely dangerous job, where once caught, death is almost a certainty. However, these people, untrained and all, do it because they don't have a choice. The HongKong Police would resort to blackmailing them if they want to back out, and the Police don't always honour their cash agreement, which is essentially making these people risk their lives for nothing. This movie portrays the struggles of stool pigeons, and how a police officer who deals with them copes with his moral conscience.

I didn't like this movie very much to begin with. Why use commoners to do the job? Whatever happened to undercover agents, infiltrators, and high-tech spying gadgets? Not only is the HongKong Police (in this movie) inefficient, they also lack moral conscience and have a brain the size of a pea. Let Jack Bauer show them how to catch these amateur gangsters.

3 stars

Grown Ups

Grown Ups
I'm not a fan of Adam Sandler. Felt that his past few movies comedies are, ironically, not funny. However, Grown Ups kinda gave me a renewed perspective of an Adam Sandler comedy. It is light-hearted and hilarious, and has a pretty good plot backing it. I thought it was funny to see grown ups acting like kids as they reflected on their childhood. The act itself is funny, but it's something we can relate to as well. Loved the drama and the jokes.

4 stars

Wishlist Update

- Lonely Planet Guidebooks
Don't need this anymore... bought a few books from Amazon and book fairs.... will certainly last me awhile.

- Speedlite 580EX II Flash ($699)
Bought Speedlite 430EX II instead, because I realised I don't need the 580EX. Well, at least, not in the near future. Purchased at Song Brothers for $475. Took a photo of it but too lazy to upload.

- Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens ($675)
Well I'm not sure if I want this anymore. Thinking of whether I should get the EF15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM for wider angle because I don't really need the zoom, or just save up for EF24-105mm f4L lens for more zoom and quality but smaller angle. Decisions, decisions..... I guess I'll decide next time.

- Korean basic class ($300)
Instead of Korean, I'm taking Jap classes now. Strange yeah. My colleagues and I were having a discussion about Japanese, one thing led to another, and I found myself signing up for it together with Levi. I think I'm being way too spontaneous. Should learn to control my excitement next time. Japanese is fine. It's kinda cool to be learning it, but I think I still prefer Korean. Haha. Well, maybe next time. 1 language at a time!

New wish items
- Tatonka Isis 60 (black)
- Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home (brown/orange)

Liar Game: The Final Stage

Liar Game: The Final Stage
This movie is based on the Japanese TV series, Liar Game. Liar Game is a fictional game which involves the art of deception. In the game, participants tried to cheat their way to earning millions, and those failing to do so (aka got cheated), will have a debt equivalent to their losses, which they must pay, without failure, to the LGT (organisers of the game). Season 1 of the TV series shows participants competing in Round 1 to Round 3 of the game. Season 2, Round 4 and semifinal. The movie, final stage as the name suggests. Watching the first 2 seasons of Liar Game before watching the movie will certainly help you understand some little details, but it is not necessary to understand the movie. In fact, the movie is exactly like how the TV episodes are filmed- like a 2 hour special. Since the movie is just like another TV episode, I'd comment on Liar Game as a whole.

I thought there was way too much hype over it then it deserved. Liar Game is all about mind games and a foolish girl's dream for "world peace", or Utopia, whatever, a place where everybody can live happily ever after, no lies, no cheating, faith and trust. What I like about LG is that some of the tricks they used in the games are pretty cool and sometimes fun. What I did not like, is that the tricks are kind of predictable, sometimes too obvious to the point where I feel like they are constantly dropping hints. If I made the effort to think about those hints, it wouldn't be hard to pull off an Akiyama. What I really really hate, is Kanzaki Nao's pure stupidity. Seriously, she should wake up her idea. If not for "heavenly intervention" (aka scriptwriters), she would have lost long ago, carrying the burden of everyone's debt. Yet now suddenly she's like an angel who came down from heaven to save mankind. Kanzaki Nao annoys me. I wish this character is killed off. Just like Tweety Bird.

3 stars

Aftershock

Aftershock
This movie is based on the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. The event is real but the story is fictional. During the earthquake, a young girl and her twin brother were trapped under a huge concrete slab. Rescue workers told their mother that she can only choose to save one, as lifting the slab on one side would crush the other. The mother chose to save the boy and this conversation was overheard by the girl. Miraculously, the girl survived but suffers from the painful memory of her mother's decision. She left Tangshan to be under the care of her foster parents, who thought she was orphaned. 32 years later, Tangshan was met with another earthquake and the girl went back to help the rescue workers. Coincidentally, her twin brother was also there and she overheard his conversation about how their mother had suffered emotionally all these years from having to make that decision. She finds forgiveness in her mother and was reunited with her family.

I thought this movie was very touching and the performance by the leads was praise-worthy. However, I thought it lacked a certain oomph factor to be deserving of a 4 stars.

3.5 stars  

Salt

Salt
One word: Huh? Yep. My reaction at the end of the movie. Although I didn't pay for the movie ticket, I feel like I've been robbed of 8 bucks. First of all, what is with the mysterious "Who Is Salt" tagline? It was pretty clear to me who she was from the start so I don't get the hoo-ha about that. Secondly, 100 mins for an action movie? Are you kidding me? Salt has a storyline that is generally acceptable for most people. But the action scenes are really fake. Unless she's spiderwoman or is wearing some suction pads, I don't think anyone can really scale a wall 15 storeys above ground without having anything to hold on to. Lastly, the movie ended so abruptly, I'm like, what, it's over already? Having said that, Angelina Jolie played her role brilliantly. I couldn't think of anyone else who can pull it off like she did.  

3 stars

China Open Jaw Flight Tickets Booked!

I was having a hard time deciding how I want to do my China trip. As it is, single trip tickets to China cost almost as much as round trip tickets. We are going to several destinations so flying by either single trip or round trip seems rather impractical. 

I was trying to come up with a most cost-effective way to fly, then I came across something called "Open Jaw" flights. How it works is that you book a ticket from home to your starting destination, and another from your ending destination to home. It's great for backpackers, and travellers who intend to visit multiple destinations in a single trip. That way you get to make your own arrangements in the middle.

A typical round trip ticket from Singapore to Shanghai/Beijing would cost $500+.  

A typical single trip ticket from Singapore to Shanghai/Beijing would cost $400+ ~ $500+.  

With an open jaw flight, I booked 2 "single trip" tickets for $566.65. Last week, when I checked it was $586. I'm not sure if the price will drop any further, but I know I don't wanna miss this. 

So there. I've booked the flights- hassle free from Zuji. Also applied for 11 days leave-and got it approved by my bosses- for our 17 days trip. 

Exactly 4 more months to go. 

Beijing. Shanghai. Suzhou. Hangzhou. Xian. Tianjin

♥ White Christmas ♥

Letters to God

Letters to God
This is based on a true story about 8-year old Tyler who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Tyler looks at life positively, believing that God sent him to be a spiritual warrior. Everyday, he writes a letter to God as a prayer for himself and for the people around him. These letters soon reached out to the people he wrote about. Word spread, and thousands of people came to know about Tyler and his letters to God. Tyler taught everyone that, in whatever circumstances you may find yourself in, you can always find strength and hope in God.  

This is a truly inspiring story. I must admit a shed quite a bit of tears watching this, and there hasn't a movie which made me cry the way I did in a long while. Tyler makes me want to write a letter to God too!

5 stars

Bitten by the Travel Bug

Ever since I made the final decision to go to China for our year-end backpacking trip, there isn't a day I didn't think about travelling. It's become quite a motivating force to wanna strive harder to earn some extra cash to be able to go to more place ASAP.

Happened to do an online survey on Travel not so long back, and was asked to list down the top 10 places I am likely to go in the near future (Not in order of preference.):

Okay right, I can't really remember what I put down but it's definitely among these...

Here goes:

1. China- I've been to China twice but I think there's still so much more I've yet to see.
2. Tibet- Simply one of its kind. Awesome landscapes and historic architecture.
3. Turkey- Unique landscapes and rich culture sure outweighs eating horrid food.
4. Japan- I don't think I need to explain why. ;)
5. Maldives- Saving this for my honeymoon!
6. Egypt- Egypt is more than just pyramids!
7. Morocco- Still a relatively cheap place to travel, rich in culture, beautiful city
8. France- Would love to visit French neighbour's house in the mountains!
9. Israel- To visit the Holy Land!
10. Nepal- woohoo! Mt. Everest! Life on the mountains must be interesting too.
11. India- Extremes of rich and poor. Chaos must be interesting.
12. New Zealand/Australia/Tasmania- hmm, nice place to escape the heat in June
13. Philippines- very cheap, nice place, why not?
14. Indonesia- very likely to be an impromptu short trip
15. Taiwan- I think the rural areas would be very scenic and worth going. Affordable too.

Repo Men

Repo Men
Repo Men is set in the future where people use artificial organs as a desperate means of survival, and these organs are charged at exorbitant prices, often unaffordable for most people. As a result, the Union (the company who runs this program) sends Repo Men to repossess these organs. What these men do is to chase after these "debtors" who are way past their due dates and cut them up to retrieve their organs. How is this even legal? And why does the movie make it look like it's legal? So you can break into people's house, cut them up, take their organs and leave them on their own to die?

I did not expect the movie to turn out the way it did. Certainly did not appreciate the gore and violence. Nor the twist at the end of the movie. What really puzzles me is the scene where Jude Law and his mate were cutting themselves up and scanning their organs when they had no way of escape at all. How does this even help to eliminate the system?  May I also note that while they were cutting themselves up, they also found time to make out?!

This is an absolutely bizarre film. It's an interesting idea, but it lacks depth and realism. And it also left me wondering what's the whole point of it all.

2.5 stars 

Inception

Inception
Another mind-boggling movie by Christopher Nolan (director of The Dark Knight), starring Leonardo Dicaprio as the lead. As always, Leonardo Dicaprio pulls off his role quite nicely. He's great with psycho films. Inception is about getting into people's dreams, planting or stealing an idea, to make the "victim" think that their dreams are actually a reality. It is an interesting concept, though very unrealistic. I like how the story unfolds, including Leonardo's mini-episode with his wife. Nice movie but try not to think too much about it because it will drive you crazy. haha.

3.5 stars

Despicable Me

Despicable Me
I see that there are 2 extremes to general opinions of this movie. Either you love it, or you hate it. Well, for me, I'm leaning more on the 'like' side. Despicable Me is fun and cute. The initial part of the story could be a bit boring to some, but as the story develops further, it becomes somewhat funny and heartwarming. Unfortunately, it is also very cliche and predictable. Great animation. Just need a bit more creativity.

3.5 stars

Sorority Row

Sorority Row
I would never have guessed that this is a thriller, and the story revolves around an accidental murder. Based on the title, I thought it would be something like Mean Girls. Couldn't be more wrong! The murders were gory, the plot unrealistic and boring. The acting was bad, and there was little to look forward to. This is one movie you don't wanna waste your time watching.

1.5 stars

Year-end Trip!

Okay so Turkey's out because winter in December is pretty undesirable. Many places will be closed and all that.

Taiwan, wayyy too many people are going there. Don't wish to see anybody I know when I backpack. The last thing I want is to be reminded of everything Singaporean. The Singaporean way of life: OutEat, OutShop, OutChill. Maybe next time.

So CHINA HERE I COME!!!

Must admit I've been pretty indecisive for months. Went back and forth on my decision and then, Karate Kid came along... That movie just kinda sparked in me a newfound love for China. Awesome landscapes, awesome culture, awesome architecture, awesome weather!

I just can't wait to go and bring back fantastic photos!

5 more months!!!

Ecplise

Eclipse
Once again, a movie from the Twilight Saga left me wondering what's the hype about it. Kristen Stewart's acting is as bad as usual. And Robert Pattinson was just plain awful. The only people probably worth looking out for are Taylor Lautner and Dakota Fanning. Maybe Kristen and Robert should pick up some acting tips from their juniors.

I can't complain about the story, because apparently, this movie did not do the book any justice. What I can say though, is that, the movie was so boring that I nearly fell asleep. Probably the most exciting part of the movie (if I can call it exciting), is when the werewolves and vampires team up to fight against the evil newborns. But even that is too short-lived.

2.5 stars   

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man
2 main characters in this movie portrayed different roles in the other 2 Ip Man movies, hence their characters are not to be confused! Initially, I wasn't quite keen on the idea that the producers are not using Donnie Yen for this prequel. After watching, I'm like, hey this guy (his replacement) is good too (whoever he is, apparently some martial art champion). The action scenes are great but I can't help feeling that the story is a little too made-up.

3.5 stars

24

No it's not about the very intimidating 2-4 which I will be facing very soon. Eeks.

I'm talking about 24. The one with Keifer Sutherland in it.

Season 8 concludes the end of the adrenaline-filled TV series. It is so good, that I'm compelled to blog about it. 24 is a must-watch TV series for anyone who calls themselves a TV junkie. If you ask me, I'll say it's the best TV series ever produced.

I'm glad that it has ended because I don't want to see it go downhill like some TV series. The best example is Prison Break. Started as a really highly-rated series, and then it goes down and down and down, struggling to resurrect its fans. 24 has been consistently great. From season 1 to season 8, every episode is worth watching. Every episode brings you new twists and surprises. You just wouldn't know what to expect. The most interesting thing is, all seasons are, to a large extent, very realistic. Despite similar plots for some seasons , i.e, dealing with nuclear weapons, 24 always brings a fresh perspective to the situation.

For most seasons, Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) has people helping him in his radical, sometimes highly controversial missions. Season 8 has Bauer working on his own most of the time. 1 man versus the CTU, the Secret Service, the FBI, the NYPD, the "private security company", the terrorists, the President! And he still wins! It sounds really impossible but it's all about tactic/strategy and not numbers. Look at 300. Seeing the way these guys do it, I have to believe it's more than possible. Furthermore, Keifer Sutherland's acting is so good, you'll be wondering if he's a federal agent in real life.

Ultimate highlight of Season 8!

Jack Bauer's wicked cool badass full body armour suit!

Jack Bauer as he takes on the ex-president of the United States.
What you need:
1x full body armour suit
1x pistol (to puncture car tires and shoot at Secret Service agents with high accuracy)
1x shotgun (to weaken bulletproof car and make a small hole in it)
1x smoke bomb (to get the President out of locked car)

He totally left the President and his agents shivering like scared kittens. LOL. 

Having known all the twists already, will I re-watch it? I think so!

A gift from the zoo!

Courier man came over yesterday to deliver us a package from the zoo. WRS (Wildlife Reserves Singapore), our long-time client, wanted to thank us for the effort we put into the panda website. (see www.pandas.com.sg), so they gave us the not-even-out-in-stores-yet River Safari lanyards!

OMG it is so cute. The panda is actually a 2GB thumbdrive. hehe.

A-Team

A-Team
Yet another movie about a highly specialised team of combat soldiers with superhuman abilities to avoid death. This movie has TOO much action packed into it. Too much stuff going on, too many unrealistic moments (ever heard of tank-flying?). I did enjoy some bits of it, but I guess the highlight of it was that there was an Indian man in our theater snoring REALLY loudly. LOL.

3.5 stars

Karate Kid

The Karate Kid
(Watched this at GV @ KLCC for only RM9. Woot!)
Kh reckons this is better than Ip Man. I love Ip Man and Ip Man 2, but I think I'll have to agree. The difference is this movie is set in a modern setting, meaning we get to see current and fantastic scenery of China- love the old-looking neighbourhood, the temple-like school architecture, kungfu on the top of the Great Wall of China- and most of all, all of the great action scenes are done by KIDS. I'm glad Jackie Chan has learned to step aside and let the younger generation take over. And also this is probably the first movie which wasn't about him, and didn't show him getting involve with a young and pretty woman. +20 points for him- he's earned some of my respect back. Look at all that muscle packed on that kid Jaden. Impressive kid. Great acting, great kungfu. Will Smith must have taught his son well.

4 stars

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia
As many times as I saw the trailer, I said I wouldn't watch this movie. Because. It looked really stupid and boring. Kh and I changed our minds after reading many favourable reviews about it. Prince of Persia is more deep than I thought- despite the unrealistic plot. The actions scenes were exciting- they constantly keep you on your toes. It was a midnight movie for us, and I was getting really tired. Was trying to take mini naps during commercials. I'm pleased to say that the movie kept me well awake throughout. You know how most movies have only 1 climax and that's it? This movie climbs quickly to a climax from the start and pretty much stays there. Excellent.

4 stars  

Unthinkable

Unthinkable
This movie is about how the United States is put in a dilemma when faced with a terrorist threat-- to be exact, 3 nukes at 3 different undisclosed locations. To "face his enemies" in this "holy war" the terrorist behind all this deliberately let himself be caught by the FBI, obviously all prepared for a full-on interrogation. And you know how terrorists being terrorists, they are extremely hard to break, hence the need to bring in specialist interrogator, H (Samuel L. Jackson).

6 days was all they had to meet his demands, and H increased the intensity of his interrogation (aka torture) with each passing day. Still the terrorist refused to break. Finally, at the last 3 hours, H says,"What I'm about to do is.... UNTHINKABLE." (hence the title) I think I kind of laughed at that bit. Oh please. After 8 seasons of 24, I would consider these torture tactics mild and weak. After 6 days, all you can think of is to bring in his family for torture? Jack Bauer would've shot his wife's leg at the very beginning WITHOUT HESITATION. Mix some stupid cops with "high moral values" in -rather save his 2 children then save 20million people in America- you have a nuke all ready to explode. Obviously, these cops aren't very good in math as well.

Pretty weak twist- quite predictable, pretty boring as well- long movie revolving around something so trivial, don't waste your time.

2.5 stars

Ezlink Ad

I think this is an extremely creative ad. Puts a smile on my face everytime I watch it. Hahaha!

The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter
Extremely predictable storyline but I love it nonetheless. This is one of Jennifer Aniston's better movies. Her pairing up with Gerard Butler turns out to be less awkward than I thought. On the other hand, this is not one of Butler's better movies but he is proving himself to be quite versatile. Moderately interesting storyline, pretty good acting, 2 ageing but still attractive leads, some pretty fun funny lines... This film deserves more than an average.

3.5 stars

Rude CSO

Never met a CSO this rude before! Well okay not really. But I'm pissed.

From JETSTAR by the way. Really disappointing service by an Australian woman.

CSO: It takes 4-5 working days to get the voucher. This is only 2.
Me: But that customer service officer told me it takes 3 days. He didn't even say 3 working days. He just said 3 days.
CSO: That was Marcus who served you. He's a guy.
Me: Yes.
CSO: But you said SHE.
Me: No I didn't.
CSO: NO, you said SHE. But anyway...

Me: (wth)...

I can't believe she's arguing with me over a pronoun. Like that even matters at all? From her tone, it is as though I'm lying or something. And I could so totally feel her rolling her eyes at me.

These angmohs should stop dishing asians about being uncourteous. Pot calling kettle black? Pfftt.

The Losers

The Losers
Kh and I caught this movie in Kuching. Wanted to watch a movie before we catch our flight back to SG. At that time, the cinema in Kuching didn't even have advertising posters so we didn't know what this movie is about at all. We thought maybe it's a stupid movie like Dumb and Dumber. Who would have expect it to turn out this good? These losers aren't losers at all. They're professional marksmen fighting against the corrupted CIA. No famous name in the movie but they're all pretty good actors. I especially like the one who looks like Johnny Depp. The oh-so-cool sniper. Loved the plot, loved the action scenes.

4 stars