The Original ‘Clash of the Titans’ [1981]

Most of you will probably be going to see that new action movie called ‘Clash of the Titans’ this weekend or some time soon. Well, I hope I’m get to watch this new movie, although the initials reviews don’t see too promising. Most of you will also note that the word ‘re-make’ is used to describe it, meaning that there was an older version of this movie. 29 years ago, in fact, back in 1981.

I had the opportunity to watch the original version in a cinema (I believe it was Rex Cinema) when i was a small boy, but it was sometime in 1983, not 1981. Back in those days, new movies took a long time, usually a year or so to come to Malaysia. I also remember at the end of 1983, the New Straits Times rated it the 4th best movie of 1983, no.1 was Raiders of the Lost Ark and 5th was The Elephant Man. Can’t remember who placed 2nd and 3rd.

Clash of the Titans was memorable as it is one of the few movies based on Greek mythology (and I don’t include movies like Percy Jackson). If you think about it, there aren’t many that come to mind, although there were a few B-grade ones back in the 70′s. The only other one I can think of was Jason and the Golden Fleece.

(The slithery Medusa makes an appearance!)

I watched the movie again last year, and I gotta say, the special effects and stop motion monsters looked very, very outdated (I remember it looked shoddy even when I watched it as a kid back then). But the story and acting still holds up through the test of time, thanks to the stellar cast. Harry Hamlin was oddly cast as the hero Perseus (he would later become a star in LA Law). Playing the Gods were Laurence Olivier as Zeus, Claire Bloom as Hera, Maggie Smith (Prof McGonagall in Harry Potter) as Thetis and Ursula Andress as Aphrodite. Also memorable was the beautiful Judi Bowker (wonder what happened to her?) as damsel in distress Andromeda.

(Kraken appears Godzilla-style!)

(Perseus turns the Kraken to stone with Medusa’s head)

I hoped that they would re-release this movie with cleaned-up special effects like what they did for Star Wars, but I don’t think that would happen with the release of the new movie. But I suppose i can always watch the old version anytime… what a classic.

(all pics from google images)

Bali Day 5: Shopping in Kuta, Made’s Warung & Departure

Our flight home was in the evening, so we practically all day to spare on the final day. So we decided to take it easy and shop around Kuta and Legian. But first things first, the kids hit the pool.

We then took a hotel shuttle to Legian and walked slowly back for shopping. The whole area of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak is one whole combined shopping area, filled shoulder to shoulder with shops, stalls and bars and restaurants and more shops (and an occasional temple). One of the most popular area in Kuta is Poppies Lane 1 and 2. And this is how it looks like.

This pub has one of the best and most effective advertisement boards. Bloody cold beer.

Most of the shops sell either clothes or handicraft knick-knacks. There are a lot of surfboard shops too.

You’ll also find this shop everywhere. It’s the same as the one in 1-Utama. But much cheaper. But still expensive if compared to the other shops.

Of course you can’t miss the bomb memorial if you are in Legian.

For our last meal in Bali, we went to a landmark in Kuta – Made’s Warung. Its actually a simple two-storey restaurant, but its said to be Kuta’s first ever Western eatery here back in the 60′s. Its supposed to be the place to be seen if you’re a gwailou here in Bali. The food is nothing spectacular (in fact i thought it was disappointing), the decor is quite interesting.

My pork ribs. Not the best dish to try.

After lunch we walked back to the hotel to pack up for the airport. But before leaving, one last look at the beach…

Then its a 3-hour flight back.

Goodbye, Bali, it was a fantastic holiday. Can’t believe it took me so long to come here, but i finally did. I’ll come back again one day, hopefully.

Bali Day 3 & 4: Ubud, Ibu Oka, Uluwatu & Jimbaran

Day 3 of our Bali trip was Nyepi, the day of total silence. Its when no one is allowed outdoors or make any noise or turn on any lights for an entire day. The legend says it is to fool the evil spirits visiting on this day (the Bali Hindu New Year) that there is no one on the island, and they will leave the island free from disasters for one year.

But this ruling is hardly enforced in tourist hotels, so we all had great fun the whole day. The kids made a big splash in the 2 swimming pools in the morning and evenings. For me, other than sleeping in and eating, i snuggled up in the cool hotel room finishing my Cormac McCarthy book. We also had our spa treatment.

On the night before Nyepi, the boys in every village try to outdo each other by building large effigies of demons and villains. In the evening, these effigies will be carried to the beach or graveyard to be burnt. Sometimes the villagers built funny effigies – cartoon characters and even drunk tourists.

The effigies (called Ogoh-ogoh) are quite impressive, some have motorized parts that move, all in all we saw almost a hundred different ones throughout the few days.

So after a very restful (for me lah) third day, we set out early again on the 4th day. First stop was Batubulan, a small village between Kuta and Ubud, to watch the Barong dance. Barong is an amusing tale mixed with some modern humour elements about mythical elements, demons and the common folk. Worth a visit if you have the time, altho the entrance fee of Rp80,000 is a little pricey.

Lady doing that weird thing with her eyes during the dance.

Then we wanted to do some serious shopping. Our driver took us to the Artist Market in Sukawati. This market is targeted to locals (although there are still some tourists here) so the prices far cheaper than anywhere else. If you’re planning to shop, forget about Kuta or Legian or Ubud, come here first.

A word of warning tho, the inside of the market is cramped and stuffy. So if you’re averse to it, stick to the perimeter shops outside. But you’ll be sweating anyway, why not just dive indoors to get that killer bargain.

With all that energy expended for shopping, we were hungry for grub. Lunch was at the most famous makan stall in all of Bali – Ibu Oka Babi Guling. We didnt go to the cramped original stall opposite the Royal Palace, we went straight to the newer (and more comfortable) branch in Peliatan outside Ubud.

Herbed meat, crispy skin, deep fried innards. Mmmm… (also tried the Tosro bottled tea here).

After lunch we went downtown Ubud, while the gang went to the Art Market in Ubud, i went opposite to check out the Puri Saren Agung, the Royal Palace and Temple. For a royal palace its pretty small.

Then a quick trip to Goa Gajah. Those are people dipping in the holy water.

The three musketeers posing at the mouth of the Elephant Cave.

It was about 4pm and we took a long drive down to Uluwatu in south. The weather was burning hot and dry, I had a splitting headache trying to keep awake in the car. But shortly before reaching the temple, we were rewarded with one of the most spectacular ocean views on the entire island…

Then it was to the Uluwatu temple (Pura Luhur Uluwatu). Anyone who’s been here will tell you about the rowdy monkeys. Make sure you don’t enter without your guide. Ours was armed with a 5-foot stick. But the walk in was pretty well-rewarded. The temple at sunset is beautiful.

For our last dinner in Bali, we did one of the requisites – candlight dinner in Jimbaran. The stretch of beach from the south up to near the airport is lined with dozens of seaside restaurants, ranging from the authentic to the ultimate rip-offs. We had planned to try Lia’s Cafe based on online reviews, but our driver recommended us to check out Sharkey’s. It looked pretty good so tried it.

It turned out to be a great place, we had the fish, calamari, flame grilled chicken served with kangkung and rice. Came up to RM175 for 7 of us. And the band serenading us was pretty good (altho their pronounciation was atrocious).

So after a long day we were glad to reach the hotel.

Next – Last day on Bali.

Bali Day 2: Kintamani, Gunong Batur, Bebek Bengil and Hard Rock Cafe

Daybreak on the 2nd day, we were supposed to get up early, but after the tiring first day, getting up early was a problem. When we left the hotel at about 8.30pm when it was already pretty sunny. This the morning sun on our room’s private patio.

Ok then it was a 90min drive northwards to Kintamani and Gunong Batur. It was supposed to be cooling up in the mountains, but the morning sun was already pretty hot when we got there. But the view was awesome. Note the black volcanic rock at the foothills from the last eruption, that’s where they get the rocks to make sculptures.

To the right is Danu (Lake) Batur, and next to it Gunong Agung. Pura Besakih, the mother temple, is on the other side of the mountain. The villages you see on the lake shore are the original inhabitants of Bali, said to be once cannibals.

We didn’t have lunch in the many buffet restaurants in Kintamani lining the road, but took a short drive to Ubud. A short distance away is a coffee luwak farm.

Kopi luwak is made from beans found in civet droppings (the civet cat eats only the best beans). About RM10 in a small espresso cup. Only for the experience, i guess.

Here’s one of them animals. Doesn’t smell too clean.

Stopped at Tegallalang en route to Ubud to take photos of the famous rice terraces. Astounding. Although i suppose they’d look more stunning in the mornings and evenings.

We skipped Pura Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring although we passed by it as we were already hungry. Lunch was at the famous Bebek Bengil Dirty Duck Diner in Ubud. This place is a must-try if you’re in Bali.

Although its right smack in the centre of town (also on a busy traffic intersection), its also surrounded by paddy fields at the back.

The signature fried duck dish. The rice is normal white rice, but the duck is delicious. You can even eat all the small bones if you wanted.

We found our meal so good we had to tar pau something for the road. Anyone care to guess what? (It wasn’t the duck).

All the way from Ubud to Sanur, the road is lined with small towns concentrating on a particular form of artcraft. We stopped by one for wood carving. The town must contain something like 100 workshops and galleries. The carve anything. In terms of holy iconography, they’ve got all the major religions covered.

They also have glassware.

We stopped by Sanur Beach on the way back to Kuta in the afternoon. The beach is nice, much quieter compared to Kuta and Legian. From Sanur you can see Nusa Penida, the biggest island off Bali. That’s Sanur Beach Hotel, the biggest hotel in Bali.

After that it was back to Kuta town to do some shopping. Town was thinning out in the evening due to Nyepi.

We also took a walk on the famed Kuta beach before dinner. The beach is wide and sandy, I can see why its so popular. On the downside, there are dozens of ibus and bapaks pestering you to buy stuff everywhere you turn.

Dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe by the beach.

What did we have? Pork ribs, again, of course! And some flame grilled chicken.

Sunset taken from the cafe terrace. Too bad the telephone cable was in the way.

And so day 2 comes to an end. Next: Nyepi Day, Ubud, Uluwatu and Jimbaran

Bali Day 1: Arrival, Pura Taman Ayun, Tanah Lot and Naughty Nuri’s

So after waiting forever, our holiday to Bali finally came. Yes, yes, I know, everyone else has been to Bali except me…

But anyway. Most of you can see the larger set of photos posted on facebook, but here’s my post with a little more description. We left KL early in the morning, and this was our first sight of the Island of the Gods.

We booked our hotel through AirAsia, for an el cheapo RM100 per night. This was our hotel.

The hotel is ok, located some 200m from the famous Kuta beach. It’s very low density with rather small rooms. Quite a lot of mosquitoes if you leave the door open tho. First time i’ve slept on a four poster bed.

Our driver Ketut picked us up for our tour and we enjoyed taking in the sights, sounds and smells around us. One thing about Bali that most people know is the many thousands of temples. Even other buildings like schools and offices tend to look like temples. Even this church looks like one.

Anyways first stop was Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi. We didn’t think we’d have time to visit here, but our fantastic driver managed to squeeze in time for us.

Our guide told us Taman Ayun used to be a burial ground for the Mengwi kings before Hinduism came to Bali. Later the meru (layered towers) were built on top of their graves and became a temple.

Sitting on the steps to the inner court of this beautiful temple.

Erm, how DO they check for it…?

After that we travelled to the west to Tanah Lot. Since it was the day before a holiday, almost every village temple had procession and ceremony going on.

All the ladies in their ‘uniform’.

The men were sitting down on the road facing the temple. ON THE BURNING HOT ASPHALT ROAD. IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY JUNCTION!

Reached Pura Tanah Lot at about 5 plus. The path leading up to the temple is lined with hundreds of stalls and shops. I’ve no idea why posh shops like Ralph Lauren open here when there are dozens of their outlets elsewhere?

The oft-photographed temple at sunset. As beautiful as it is, the beach and tide is very dirty, littered with rubbish. I really wished they had kept it cleaner to make a good impression.

A shot of the cliff to the north of the temple.

Sunset at Tanah Lot.

For the first dinner, we drove an hour plus up to Naughty Nuri’s in Ubud.

I can safely say this was the best meal i had during my stay there. The pork ribs were juicy and well marinated, and tender it slid off the bone.

So that was our tiring first day. Next: Northwards to Batur and Kintamani…

Wanderlust

If there’s one local company that has made arguably the biggest impact in our lives, its AirAsia (as much as some Malaysians refuse to admit it).

For me personally, AirAsia has enabled me to live out the one dream i first thought damn near impossible – travelling outside my small little cocooned world to how the rest of the world lived. Although admittedly the destinations are limited (but growing), its cheap and easy, and its forcing people like MAS and SIA to be more competitive.

Back when we were small, living in our small rural town, we never travelled. We only saw the outside world through the occasional travel show on the meagre RTM2, or in magazines.

I think like most travel kakis, there’s always a mental list of destinations we’d want to go at the back of our minds. My list is pretty short, but so is my bank account balance. But you know, slowly and surely, i get to tick off one by one off the list.

Living Next Door to Mrs. Danker

She was a nice elderly Eurasian woman who lived behind us. The first thing that struck you about her was her black hair permed into a ball, and her glasses that made her eyes look unnaturally large. She lived alone, save for the Indian gardener cum handyman who came once a week, and the Hokkien cleaning lady every other day. She spoke very little pidgin Malay, and struggled to communicate with the two helpers.

But she spoke the Queen’s English in a slow, enunciated way. And she that’s what she did, she gave English tuition to kids from primary one up to teenagers. She gave 4-5 classes every day, in the mornings and afternoons after her short nap. My brother and sister took classes from her before me, and so did I, twice a week for a few years. She’d divide her lessons into Grammar, Language and Vocabulary. For the younger kids, she would even teach a spot of art before the English lessons.

I remember her house very well. It was beautifully renovated and decorated artistically, an anomaly in the small rural town we lived in. There were dark cooling marble tiles on the floor, with fluffy rugs. At night she’d light up the soft yellow ambience lighting. There was an antique wind-up clock on the side table in the kitchen which chimed four times an hour. The garden was well kept, visitors were immediately greeted by her cooing white pigeon on the perch. Mrs. Danker loved to paint. She painted beautiful pictures on the walls of the rooms, and hung her framed masterpieces in the dining.

Even when i was small, Mrs. Danker lived alone, i had never met her husband. My mom once said he had passed on very early on, and her sons were all living far away. I never really found out how such a cultured person came to spend her twilight hers in such an unspectacular town like mine. I’ve never known anyone to visit her, even though she was such a sweet old lady. One day long after I stopped going for English classes, my mom told me old Mrs. Danker had passed away.

Thanks for all the English lessons, Mrs. Cora Helen Danker.