JB Staycation

To celebrate our wedding anniversary (Time really flies, its 1 year already!), I decided to bring *mds* over to Johor Bahru for a stay-cation. First of all, we wasted no time in trying out the savory food around our hotel area.

Kong Bao Frog

Malaysia Style Wontoon Noodle

Since we have not visited Legoland before, we took this stay-cation opportunity to spend a whole day in the theme park. Truthfully, Legoland is built more for kids than adult, it was fun to go there for experience the first time, but I doubt I will want to return again.

Albert Einstein

Dragons built from Lego Bricks

Star Wars Lego

Mini Scenes around the world built  from Lego Bricks

KL International Airport

Singapore Riverside

More Star Wars - The theme for May

What is stay-cation without a good hotel to relax and chill? =)

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War

Synopsis: Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain. [Source: Golden Village]

A successful movie pitting the good superheroes against each other. On one side we have the mild mannered Captain America, and the other, we have the egoistic Iron Man. When super powers clashed, expect lots of park and humour, and casualty too. Overall, not a bad movie though.

Rate: 7/10

Disney's The Jungle Book

Synopsis: “The Jungle Book” is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub raised in the jungle by a family of wolves, who embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery when he’s forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known. [Source: Golden Village]

Not a bad movie, with stunningly realistic graphics of the animals that they seem real, setting a new standard for CGI. The pace was captivating, with adventures after adventures of the child. I am really impressed with the acting skill of someone so young in front of the blue screen. A must watch for the week.

Rate: 8/10

Disney's Zootopia

Synopsis: The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery. [Source: Golden Village]

This is so much better than my last movie "Batman Vs Superman". Highly entertaining, engaging with deep family values. No wonder it attains 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fully recommended. The song "Try Everything" by Shakira is nice too!

Rate: 9.0/10

Memories

Daily work is really suffocating. I miss the holidays in 2015. Looking forward to... June 2016 =)

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Synopsis: Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day saviour, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before. [Source: Golden Village]

This movie is beyond any of my words. This is indeed the most confusing, boring and worst of the super heroes movie I had ever seen. I made no head or tail why would batman harbor ill feelings towards superman at the start. I made no head or tail why the world is debating do we need a superman. I made no head or tail how did Wonder Women fits into the story. The bad guy is just plain irritating in this movie. Scriptwriter, please do not ever attempt to make good superheroes pit against each other ever again. This is just so wrong.

Rate: 1/10

Deadpool

Synopsis: Based upon Marvel Comics' most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. [Source: Golden Village]

If you want me to describe my feeling after watching the movie, I will sum it up as completely boring, nonsense, unhero-like, nothing in the plot except seeing people being chop off, vaguer languages and some x-rated stuffs. I seriously don't understand what is the hype about this movie. I will recommend putting this movie off your watch list.

Rate: 3/10

No Longer Heroine

Synopsis: Hatori Matsuzaki (Mirei Kiritani) is a female high school student. She has a crush on her childhood friend Rita Terasaka (Kento Yamazaki) and believes he will eventually choose her as her heroine, but Rita Terasaka begins dating Miho Adachi. Meanwhile, the most popular male student, Kosuke Hiromitsu (Kentaro Sakaguchi) takes an interest in Hatori Matsuzaki. [Source: Golden Village]

A light-hearted comedy based on the Japanese manga "Heroine Shikkaku" (ヒロイン失格). According to review, this movie top another famous movie "Attack on Titan: End of the World" during its second week of release. I must say the feat attained speak for itself. While Attack on Titan movie was poorly done, this "Heroine" was fun to watch, humorous at times and keep audiences on the edge guessing what is this "heroine" up to next. Definitely a good movie not to be miss.

Rate: 7.5/10

Wisdom Tooth Removal

Went to a routine visit last month to have my annual scaling and polishing of teeth and was advised by the dentist that my wisdom tooth is growing inwards and I should consider removing it. So after considering for a month, I decided to go ahead with the removal procedure. Initially, I only planned on 1 tooth removal, however, after seeing my teeth x-ray, I changed my mind. As you can guess, my lower wisdom teeth looks like this:

So without a doubt, I have to under go a simple surgery to have it removed. Luckily, this can be covered by Medisave, so I do not need to fork out the $1000 procedure. Had a lifetime of an operation as the dentist drilled my teeth for close to 45 mins, breaking my teeth into... erm... several pieces. Luckily, he gave me enough anesthesia to not feel the pain. Well, this is only part 1... next year...will have to undergo part 2. Haiz...Really, the drilling noise is pretty irritating and the smell of calcium burning by the drill......

Snoopy And Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie

Synopsis: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big-screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state-of-the-art 3D animation. Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle—and flying ace—embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the ICE AGE films, THE PEANUTS MOVIE will prove that every underdog has his day. [Source: Golden Village]

Started the year watching Snoopy, the movie, which happened to be our wedding day icon =). The movie is not too bad, pretty funny at times and be amazed hoe this cute little dog is able to communicate without speaking a word! A good movie to bring your children to.

Rate: 7/10

Ip Man 3 叶问 3

Synopsis: Ip Man (Donnie Yen) takes on disciple, Bruce Lee, and engage in frequent sparring sessions to hone his skill after seeing great potential. Meanwhile, a well-known property developer-cum-street fighter played by American boxer Mike Tyson, challenges Ip Man in an incredible showdown of Wing Chun kung fu versus heavyweight boxing. In a never-seen-before union of Ip Man, Bruce Lee (revived by computer graphics) and Mike Tyson, the past and the present unite as a tribute to two of China’s greatest fighters. [Source: Golden Village]

I guess this is the final installation of Donnie Yen's Ip Man. The pace of the story in this version is more compact, faster, more fighting scenes and more funny moments that showed the soft side and down to earth of Ip Man's character. I really enjoyed watching the movie. Really a great Chinese gung-fu show not to be missed.

Rate: 8.5/10

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Synopsis: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, and features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga. [Source: Golden Village]

May the Force be with You. Well, the Force is definitely with the film as it broke all records on the opening weekend in USA and Canada and become the fastest film to cross the 1 billion mark worldwide. With such impressive records, this is definitely a film not to be missed. Expects lots of laser shooting actions, ground and air battle scenes, familiar robots and familiar character appearing in the movie. Unfortunately, the movie ends on a cliff hanger. Can't wait for the Episode 8 to be released in 2017.

Rate: 8/10

Spectre

Synopsis: In SPECTRE, a cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE. [Source: Golden Village]

Actions, actions and more actions. Well, the adrenaline and gun fires are not bad, but can the director don't let Bond always end up kissing a girl whenever they are alone. It just doesn't make sense. Spectre continues where Skyfall has left off, and it finally brings an end to the villain that has been terrorizing M16 and bond from the past few movies. Overall, an average movie.

Rate: 6.5/10

10th Year Blog Anniversary

As of this month, this blog has been alive for 10 long years. What has changed since last year? Lets see:
1. Got Married
2. Move into our own house
3. Went on holiday trips to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Ipoh, Medan
4. Switch to a new job

Looks like I really undergo some major life event change in 2015! Well, looking forward to next year. Don't worry, this blog is not going dead...yet. Just a little less post from me =)

Some Statistic:
Page Count: 54474 +2234
Year on Year increase: -71 -3.08%

Medan Day 3

15 Nov - Started the day late before we head out to sample more of the local dishes. We had some steam chili fish for lunch, banana leaf BBQ rice and curry fish head which was not the usual curry you will find in Singapore. After lunch, we head down for more massage session as the price is simply irresistible. By the time we are done, it was time to bid goodbyes as we need to make our way down to the airport for our night flight home.

Building model on display at the airport

Empty airport for our Silk Air flight

Initially, we wanted to have our dinner at the airport. Finding no appetizing meal at the public area, we decided to go in to the transit area to have a look around. We are cheated by our assumption as we faced an empty airport once we checked in. The Medan government should really build some restaurant in the transit area for the tourist to chill and rest while they are waiting for their flight. Overall, we find it was really a good trip well spent.

Medan Day 2

14 Nov - For this trip, we had the luxury to wake up a bit later than usual before we start the day. We went down to level 1 of the hotel to have our buffet breakfast. I must say that the spread was wonderful. The hotel served local dishes, western, Chinese, pastry and fruits. Once you entered the cafe, the staff will ask if you like a coffee or tea. The dishes are cleared promptly and the services rendered are top notch. It is no wonder I took a liking to this hotel.

Good morning Medan City!

After breakfast, we took to the mountains to enjoy some fresh air, bath in sulfuric hot spring and enjoy the cool mountain weather.

Beautiful scenery

For our first stop, we stopped by the local famous golden temple to take some pictures before we continue on our journey. This is our typical "Been here, take picture, move on" style.

The local famous golden temple

Interior of the temple

The mini garden in the temple

A chance to ride in a wagon pulled by a horse in a nearby village

Weather was not on our side as torrential rain came falling down during our horse ride

After standing in the shelter for a short while to let the rain subside a little, we proceed in our rented car to our main highlight of the day - Hot Spring Bathing! Sensing a few tourist buses around,  our driver decided to re-route us from the main hot spring resort (which will likely be crowded with tourist) and brought us to a off beaten hot spring bath just a short distance away. The facility was not great (broken doors with no locks, and physically looking a little run down), but given the price of the entrance fee, we have no complains.

Hot spring time!

A great view of the mountain with clouds rolling by

We are literally right next to an active volcano

After our hot spring bath, we slowly made our 3 hours car journey back to Medan City. Along the way, we stopped by a small town to have some steamed and BBQ corns. The Medan corns are really delicious. This is the first time that I had eaten such a sweet and juicy corn! For dinner, we had grilled seafood, the traditional way cooked over a tray of charcoal. The seafood are indeed very fresh and the meat are so tender that one bite into it will set you loving it.

Medan Day 1

13 Nov - Having chose an unfriendly flight time in return for cheaper tickets, we have to make do with waking up in the wee hours of the morning (4am) and dragged our tired body to Changi Airport T2 for our Silk Air flight to Medan. This trip was planned at the invitation of *mds* friend's wife, who happened to be a native of Medan City. This is my first time taking Silk Air, which is the regional wing of Singapore Airline. The service was not too bad, but don't expect a full meal for the short 1.5 hours flight time.

 Star-wars Stormtrooper figurines welcoming you at T2

Once we cleared the customs, we met up with our friend and were quickly brought away to eat some of the local Medan dishes. Overall, the food in Medan is more flavorful and more spicy than Singapore. Most of the dishes are cooked with chili. If you cannot stand spiciness, then it is better for you to stay away from Medan.

Pork seller along the road

Medan local soya milk

Local satay with their unique sauce which taste delicious

In general, Medan looks like the old Singapore back in the 1970s and 1980s. They have the shop houses lining up the roadside with street hawkers peddling their awesome street food. After lunch, you get school children running around living their carefree life. Occasionally, you do see luxurious shops such as spa, facial and massage springing up in between the old houses, reflecting the rising wealth of the people of Medan. The traffic in Medan simply left a lasting impression in me. Besides the occasional vehicle jams and lack of workable traffic lights, most of the driver looks like professional F1 and they amazingly somehow manage to wriggle their way out of accident and get to the destination in record time. If you can survive Medan driving, you can survive anywhere.

After lunch, it is time for a massage to relax my tired body. =)

After dinner activity was spent walking around the night market

And trying out unique food - Frog leg which comes fried with the whole frog. The meat taste like chicken though....

And we completed checking into our hotel room late at night.

Our Times 我的少女時代

Synopsis: We all had to live through and rise above the awkward years in high school, and regardless how long it may have been a distant past you wish to forget, there's always a beautiful memory somewhere waiting to be awakened. A joyful moment that truly belongs to you. An ordinary high school girl Lin Truly (played by Vivian Sung) pines over the most popular guy in school Ouyang Extraordinary (played by Dino Lee). The school's troublemaker Hsu Taiyu (played by Ta Lu Wang) falls for the prettiest girl in school Tao Minmin (played by Dewi Chien). Together, Truly and Taiyu, work through misadventures to help each other win their dream dates. Through this youthful rite of passage, their friendship evolves and they learn a thing or two about true love. [Source: Golden Village]

Generally a nice movie to revive the past times as they use quite a lot of popular songs back in the 90s. A funny, touching, bittersweet movie depicting the normal life of a schoolgirl which can be anyone on the street. A good movie not to be miss. This somehow reminds me of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" in 2011.

Rate: 7.5/10

Bintan Lagoon Resort

07 Nov - Feeling the urge for a weekend day away from Singapore, together with our group of friends, we decided on Bintan Lagoon Resort for a cheap low cost holiday to relax. From the website available, the resort really looks posh (https://www.bintanlagoon.com). With the early bird discount available, we decided on renting a villa to accommodate our group.

To start the day, we need to catch our ferry really early in the morning at an ulu Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal that requires us to take a bus No. 35 from Bedok. Reaching the ferry terminal, we quickly check in for our MOZAIC ferry ticket to the Bintan Lagoon Terminal. It was unlucky that 2 of our group people are not feeling well, but they decided to go on the trip anyway.

Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

Once inside the small departure hall, it was a sea of  people again. Looks like a lot of the Singaporean are going for a Bintan weekend staycation just like us!

"People Mountain People Sea"

Soon, we are on our way to Bintan via Sindo 6. On the ticket, it was indicated the trip to Bintan will be a 90 mins ride. However, it actual fact, the whole journey took 120 mins. Perhaps this is an indication of "Indonesian time"? Everything indicated will likely be delayed by 15-30 mins?

Sindo 6

After a 2 hour journey on sea (which I fall asleep halfway), we finally reached the Bintan Lagoon Terminal. It is pretty amazing that the government built a custom solely for receiving the guests coming and leaving the Bintan Lagoon Resort. I guess the intention for such convenience is to create a major pull factor for tourist to come here and spent their tourist dollars. Well, as soon we cleared custom and entered the building, we are greeted with a traditional welcome dance and a refreshing welcome drink.

Traditional Welcome Dance

After waiting for about 45 mins ("In Indonesian time..aka slow...") for the check-in crowd to clear, we finally reached the villa we have secured. Truth be told, the whole building is quite spacious and looks posh. The only complain I have is that I saw a dead cockroach in one of the kitchen dustbin. Guess the housekeeping forgot to clear the dead pest out... -.-!

Our Villa - Buganvil 30

The Living Room

As we had a very early breakfast, by the time we finished putting our bags down and changed out for our snorkeling trip, our stomach are already protesting pretty badly. To save time, we decided to head out to the beach and have our lunch at the RICE Restaurant. Here comes our second shock for the day: The price of the dishes at the restaurant are not cheap. Each dish can easily cost SGD$20, excluding 21% government tax and service charge! Well, I do see lots of "IDR 200,000s" on the menu. I really wonder why Singaporean are still complaining about 17% GST and service charge back home.....

The snorkeling trip went well. This is the first time that we are literally swimming among the fishes. With a bread in hand, you will get to experience swarms of fishes crowding around you. Well, some of the fish decides to think my body is food for them and occasionally kisses my skin.

After our 90 mins snorkeling trip, we laze around on the beach for a while before joining in a impromptu beach volleyball competition. We played 6 sets of 15 points game. This is the first time after 12 years that I get to touch volleyball again. A bit rusty but we get to exercise our muscles well. At the end of the game, I can feel my muscles going jelly. Haha~ After washing up, its time for dinner!

We decided on a Japanese restaurant since the description on the resort map looks good. Having experience the prices of the RICE Restaurant during lunch, we were kind of prepared for the prices shown on the Japanese restaurant menu. I decided on having teppanyaki while my *mds* decides on the eel and rice combination.

Japanese Theme Restaurant

Shiitake Mushroom - Too salty, but the sauces are nice though

Teppanyaki Chicken and Teppanyaki Sotong are nice!

After dinner, with nothing else to do and one of our friend is so sick that a doctor has to be called in, we rested for the night. Next morning, we head off to Kopi-O for our buffet breakfast. Since this is already included in our accommodation, we simply have to eat our fill for both the breakfast and lunch.

Buffet Breakfast

We need to check out of our room at 1pm after asking for late checkout. While waiting for our 5pm ferry to take us back to Singapore mainland, we proceed to the leisure center for our free archery game which we have won yesterday while playing the beach volleyball competition.

Another welcome dance welcoming the new tourist for the day (Seen during our checkout)

Archery Game

Overall, it was a tiring but fulfilling stay-cation. Will I go back to Bintan Lagoon Resort? Probably not. The prices of the food there is so much more expensive.

Inside Out

Synopsis: Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school. [Source: Golden Village]

Emotions made into life by Disney. It is interesting to see how each emotion behave that will affect our everyday life. Interesting and exciting movie to catch for the weekend.

Rate: 7/10

Attack On Titan 2: End Of The World

Synopsis: Having transformed into an ultimate Titan right in front of everyone, Eren now faces suspicion and fear from the rest of human kind. He is held captive and tortured by his own kind, who demands to know the truth behind his ability to transform into a Titan. Just when he is on the verge of receiving a bullet to his chest, he is saved by yet another powerful Titan, one with intellect just like him. Shikishima tells Eren about his past, where he was used as a subject by his own scientist father, who injected Titan DNA (that triggers explosive cell divisions) into Eren’s body when he was still a baby. Eren then reunited with his friends and fought to plug the hole in the wall, only to be prevented from doing so by strong forces. Numerous deaths and injuries follow, as Eren and his friends fight for honour and freedom and to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. 

Now, the final battle begins as they give their all to restore peace in their homeland… [Source: Golden Village]

The second installation continues to diverge even more from the original manga, to the point of almost creating a new story. Since when did the titan shifters revealed their identity when Eren was plugging the hole? Since when was the item used to plug the hole changed to a dud bomb? Since when did that "came out of the blue" squad leader is also a titan and plans to overthrow the government? This is getting confusing. I think it is better for me to go back to watch the anime....

Rate: 5/10 (For the special effects)

Futsal Champions 2015

First contribution after 3 weeks out recovering on a back muscle strain.

4 matches to clinch it all. Thank God I did not suffer any injury.

First Match: 2-1 W
Second Match: 1-0 W
Semi Finals: 2-1 W
Finals: 2-2 PK Sudden Death 4-3 W