Sunday, January 30, 2005
A few hours before the men's final
I will try to like Lleyton... I will try to like Lleyton... I will try....
Dang it, this is not working!! :) I want Marat to win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
After all that hard work beating Federer!!!!
I was so proud of how you played Marat!!
Everyone knows Marat is a loose cannon. Unbelievable talent but at the same time, inability to focus for long stretches.
It was unbelievable how he kept his cool at 2-5 in the 4th set tiebreaker. I was screaming myself silly & hoarse when he won it! Dare I say, there were even tears. I was like, "If you don't win this, take him to 5 sets!!!"
When he was serving for the championship at 5-4, it was still hard to believe that he might win the match. Being a Marat fan, you always have the feeling that "This is too good to be true. He'll get broken back". It's not that I don't believe in him, it's just that... I dunno!!! Protecting myself from disappointment, I guess. The disappointment of him losing the 2002 Australian Open final to Johansson (on his birthday no less) was just devastating.
True enough, Federer, being the champion he is, fought back lo level to 5-5 in the final set. To Marat's credit, he didn't self-destruct after being broken back. His serve was still cracking and he was still hitting clean winners. I couldn't believe it!! In fact, throughout the match, I have to say, he was up pretty much all the way. It was a very good match and I certainly didn't feel the long hours.
A win like this (a big one!!) and how Marat conducted himself (ie he was really focused all the way) is hard to come by and I indeed cherish it. I felt like the Federer-Safin match was the final, we'll see how that match will place at the end of 2005.
Marat's still too hard on himself when he makes mistakes but that's Marat eh? He needs to get mad. And I think we all secretly love it when he smashes his racket and talks to himself in Russian.
To me, Marat needs this win more than Hewitt. Tennis too!!! This victory will give him the validation of all the hard work getting the 'good' Safin on court!! Tennis needs him to be inspired to play his best! It's such a pity when someone as talented and charismatic as him keep losing matches because of their temperament. Hewitt's a fighter, very positive all the time - he can win other times! :) Plus, the WINNER has to beat the world no. 1!!! :)
Hewitt's the favourite on paper, definitely. More focused, he seems to definitely wants this more, the whole of Oz will be behind him (except for some ladies/girls hehe) and there is that sense of destiny for Hewitt - he finally qualifies past the 4th round (after numerous attempts) and it happens on the centenary Open.
But 3rd time lucky for Safin can be destiny too, right? Agassi lost the 1990 and 1991 French Open final and won it in 1999. So who knows... come on now the power of 3!!
p/s: Well done to Serena. You showed 'em girl!! Kudos to Lindsay too who's such a good sport and a gracious loser. The doubles final probably took a lot out of her. What a fantastic result, seeing her and Morariu at the finals. (esp after Morariu's battle with leukemia and other injuries)
Serena with her 2005 Oz Open trophy
p/p/s: The Aussies have done pretty well this year. Great stuff. Hewitt made it to the finals for the 1st time, Molik made it to the singles qtrs and won women's doubles single with Kuznetsova. (I expect to see more of her this year indeed. My, hasn't she improved a lot!!) Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur also won the mixed doubles finals. That's enough right?? Hewitt doesn't need to win the singles!! :)
Alicia Molik presented a cake by Garnier for her 24th bday. Learnt that she struggled with plantar fascitis last year. I have the same problem with my right heel so i definitely can identify. Kudos to her for making an emphatic return to the tour.
p/p/p/s: Also, congrats to Black and Ullyett for winning the Men's Doubles. I was rooting for them. So refreshing to see the Bryan brothers beaten, hehe. Btw, what happened to the Bjorkman-Woodbridge partnering? Hhmmm...
Dang it, this is not working!! :) I want Marat to win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
After all that hard work beating Federer!!!!
I was so proud of how you played Marat!!
Everyone knows Marat is a loose cannon. Unbelievable talent but at the same time, inability to focus for long stretches.
It was unbelievable how he kept his cool at 2-5 in the 4th set tiebreaker. I was screaming myself silly & hoarse when he won it! Dare I say, there were even tears. I was like, "If you don't win this, take him to 5 sets!!!"
When he was serving for the championship at 5-4, it was still hard to believe that he might win the match. Being a Marat fan, you always have the feeling that "This is too good to be true. He'll get broken back". It's not that I don't believe in him, it's just that... I dunno!!! Protecting myself from disappointment, I guess. The disappointment of him losing the 2002 Australian Open final to Johansson (on his birthday no less) was just devastating.
True enough, Federer, being the champion he is, fought back lo level to 5-5 in the final set. To Marat's credit, he didn't self-destruct after being broken back. His serve was still cracking and he was still hitting clean winners. I couldn't believe it!! In fact, throughout the match, I have to say, he was up pretty much all the way. It was a very good match and I certainly didn't feel the long hours.
A win like this (a big one!!) and how Marat conducted himself (ie he was really focused all the way) is hard to come by and I indeed cherish it. I felt like the Federer-Safin match was the final, we'll see how that match will place at the end of 2005.
Marat's still too hard on himself when he makes mistakes but that's Marat eh? He needs to get mad. And I think we all secretly love it when he smashes his racket and talks to himself in Russian.
To me, Marat needs this win more than Hewitt. Tennis too!!! This victory will give him the validation of all the hard work getting the 'good' Safin on court!! Tennis needs him to be inspired to play his best! It's such a pity when someone as talented and charismatic as him keep losing matches because of their temperament. Hewitt's a fighter, very positive all the time - he can win other times! :) Plus, the WINNER has to beat the world no. 1!!! :)
Hewitt's the favourite on paper, definitely. More focused, he seems to definitely wants this more, the whole of Oz will be behind him (except for some ladies/girls hehe) and there is that sense of destiny for Hewitt - he finally qualifies past the 4th round (after numerous attempts) and it happens on the centenary Open.
But 3rd time lucky for Safin can be destiny too, right? Agassi lost the 1990 and 1991 French Open final and won it in 1999. So who knows... come on now the power of 3!!
p/s: Well done to Serena. You showed 'em girl!! Kudos to Lindsay too who's such a good sport and a gracious loser. The doubles final probably took a lot out of her. What a fantastic result, seeing her and Morariu at the finals. (esp after Morariu's battle with leukemia and other injuries)
Serena with her 2005 Oz Open trophy
p/p/s: The Aussies have done pretty well this year. Great stuff. Hewitt made it to the finals for the 1st time, Molik made it to the singles qtrs and won women's doubles single with Kuznetsova. (I expect to see more of her this year indeed. My, hasn't she improved a lot!!) Scott Draper and Samantha Stosur also won the mixed doubles finals. That's enough right?? Hewitt doesn't need to win the singles!! :)
Alicia Molik presented a cake by Garnier for her 24th bday. Learnt that she struggled with plantar fascitis last year. I have the same problem with my right heel so i definitely can identify. Kudos to her for making an emphatic return to the tour.
p/p/p/s: Also, congrats to Black and Ullyett for winning the Men's Doubles. I was rooting for them. So refreshing to see the Bryan brothers beaten, hehe. Btw, what happened to the Bjorkman-Woodbridge partnering? Hhmmm...
Friday, January 28, 2005
YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rod Laver Arena
Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Thurs, Jan 27, 2005 (Safin's 25th birthday)
I am definitely dead chuffed as my two favourites are through. Great fighting (mentally & physically) by both Serena & Marat.
Happy Birthday indeed Marat. To me, that WAS the final! What a memorable match indeed. The match that will be remembered as the one which broke Federer's 26 straight match wins record.
You've definitely made your mark on Federer. The only top 10 player who managed to leave a dent. The first encounter you took him to 20-18 on the final tiebreak at Masters Cup semis and now you gasp(!) stretched Federer to 5 sets! And win!!! :) Much love and respect!!!
Will post more later indeed. Need to sleep now that the adrenaline's gone down a bit! :)
Go Serena!!
Finally!! After 4 hours and 28 minutes
To the finals!
What an epic match.
Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Thurs, Jan 27, 2005 (Safin's 25th birthday)
Serena def. Sharapova 2-6, 7-5, 8-6
Safin def. Federer 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 9-7
Safin def. Federer 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 9-7
I am definitely dead chuffed as my two favourites are through. Great fighting (mentally & physically) by both Serena & Marat.
Happy Birthday indeed Marat. To me, that WAS the final! What a memorable match indeed. The match that will be remembered as the one which broke Federer's 26 straight match wins record.
You've definitely made your mark on Federer. The only top 10 player who managed to leave a dent. The first encounter you took him to 20-18 on the final tiebreak at Masters Cup semis and now you gasp(!) stretched Federer to 5 sets! And win!!! :) Much love and respect!!!
Will post more later indeed. Need to sleep now that the adrenaline's gone down a bit! :)
Go Serena!!
Finally!! After 4 hours and 28 minutes
To the finals!
What an epic match.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Alexander & Hephaistion :)
This is what happens when a Marat Safin fan and a Tommy Haas fan who both watched Alexander together had nothing better to do :
Marat Safin fan : "Gosh! Marat needs a haircut! Those curls are getting long-ish! It' s like Alexander the Great's hair! Dang! He's more of an Alexander than Colin Farrell's make up artist can ever pull off!!!"
Tommy Haas fan : "And Haas is his Hephaistion!!! Alex-SAFIN-der & HAAS-phaistion!!!!
Marat Safin fan : "Hahahahahahahhahaha. Cool! Errm... You need to get out more girl! :)"
Alex-safin-der :)
Haas-phaistion :)
Safin practising at Melb Park. Sure am regretting not being in Melbourne now!!
Aaarghhh!!! Andre!!!
Haas-phaistion :)
Safin practising at Melb Park. Sure am regretting not being in Melbourne now!!
Aaarghhh!!! Andre!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
AJL
Sunday, 16 Jan 2005
Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil
I like Najip but never really liked Sarimah. Together, they were a bore! Terrible banter. Baik lagi Apek & gang who were the scene fillers.
I am really happy for Spider.
I found out about Spider after Khai sang Aladin - love that song! Tu pun, tau nama the band je. Bila Vince menyanyi with Spider in HMI baru le tahu siapa tu Spider. Then I saw them act in "Bintang Hati". Not bad gak depa berlakon. Sempoi and laidback, tapi not too slumber - very the sopan. Really like their style :)
Ruffedge.. Kinda berterabur I thought. I wished VE made it! They'd have put on a pretty good show.
Farah @AJL
Sham looking awfully good in the penguin suit :)
I have to admit, besides Vince, this guy was the one I most wanted to say hi to that night, hehe :)
With Sham
Lastly, nak gak tunjuk ni... :)
An orange 2005 planner given to me as a gift. Cantik, kan? :)
Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil
I like Najip but never really liked Sarimah. Together, they were a bore! Terrible banter. Baik lagi Apek & gang who were the scene fillers.
I am really happy for Spider.
I found out about Spider after Khai sang Aladin - love that song! Tu pun, tau nama the band je. Bila Vince menyanyi with Spider in HMI baru le tahu siapa tu Spider. Then I saw them act in "Bintang Hati". Not bad gak depa berlakon. Sempoi and laidback, tapi not too slumber - very the sopan. Really like their style :)
Ruffedge.. Kinda berterabur I thought. I wished VE made it! They'd have put on a pretty good show.
Farah @AJL
Sham looking awfully good in the penguin suit :)
I have to admit, besides Vince, this guy was the one I most wanted to say hi to that night, hehe :)
With Sham
Lastly, nak gak tunjuk ni... :)
An orange 2005 planner given to me as a gift. Cantik, kan? :)
Blast Off & Linda Jasmine's Dance Studio
BLAST OFF @ O*range Club
Friday, 14 Jan 2005
Last Pre-liminary Round
BLAST OFF!!!
The audience
It was my first time attending a BLAST OFF session in full. The bands were pretty good this round, thank GOD!! I've seen highlights and oh my gawd!!! The vocal groups are so bad!! Showmanship-wise bagus but the vocals are so waaaay out! Hancur!!
Shohoku, Siarra & Fiezzta were good. Infinatez was average n AK was -- well, they were eliminated! Poor AK, they rapped pretty well, but one of them sang really badly. Adus!! Teruk betul! The three members of AK are siblings so I guess it'd be pretty hard to sack that crappy singer :)
Shohoku sang Shakira's "Objection". Nice intro to the song with a solo trumpet stint. The trumpetist is pretty good - the judges had a lot of praises for him. Comel pulak tu! Sayang tak sempat ambik his picture. Too busy staring, haha. I like the vocalist's dress sense. Mcm Jepun, like the band's name. She looked like Ezlynn indeed dari jauh. Her vocals still need improvement though.
Shohoku's main singer. Mcm Ezlynn sikit kan?
Fiezzta sang Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started". They had a gamelan intro which was pretty cool. Farihan (Zahid's sister) wore a batik wrap which she then took off after the gamelan intro ended. The judges liked their performance, especially the drummer. He received compliments by the judges. Farihan has a good voice, but the other guy who sang with her had poor English diction though. He needs to work on that.
Fiezzta!
Siarra sang Ferhad's "Higher Deeper". They did sing backup for Ferhad so that explains their song choice - and their good vocals. One of them had girls screaming. Pretty cute guy but Shohoku's trumpet guy lagi cute :) No pic of Siarra, but of course, there should be pics at the website http://www.blastoff.com.my
The qtr finals start on Hari Raya Haji! Kali ni, can sms. 50% sms, 50% judges.
Linda Jasmine's Dance Studio @ Ampang
The dance floor.
Lepak area
Went to check out the studio on Saturday. Been meaning to but never got to doing it till I met up with Sahri after Blast Off who attended a dance class taught by Linda. Tu yg teringat nak visit tu.
It's just next door to Ampang Point, at the row of shophouses, above BCB, on the 3rd Floor. Wah, theme colour is lilac! :) Stapler, walls, gula2, note pad -- semuanya lilac!! :)
Linda was with her son Qalif that time. Hyperactive as usual. Later, Cikgu Fatimah came over to teach her acting/drama classes.
They offer quite a lot of different classes from yoga to salsa, hip hop, dance fusion, vocal classes (by Cikgu Adnan) etc. Erra Fazira even rented the dance studio for her dancer's rehearsal for AJL. Linda said that Anding wants to take hip hop lessons - and a few other AF2 stars wanna sign up for lessons too.
Btw. for those who don't know, the dance studio is a collaboration between Linda, Vince, Vanessa (Vince's sister cum manager) and Vince's good friend Roy.
Friday, 14 Jan 2005
Last Pre-liminary Round
BLAST OFF!!!
The audience
It was my first time attending a BLAST OFF session in full. The bands were pretty good this round, thank GOD!! I've seen highlights and oh my gawd!!! The vocal groups are so bad!! Showmanship-wise bagus but the vocals are so waaaay out! Hancur!!
Shohoku, Siarra & Fiezzta were good. Infinatez was average n AK was -- well, they were eliminated! Poor AK, they rapped pretty well, but one of them sang really badly. Adus!! Teruk betul! The three members of AK are siblings so I guess it'd be pretty hard to sack that crappy singer :)
Shohoku sang Shakira's "Objection". Nice intro to the song with a solo trumpet stint. The trumpetist is pretty good - the judges had a lot of praises for him. Comel pulak tu! Sayang tak sempat ambik his picture. Too busy staring, haha. I like the vocalist's dress sense. Mcm Jepun, like the band's name. She looked like Ezlynn indeed dari jauh. Her vocals still need improvement though.
Shohoku's main singer. Mcm Ezlynn sikit kan?
Fiezzta sang Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started". They had a gamelan intro which was pretty cool. Farihan (Zahid's sister) wore a batik wrap which she then took off after the gamelan intro ended. The judges liked their performance, especially the drummer. He received compliments by the judges. Farihan has a good voice, but the other guy who sang with her had poor English diction though. He needs to work on that.
Fiezzta!
Siarra sang Ferhad's "Higher Deeper". They did sing backup for Ferhad so that explains their song choice - and their good vocals. One of them had girls screaming. Pretty cute guy but Shohoku's trumpet guy lagi cute :) No pic of Siarra, but of course, there should be pics at the website http://www.blastoff.com.my
The qtr finals start on Hari Raya Haji! Kali ni, can sms. 50% sms, 50% judges.
Linda Jasmine's Dance Studio @ Ampang
The dance floor.
Lepak area
Went to check out the studio on Saturday. Been meaning to but never got to doing it till I met up with Sahri after Blast Off who attended a dance class taught by Linda. Tu yg teringat nak visit tu.
It's just next door to Ampang Point, at the row of shophouses, above BCB, on the 3rd Floor. Wah, theme colour is lilac! :) Stapler, walls, gula2, note pad -- semuanya lilac!! :)
Linda was with her son Qalif that time. Hyperactive as usual. Later, Cikgu Fatimah came over to teach her acting/drama classes.
They offer quite a lot of different classes from yoga to salsa, hip hop, dance fusion, vocal classes (by Cikgu Adnan) etc. Erra Fazira even rented the dance studio for her dancer's rehearsal for AJL. Linda said that Anding wants to take hip hop lessons - and a few other AF2 stars wanna sign up for lessons too.
Btw. for those who don't know, the dance studio is a collaboration between Linda, Vince, Vanessa (Vince's sister cum manager) and Vince's good friend Roy.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Zahid at Blast Off Pre-lims
Friday, 7 Jan 2004
Orange Club
Zahid at Orange Club
Obligatory picture :)
Arrived at Orange after the whole thing's over but there were still lotsa people around. Not bad gak sambutan Blast Off.
Zahid's sister's group (Fiezzta) will be performing next week. This week Khai's brothers and cousin performed (DVO - stands for Dance Vocal Organize). I was told that Jake (one of the judges) commented to them : "You guys should stop singing." Ouchhh!!! Missed it on tv, darn it!
Those who want to check out Blast Off, go to http://www.blastoff.com.my
Orange Club
Zahid at Orange Club
Obligatory picture :)
Arrived at Orange after the whole thing's over but there were still lotsa people around. Not bad gak sambutan Blast Off.
Zahid's sister's group (Fiezzta) will be performing next week. This week Khai's brothers and cousin performed (DVO - stands for Dance Vocal Organize). I was told that Jake (one of the judges) commented to them : "You guys should stop singing." Ouchhh!!! Missed it on tv, darn it!
Those who want to check out Blast Off, go to http://www.blastoff.com.my
EVO 1&2 Album Launch @ Sg Wang Plaza
Haven't seen the AF1 girls for quite awhile so dropped in to say hi. Was mostly backstage so didn't really watch the peformance hence no performance pics.
I just love Nana's outfit!! Burn showed me his injured toe. Yikes!!
There was a press conference at Swensen's after their show but I didn't bother going as I was so happy to catch up with long-lost AF1 fans. Plus I then stopped over at Orange to check out Haks' Blast Off - esp as Zahid was there :)
Some pics for y'all...
Finally!!!!!
The Girls
The Guys
Kaer's sis came too. Along with her bf .
I just love Nana's outfit!! Burn showed me his injured toe. Yikes!!
There was a press conference at Swensen's after their show but I didn't bother going as I was so happy to catch up with long-lost AF1 fans. Plus I then stopped over at Orange to check out Haks' Blast Off - esp as Zahid was there :)
Some pics for y'all...
Finally!!!!!
The Girls
The Guys
Kaer's sis came too. Along with her bf .
Monday, January 03, 2005
Zahid, Carmen, Aviator, Closer, Tennis
Lepak sekejap with Zahid @ Dome KLCC
Tuesday, Dec 28 2004
Due to my trip to Bali, I missed the premiere of Zahid's 'Milikku' video clip at Muzik@RIA and missed Zahid's surprise birthday coverage at Trek Selebriti. Wasn't even back in time for the repeat :(
I've finally gotten hold of a taping of Muzik@RIA. Will pop it in the VCR after work. Ketinggalan train habis aku nampaknya, hehe. Heard that they've stopped playing it on Hitz.TV till they take out some parts yang agak controversial.
Anyway, even though tak dpt tgk Zahid's vid clip and surprise bday party, I was lucky to catch Zahid at KLCC the 2nd day I came back from Bali. Happy banget! :)
Was having lunch with my girlfriends when the hubby of one of them sms-ed saying that he's behind Zahid at the escalator. Apalagi... Terus le calling, tanya boleh jumpa kejap to say hi ke tak. He was about to watch 'Kungfu Hustle' so he said he'd call me back after the movie.
We met up at Dome after the movie and lama gak le lepak ngan dia and Hafez. Ada 1 ½ jam. Mmg puas hati. Kegumbiraan, hehe. Kebetulan, Lisa, model vid clip 'Milikku' was seated at the table next to Zahid. When her friends left she joined me, Zahid & Hafez for awhile.A few minutes after she left us, Zahid & Hafez pun minta diri, nak check out FCUK before going off to One Utame for a meeting with the Power Root folks.
He mentioned recording a 'padang pasir' song for the soundtrack of 'Qaisy & Laila' entitled 'Warkah untuk Laila' so watch out for it peeps! :)
Carmen Opera @ Istana Budaya
Dec 18, 2004
Watched Carmen when everyone else went to either 'Rock The World', 'Joe Flizzow & Friends' or 'Mangga BBQ'. Saw the 'Rock The World' coverage on Beat TV and what a great crowd. And hey, Zahid from Disagree is pretty cute, hehe :)
I've never been to an opera so I didn't really have any high expectations. What am I saying? Of course I had high expectations, I just lowered it, hehe. I mean, Carmen was Taiwanese and the cast was 98% Malaysian. I do not want to be biased, I'm just protecting my level of enjoyment by lowering my expectations.
Overall, I found it enjoyable - if you discount the minor hiccups :
Stage/set design - Uninspired, REALLY cheap looking, drab & boring! Really disappointing. During the middle of the play, the backdrop tore off! I still don't know if it was intentional or and accident. My friends think it was intentional but I tend to skew the other way.
The chorus (both adult & child) - Inaudible!! Esp the children choir. Nevermind they looked stiff and awkward onstage... I wanna be able to hear them first! And I was seated VERY near to the stage. Thankfully, there weren't too many chorus after Act I.
The leads:
Don Jose - Slow & sluggish start. Thank goodness he stepped up. Act I was just bad. I think he just lacks charisma.
Escamillo - No complaints at all. Exudes charisma and I could hear him loud & clearly.
Carmen - Ok lah. Has to discard her Taiwanese slang when speaking English. I think Micaela stole the show from her.
Micaela - Bravo!! Why is she not in the lead? Malaysia Boleh!! Cecilia Yap was the recipient of 2002's BOH Cameronian Arts Award for 'Best Solo Performance' for Opera.
Kudos as well to the excellent supporting cast - I liked Remendado, Dancairo, Mercedes & Frasquita a lot. They were alive!!
Casting a 98% Malaysian cast is ambitious but hey, if not now, when huh? That said, it was weird watching a Spanish setting with Asian looking people singing in French! It looked as if the set was in Manila or Vietnam to be honest!
Initially, it was pretty bad, but it got better. It is Carmen after all right? I was just so happy when we got to the much awaited Toreador song. I've heard Bizet played at PETRONAS' Philharmonic Hall lotsa time so it was nice to finally see it acted out. I'm glad they decided to stick with singing in French as the language is beautiful. They had subtitles anyway, so we understood what was happening.
Watching the Toreador act in Carmen brought back memories of my visit to a bullfight in Madrid. I was shocked to see that the matadors were really famous. Didn't expect people to be rushing for signed pictures of the matadors. And how sad to watch a strong, wild bull slowly weakened after repetitious attacks. It's kinda unfair though, as it was many against one bull.
And while listening to the Toreador, I immediately think of Schumi. It's really the Schumi song you know! :) They play it during the champagne spraying session after the end of a GP and really, Schumi's made the top podium his own the past few years, hasn't he? This year's campagin will most probably be a tough one though. Today is Schumi's birthday, so Happy 36th Birthday Schumi!! It's also JRR Tolkien's birthday today. Two geniuses sharing the same birhtdate, hehe :)
The Aviator
Cate Blanchett was just wonderful as Katherine Hepburn!!! I just love her!
FACT: According to MSNBC, Scorsese really wanted Blanchett for his film "The Aviator." He reportedly told his casting director ''Get me that girl who was in 'Elizabeth,'. If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'Veronica Guerin.' If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'The Shipping News'. :)
The lovely Cate Blanchett
Cate plays Katherine Hepburn
Interesting movie, definitely much much better than Alexander! Am not much of a DiCaprio fan, but he did quite ok. He still looked young at times but I'll give him props. I was moved and felt for the guy.
Closer
Cepatle keluar DVD9!! :) Highly doubt it'll get released in our cinemas.
Can't wait to see this!!! Natalie Portman looks stunning in this movie!
Natalie in Closer
Masters Cup Highlights
Caught the Masters Cup Highlights on ASTRO yesterday. Did anybody see this? Pretty cool documentary about the 8 players filmed from the locker room.
They showed how popular Safin was with the girls in Houston at the practice courts. There was this girl who waited for him (I see me in her, obviously!!) And that lucky *****, she got a pic with Marat!! Aaarghhh!!! When asked by the cameramen what does she think of Marat she said : "He’s just beautiful isn’t he?" Sigh, he is!!! Of course, we don’t like Safin just because he is sooo fine... We do appreciate his talent. She did mention his form is improving now etc :)
For the end credits, selected players held a namecard printed with a credit name. After they held up the card they flung it to the camera. Pretty cute.
So we had Roddick, Hewitt, Federer.. They were mostly at the courts and dressed in their tennis gear. Then comes Safin.
He’s in the locker room. Standing. Stark naked except for the name card covering his privates. That cheeky bastard!! He had this naughty grin and looked so hot I almost fainted! :) Can’t believe that escaped the censors. I was like "Fling the bloody namecard! PLEASE!!" :)
Now I am officially, seriously upset I am not going to the Oz Open. It’s just gruesome! I need to see Safin - stat!! :) Not only is it the 100th anniversary of the Oz Open, it’s probably one of my last chance to see Agassi do well in a Slam. If I knew Safin was gonna buck up and do well at the end of 2004 I wouldn’t have gone on 4 holidays!! :) Aaaargh, sayangnya!!! Both my man Safin & Andre seem to fare well at the Rebound Ace too. Sigh..
Australian Open starts 17 Jan 2005
Bangkok Open in late Sept 2005 seems ages!! I just hope Marat, FedEx & Roddick will make it to Bangkok like last year.
Till then, it’s the Hopman Cup for a quick Safin fix :)
Dang, Russia has lost to Germany!!
Germany def Russia 2-1
Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to Anastasia Myskina 3-6, 3-6
Tommy Haas d Marat Safin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Groenefeld/Haas d Myskina/Safin 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/6)
Tuesday, Dec 28 2004
Due to my trip to Bali, I missed the premiere of Zahid's 'Milikku' video clip at Muzik@RIA and missed Zahid's surprise birthday coverage at Trek Selebriti. Wasn't even back in time for the repeat :(
I've finally gotten hold of a taping of Muzik@RIA. Will pop it in the VCR after work. Ketinggalan train habis aku nampaknya, hehe. Heard that they've stopped playing it on Hitz.TV till they take out some parts yang agak controversial.
Anyway, even though tak dpt tgk Zahid's vid clip and surprise bday party, I was lucky to catch Zahid at KLCC the 2nd day I came back from Bali. Happy banget! :)
Was having lunch with my girlfriends when the hubby of one of them sms-ed saying that he's behind Zahid at the escalator. Apalagi... Terus le calling, tanya boleh jumpa kejap to say hi ke tak. He was about to watch 'Kungfu Hustle' so he said he'd call me back after the movie.
We met up at Dome after the movie and lama gak le lepak ngan dia and Hafez. Ada 1 ½ jam. Mmg puas hati. Kegumbiraan, hehe. Kebetulan, Lisa, model vid clip 'Milikku' was seated at the table next to Zahid. When her friends left she joined me, Zahid & Hafez for awhile.A few minutes after she left us, Zahid & Hafez pun minta diri, nak check out FCUK before going off to One Utame for a meeting with the Power Root folks.
He mentioned recording a 'padang pasir' song for the soundtrack of 'Qaisy & Laila' entitled 'Warkah untuk Laila' so watch out for it peeps! :)
Carmen Opera @ Istana Budaya
Dec 18, 2004
Watched Carmen when everyone else went to either 'Rock The World', 'Joe Flizzow & Friends' or 'Mangga BBQ'. Saw the 'Rock The World' coverage on Beat TV and what a great crowd. And hey, Zahid from Disagree is pretty cute, hehe :)
I've never been to an opera so I didn't really have any high expectations. What am I saying? Of course I had high expectations, I just lowered it, hehe. I mean, Carmen was Taiwanese and the cast was 98% Malaysian. I do not want to be biased, I'm just protecting my level of enjoyment by lowering my expectations.
Overall, I found it enjoyable - if you discount the minor hiccups :
Stage/set design - Uninspired, REALLY cheap looking, drab & boring! Really disappointing. During the middle of the play, the backdrop tore off! I still don't know if it was intentional or and accident. My friends think it was intentional but I tend to skew the other way.
The chorus (both adult & child) - Inaudible!! Esp the children choir. Nevermind they looked stiff and awkward onstage... I wanna be able to hear them first! And I was seated VERY near to the stage. Thankfully, there weren't too many chorus after Act I.
The leads:
Don Jose - Slow & sluggish start. Thank goodness he stepped up. Act I was just bad. I think he just lacks charisma.
Escamillo - No complaints at all. Exudes charisma and I could hear him loud & clearly.
Carmen - Ok lah. Has to discard her Taiwanese slang when speaking English. I think Micaela stole the show from her.
Micaela - Bravo!! Why is she not in the lead? Malaysia Boleh!! Cecilia Yap was the recipient of 2002's BOH Cameronian Arts Award for 'Best Solo Performance' for Opera.
Kudos as well to the excellent supporting cast - I liked Remendado, Dancairo, Mercedes & Frasquita a lot. They were alive!!
Casting a 98% Malaysian cast is ambitious but hey, if not now, when huh? That said, it was weird watching a Spanish setting with Asian looking people singing in French! It looked as if the set was in Manila or Vietnam to be honest!
Initially, it was pretty bad, but it got better. It is Carmen after all right? I was just so happy when we got to the much awaited Toreador song. I've heard Bizet played at PETRONAS' Philharmonic Hall lotsa time so it was nice to finally see it acted out. I'm glad they decided to stick with singing in French as the language is beautiful. They had subtitles anyway, so we understood what was happening.
Watching the Toreador act in Carmen brought back memories of my visit to a bullfight in Madrid. I was shocked to see that the matadors were really famous. Didn't expect people to be rushing for signed pictures of the matadors. And how sad to watch a strong, wild bull slowly weakened after repetitious attacks. It's kinda unfair though, as it was many against one bull.
And while listening to the Toreador, I immediately think of Schumi. It's really the Schumi song you know! :) They play it during the champagne spraying session after the end of a GP and really, Schumi's made the top podium his own the past few years, hasn't he? This year's campagin will most probably be a tough one though. Today is Schumi's birthday, so Happy 36th Birthday Schumi!! It's also JRR Tolkien's birthday today. Two geniuses sharing the same birhtdate, hehe :)
The Aviator
Cate Blanchett was just wonderful as Katherine Hepburn!!! I just love her!
FACT: According to MSNBC, Scorsese really wanted Blanchett for his film "The Aviator." He reportedly told his casting director ''Get me that girl who was in 'Elizabeth,'. If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'Veronica Guerin.' If you can't get her, get me the girl in 'The Shipping News'. :)
The lovely Cate Blanchett
Cate plays Katherine Hepburn
Interesting movie, definitely much much better than Alexander! Am not much of a DiCaprio fan, but he did quite ok. He still looked young at times but I'll give him props. I was moved and felt for the guy.
Closer
Cepatle keluar DVD9!! :) Highly doubt it'll get released in our cinemas.
Can't wait to see this!!! Natalie Portman looks stunning in this movie!
Natalie in Closer
Masters Cup Highlights
Caught the Masters Cup Highlights on ASTRO yesterday. Did anybody see this? Pretty cool documentary about the 8 players filmed from the locker room.
They showed how popular Safin was with the girls in Houston at the practice courts. There was this girl who waited for him (I see me in her, obviously!!) And that lucky *****, she got a pic with Marat!! Aaarghhh!!! When asked by the cameramen what does she think of Marat she said : "He’s just beautiful isn’t he?" Sigh, he is!!! Of course, we don’t like Safin just because he is sooo fine... We do appreciate his talent. She did mention his form is improving now etc :)
For the end credits, selected players held a namecard printed with a credit name. After they held up the card they flung it to the camera. Pretty cute.
So we had Roddick, Hewitt, Federer.. They were mostly at the courts and dressed in their tennis gear. Then comes Safin.
He’s in the locker room. Standing. Stark naked except for the name card covering his privates. That cheeky bastard!! He had this naughty grin and looked so hot I almost fainted! :) Can’t believe that escaped the censors. I was like "Fling the bloody namecard! PLEASE!!" :)
Now I am officially, seriously upset I am not going to the Oz Open. It’s just gruesome! I need to see Safin - stat!! :) Not only is it the 100th anniversary of the Oz Open, it’s probably one of my last chance to see Agassi do well in a Slam. If I knew Safin was gonna buck up and do well at the end of 2004 I wouldn’t have gone on 4 holidays!! :) Aaaargh, sayangnya!!! Both my man Safin & Andre seem to fare well at the Rebound Ace too. Sigh..
Australian Open starts 17 Jan 2005
Bangkok Open in late Sept 2005 seems ages!! I just hope Marat, FedEx & Roddick will make it to Bangkok like last year.
Till then, it’s the Hopman Cup for a quick Safin fix :)
Dang, Russia has lost to Germany!!
Germany def Russia 2-1
Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to Anastasia Myskina 3-6, 3-6
Tommy Haas d Marat Safin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Groenefeld/Haas d Myskina/Safin 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10/6)
Superstalker goes to Bali :)
Surfing @ Kuta Beach, Bali
Our first stop - Kuta Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel. And what a sight for my sore eyes :)
We took surf lessons from Odyssey Surf School at Mercure Hotel, next to Hard Rock Hotel. 3 days lesson costs USD80 but we got it at USD75. Jadi le tu. :)
I remember asking the guys, how long is a lesson for. When they said 2 hours I was like, "Just 2 hours? What about other schools? Is it just for 2 hours as well?"
After the first session, we learnt the hard way that 2 hours is more than enough! ;) It looks easy but there's a lot of work involved! My hands were so tired! Paddling against the strong waves, pushing up your upper body against a board moving fast under the wave, hoisting your legs up... After 2 days of surfing my hands were like jello!
The staff of the surf school were really nice we ended up knowing everyone. From the owner Michael (who's a Chinese from Kalimantan), his wife Arniza, the transport guy Jasten (cool dude who looks a lot like Ferhad. Only more buff and sporting an earring), the admin/accts guy Ocha (comel) and the 4 surf instructors : Wayan Sunset (cool name), Gede Jendri, Victor (real name Idar Pamungkas) n Brazil (real name.. err.. Brazil!!). Brazil's siblings names are.. get a load of this: Amazon, New Zealand & Perancis!! :)
Btw, I asked Wayan Sunset if they wear sunblock and to my amusement, he answered. "Nanti diketawakan. Kerbau ada pakai sunblock?" :)
Jendri taught both me and Jules for the 1st lesson but the following lessons, Brazil joined Jendri so we had an instructor each. Surfing is so much fun, it's addictive! I actually found myself going to Quiksilver KLCC to buy a rash guard and calling up Sunway Lagoon to ask about their surf pool schedule! I was never into surf merchandise and sigh...menyesal tak sudah tak beli more surfwear at Bali!! They had so much choice - Surfer Girl, Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl, Volcom... And cheaper than Malaysia obviously. Dang!
Me & Jules riding the waves
With our surf instructor Brazil & Jendri
My very own 'Kuta Cowboy' :)
During our lessons we would have a quick break, Victor, one of the other surf instructors would sit with us during his break time from teaching other students. Punyalah lawyer buruk, pastu suka cubit2 org pulak tu!! But he was very talkative and rajin bawak2 we all jalan-jalan. Tak sangka, he'd end up being my 'Kuta Cowboy'!
My friends were out touring as it was their first Bali trip, the hotel's shuttle bus was only till 5.30pm and it's quite a distance to Kuta town so I didn't mind going out berdua. Sekali dua, a few hours tu, ok le, but lama2 tu, aiya... Rimasss!! Naik speda motor lak tu. Too close for comfort! Plus, I didn't like the idea of being apart from my girlfriends. Dah tak jumpa satu hari, rindu nak catch up :)
Poor Victor, I buat dek je to his sms for Xmas plans. A nice guy though and he did bring me to lotsa places. He showed me how to eat cheap at Jimbaran. Just pick your fish at the fish market, then go and get it grilled at a local shop. We won't be eating on a table by the sand but the price is waaay cheaper! I always thought Jimbaran was expensive and indah khabar dari rupa. I mean, seafood in Thai or even Klang is cheaper and tastier. Aduss.. teringat lak makan Dungeness crab at Pier 49, San Francisco and I love how they cook squid at Barcelona.
Victor also brought me to Wayan Sunset's house. Oh my God, Wayan has a wife and a kid, with another child on the way and his house is basically just a room, and it's even smaller than mine. I guess only those originally from Kuta have proper houses with courtyards and temples. There's about 5 rooms in a row (just one floor) and they share toilet/kitchen.
After that Victor asked if I wanted to drop by his house and of course I was suddenly tired that night :)
Bali Bombing Memorial
Bali Bombing Memorial
What was once Sari Club
The bombing happened 5 moths after I visited Bali and I was totally disgusted by it. What did the Balinese do to deserve this? They are such peaceful people! And I always thought of Bali as like some sort of fantasy island that's cut off from the real world...
Rocking at Hard Rock Hotel's Centrestage
There is no cover charge at Centerstage. Solidaz Band was performing there and they were awesome! They are from New Zealand but has been touring Asian countries - Jakarta, Surabaya, Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore - even Penang! One of the vocalist, LT, told us he sang Belaian Jiwa! :)
With LT of Solidaz Band
Btw, if you don't stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, you can check out their pool. You have to pay though. Saw it from Mercure Hotel's swimming pool (5th floor) while learning basic surf appreciation stuff. The Hard Rock Hotel pool has a small section of artificial beach. Looks very nice but can't beat Mandalay Bay Las Vegas of course. Massive artificial beach!!
Spa at Bali
I am not much of a spa person but after two days of surfing my body was aching all over. I went to Secret Garden Spa (www.secretgarden-bali.com) as it is one of the few spas in Bali quoted on Indonesian Rupiah. Balinese massage, scrub, herbal bath, manicure & pedicure for less than RM120. Not bad, huh?
On my last day at Bali, tried another spa (Giri Loka Spa) near Jayakarta. This time I did the Hair Cream Bath as my hair needed it after 3 days at the beach. It was okey, but their hairdryer was pathetic. The power was probably not even 500 Watts,hehe. Dah le rambut aku ni lebat! Crappy blowdry but I was more depressed about leaving Bali to bother about my hair, hehe.
p/s: Everyone there keep mentioning Siti when we say we are from Malaysia!! The place we borong-ed DVD said Siti was at the shop to buy CDs (original ler) and the Slingshot guy said that Siti did the Slingshot.
p/p/s: I love how they have a lot of tempe at Bali but when I ate their 'cay kangkung'(kangkung goreng) I miss our sambal belacan! :)
p/p/p/s: Pics up at Photo Links.
Our first stop - Kuta Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel. And what a sight for my sore eyes :)
We took surf lessons from Odyssey Surf School at Mercure Hotel, next to Hard Rock Hotel. 3 days lesson costs USD80 but we got it at USD75. Jadi le tu. :)
I remember asking the guys, how long is a lesson for. When they said 2 hours I was like, "Just 2 hours? What about other schools? Is it just for 2 hours as well?"
After the first session, we learnt the hard way that 2 hours is more than enough! ;) It looks easy but there's a lot of work involved! My hands were so tired! Paddling against the strong waves, pushing up your upper body against a board moving fast under the wave, hoisting your legs up... After 2 days of surfing my hands were like jello!
The staff of the surf school were really nice we ended up knowing everyone. From the owner Michael (who's a Chinese from Kalimantan), his wife Arniza, the transport guy Jasten (cool dude who looks a lot like Ferhad. Only more buff and sporting an earring), the admin/accts guy Ocha (comel) and the 4 surf instructors : Wayan Sunset (cool name), Gede Jendri, Victor (real name Idar Pamungkas) n Brazil (real name.. err.. Brazil!!). Brazil's siblings names are.. get a load of this: Amazon, New Zealand & Perancis!! :)
Btw, I asked Wayan Sunset if they wear sunblock and to my amusement, he answered. "Nanti diketawakan. Kerbau ada pakai sunblock?" :)
Jendri taught both me and Jules for the 1st lesson but the following lessons, Brazil joined Jendri so we had an instructor each. Surfing is so much fun, it's addictive! I actually found myself going to Quiksilver KLCC to buy a rash guard and calling up Sunway Lagoon to ask about their surf pool schedule! I was never into surf merchandise and sigh...menyesal tak sudah tak beli more surfwear at Bali!! They had so much choice - Surfer Girl, Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl, Volcom... And cheaper than Malaysia obviously. Dang!
Me & Jules riding the waves
With our surf instructor Brazil & Jendri
My very own 'Kuta Cowboy' :)
During our lessons we would have a quick break, Victor, one of the other surf instructors would sit with us during his break time from teaching other students. Punyalah lawyer buruk, pastu suka cubit2 org pulak tu!! But he was very talkative and rajin bawak2 we all jalan-jalan. Tak sangka, he'd end up being my 'Kuta Cowboy'!
My friends were out touring as it was their first Bali trip, the hotel's shuttle bus was only till 5.30pm and it's quite a distance to Kuta town so I didn't mind going out berdua. Sekali dua, a few hours tu, ok le, but lama2 tu, aiya... Rimasss!! Naik speda motor lak tu. Too close for comfort! Plus, I didn't like the idea of being apart from my girlfriends. Dah tak jumpa satu hari, rindu nak catch up :)
Poor Victor, I buat dek je to his sms for Xmas plans. A nice guy though and he did bring me to lotsa places. He showed me how to eat cheap at Jimbaran. Just pick your fish at the fish market, then go and get it grilled at a local shop. We won't be eating on a table by the sand but the price is waaay cheaper! I always thought Jimbaran was expensive and indah khabar dari rupa. I mean, seafood in Thai or even Klang is cheaper and tastier. Aduss.. teringat lak makan Dungeness crab at Pier 49, San Francisco and I love how they cook squid at Barcelona.
Victor also brought me to Wayan Sunset's house. Oh my God, Wayan has a wife and a kid, with another child on the way and his house is basically just a room, and it's even smaller than mine. I guess only those originally from Kuta have proper houses with courtyards and temples. There's about 5 rooms in a row (just one floor) and they share toilet/kitchen.
After that Victor asked if I wanted to drop by his house and of course I was suddenly tired that night :)
Bali Bombing Memorial
Bali Bombing Memorial
What was once Sari Club
The bombing happened 5 moths after I visited Bali and I was totally disgusted by it. What did the Balinese do to deserve this? They are such peaceful people! And I always thought of Bali as like some sort of fantasy island that's cut off from the real world...
Rocking at Hard Rock Hotel's Centrestage
There is no cover charge at Centerstage. Solidaz Band was performing there and they were awesome! They are from New Zealand but has been touring Asian countries - Jakarta, Surabaya, Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore - even Penang! One of the vocalist, LT, told us he sang Belaian Jiwa! :)
With LT of Solidaz Band
Btw, if you don't stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, you can check out their pool. You have to pay though. Saw it from Mercure Hotel's swimming pool (5th floor) while learning basic surf appreciation stuff. The Hard Rock Hotel pool has a small section of artificial beach. Looks very nice but can't beat Mandalay Bay Las Vegas of course. Massive artificial beach!!
Spa at Bali
I am not much of a spa person but after two days of surfing my body was aching all over. I went to Secret Garden Spa (www.secretgarden-bali.com) as it is one of the few spas in Bali quoted on Indonesian Rupiah. Balinese massage, scrub, herbal bath, manicure & pedicure for less than RM120. Not bad, huh?
On my last day at Bali, tried another spa (Giri Loka Spa) near Jayakarta. This time I did the Hair Cream Bath as my hair needed it after 3 days at the beach. It was okey, but their hairdryer was pathetic. The power was probably not even 500 Watts,hehe. Dah le rambut aku ni lebat! Crappy blowdry but I was more depressed about leaving Bali to bother about my hair, hehe.
p/s: Everyone there keep mentioning Siti when we say we are from Malaysia!! The place we borong-ed DVD said Siti was at the shop to buy CDs (original ler) and the Slingshot guy said that Siti did the Slingshot.
p/p/s: I love how they have a lot of tempe at Bali but when I ate their 'cay kangkung'(kangkung goreng) I miss our sambal belacan! :)
p/p/p/s: Pics up at Photo Links.
Back from Bali!!
Kuta Bali
Dec 21-26 2004
Safe and sound... but much darker & poorer :)
Happy New Year peeps : )
Haven’t been in the mood to write lately. Maybe it’s travel withdrawal symptoms, maybe it’s end of the year blues, maybe it’s due to the Aceh tragedy...
I was at Phuket this September so Phi Phi Islands & Patong Beach is still fresh in my mind. The hotel I stayed at is pretty close to the beach and I wonder how it is now.
I was still in Bali during the quake and I sure am lucky Bali is to the south and east of Aceh. This was my 2nd trip to Bali so I didn't do any touring and was mostly by the beach learning to surf. If there was a tsunami at Bali…whoahhh...
Being new to surfing, I’ve been watching footage of pro surfers riding the big waves and thinking ‘These surfers are amazing. Is there a wave that they can’t ride?’
And what do you know… Forget Hawaii or Santa Cruz, close to home we got the mother of all waves that the pro surfers wouldn’t be able to touch. Certainly grounds you how nature can be such a powerful beast. You think you can tame it but there you go…
But I digress. Back to the story…
Btw, there won’t be much stories or pics on Bali’s tourist attractions as this is my 2nd trip and my main focus was learning how to surf : )
As I won’t have many pictures of touristy Bali, I’ll write a bit to promote it! And will insert pics from the Net. My old pics were non-digital. Too lazy to scan :)
I was in Bali in May 2002 (5 months before the bombing). To those who haven’t been to Bali, you simply must! The country is just magical!!
It’s different from Indonesia as the Balinese are predominantly Hindus - a different Hindu to the Indian Hindus. I just find it fascinating how religious they are. Their temples are beautiful and if you get to witness a burial or a special religious festival, even the better!
There is a temple in the courtyard of most Balinese homes and each day they never fail to present spirits with tiny ‘canang’ - palm leaf trays containing flower petals, betel nut, water & placed on the ground (to ward off evil) and on raised alters (for the gods). You’ll find them on the streets, on the dashboard of their cars, on temples, shops…
Typical Balinese ladies carrying offerings for a ceremony
Canang – daily offerings to appease spirits
A cremation ceremony
Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi – one of the many beautiful temples in Bali
The Balinese believe in karma so not much crime is committed – no need to worry about snatch thiefs here. Just be careful of unauthorized money changers. If the rate is much better than those advertised elsewhere, don’t bother. Really. Saves you the energy in counting and recounting your money. I’ve been there!
Out of curiosity, my brother and I went to a shophouse offering a damn good rate. We were expecting to be tricked so we had our eyes fixed on the dude’s hands. They change your money, hand you the money to count and I can’t remember why and how, but they take it back. When you get it back, count it again - it will be short!! Alas, the transaction ended with them rudely throwing our USD on the table and us feeling POed. My brother, lover of magic tricks, was consumed with figuring out how they got rid of some of the money under our watchful eyes. He had a theory & demonstrated to me but I can’t remember now : )
Then, there are the usual aggressive vendors. Just don’t even talk back to them if you’re not interested. Don’t even look our you’ll be sorry! : ) If you are interested, bargain hard!!
Beach vendors offering massages, pedicures, manicures, hair braiding, temporary tattoos etc
The beaches in Kuta are not exactly white sands and clear water but the coastline is a long stretch and the wave is pretty damn good. Rent a boogie board and you are set for a good time riding the waves. Or better yet, go for surfing lessons!
The 'kecak' dance is a must-see! If you get to see only one dance in Bali, this should be the one you don’t miss. And wait till you see the beautiful rice fields/terraces. Simply breathtaking!
Rice fields in Tirta Gangga
Kecak Dance
If you come to Bali, remember to bring a lot of cash as credit cards are not that widely accepted. Quite a lot of things are quoted on USD so if you have USD, it’s easy but for me bringing Rupiah is still the best.
They speak good English so no worries. Heck, most of them can even speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese, Italian… my tour guide spoke English, Japanese & Chinese.
The dry season can be pretty harsh so be prepared. My 1st visit was in May and it was soooo hot and dry!! I don’t drink much water normally but I chugged quite a lot there.
That said, the rainy season can be quite a damper too. This time round, it rained most evenings. Luckily it rained for only an hour or so, and not too heavily - except for the day I arrived – OF COURSE!!! : ) My poor Nikes.. thoroughly soaked!!
To be continued..
Dec 21-26 2004
Safe and sound... but much darker & poorer :)
Happy New Year peeps : )
Haven’t been in the mood to write lately. Maybe it’s travel withdrawal symptoms, maybe it’s end of the year blues, maybe it’s due to the Aceh tragedy...
I was at Phuket this September so Phi Phi Islands & Patong Beach is still fresh in my mind. The hotel I stayed at is pretty close to the beach and I wonder how it is now.
I was still in Bali during the quake and I sure am lucky Bali is to the south and east of Aceh. This was my 2nd trip to Bali so I didn't do any touring and was mostly by the beach learning to surf. If there was a tsunami at Bali…whoahhh...
Being new to surfing, I’ve been watching footage of pro surfers riding the big waves and thinking ‘These surfers are amazing. Is there a wave that they can’t ride?’
And what do you know… Forget Hawaii or Santa Cruz, close to home we got the mother of all waves that the pro surfers wouldn’t be able to touch. Certainly grounds you how nature can be such a powerful beast. You think you can tame it but there you go…
But I digress. Back to the story…
Btw, there won’t be much stories or pics on Bali’s tourist attractions as this is my 2nd trip and my main focus was learning how to surf : )
As I won’t have many pictures of touristy Bali, I’ll write a bit to promote it! And will insert pics from the Net. My old pics were non-digital. Too lazy to scan :)
I was in Bali in May 2002 (5 months before the bombing). To those who haven’t been to Bali, you simply must! The country is just magical!!
It’s different from Indonesia as the Balinese are predominantly Hindus - a different Hindu to the Indian Hindus. I just find it fascinating how religious they are. Their temples are beautiful and if you get to witness a burial or a special religious festival, even the better!
There is a temple in the courtyard of most Balinese homes and each day they never fail to present spirits with tiny ‘canang’ - palm leaf trays containing flower petals, betel nut, water & placed on the ground (to ward off evil) and on raised alters (for the gods). You’ll find them on the streets, on the dashboard of their cars, on temples, shops…
Typical Balinese ladies carrying offerings for a ceremony
Canang – daily offerings to appease spirits
A cremation ceremony
Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi – one of the many beautiful temples in Bali
The Balinese believe in karma so not much crime is committed – no need to worry about snatch thiefs here. Just be careful of unauthorized money changers. If the rate is much better than those advertised elsewhere, don’t bother. Really. Saves you the energy in counting and recounting your money. I’ve been there!
Out of curiosity, my brother and I went to a shophouse offering a damn good rate. We were expecting to be tricked so we had our eyes fixed on the dude’s hands. They change your money, hand you the money to count and I can’t remember why and how, but they take it back. When you get it back, count it again - it will be short!! Alas, the transaction ended with them rudely throwing our USD on the table and us feeling POed. My brother, lover of magic tricks, was consumed with figuring out how they got rid of some of the money under our watchful eyes. He had a theory & demonstrated to me but I can’t remember now : )
Then, there are the usual aggressive vendors. Just don’t even talk back to them if you’re not interested. Don’t even look our you’ll be sorry! : ) If you are interested, bargain hard!!
Beach vendors offering massages, pedicures, manicures, hair braiding, temporary tattoos etc
The beaches in Kuta are not exactly white sands and clear water but the coastline is a long stretch and the wave is pretty damn good. Rent a boogie board and you are set for a good time riding the waves. Or better yet, go for surfing lessons!
The 'kecak' dance is a must-see! If you get to see only one dance in Bali, this should be the one you don’t miss. And wait till you see the beautiful rice fields/terraces. Simply breathtaking!
Rice fields in Tirta Gangga
Kecak Dance
If you come to Bali, remember to bring a lot of cash as credit cards are not that widely accepted. Quite a lot of things are quoted on USD so if you have USD, it’s easy but for me bringing Rupiah is still the best.
They speak good English so no worries. Heck, most of them can even speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Japanese, Italian… my tour guide spoke English, Japanese & Chinese.
The dry season can be pretty harsh so be prepared. My 1st visit was in May and it was soooo hot and dry!! I don’t drink much water normally but I chugged quite a lot there.
That said, the rainy season can be quite a damper too. This time round, it rained most evenings. Luckily it rained for only an hour or so, and not too heavily - except for the day I arrived – OF COURSE!!! : ) My poor Nikes.. thoroughly soaked!!
To be continued..
