命中注定

Two good dramas happen to air simultaneously during the busiest period of my semester, and this is one of them.

I've been supporting productions from Wawa Pictures all the way back from 2008-一切完美, its sequel the following year, 魔幻视界 in 2010, to 拍卖 and 行医 last year. The storytelling style is different from the usual Mediacorp productions, and often involves a solid theme. Other than the 20-episode 行医, Wawa productions are usually short(er) and sweet(er) at 13 episodes, like Japanese dramas.

注定 revolves around a gambling theme, and tells why people get addicted to gambling and what goes on in a gambler's mind. This drama really shows the power of $$$ to drive people irrational, doing things that they will never expect themselves to do.

注定 has a fair bit of funny and emotional moments, as well as surprising twists. The main casts are all veterans and evidently, 姜还是老的辣. The young actors/actresses aren't bad too.

注定 also has good accompanying songs that create the mood and atmosphere when needed. Other than the main theme 分岔口 by 陈伟联, the 插曲 (忘记我 - 符琼音) also deserves special mention. So far, Wawa dramas usually have nice theme songs (eg. 二人同行，散场的拥抱，还是要幸福). These 3 songs have entered my Top 20 before haha.

Guess

No time to blog, so let's play a game to keep my readers 'busy'.

Guess where is this place!

For those who are 100% confident that they know where this place is, please don't reveal the answer haha. Guessing means you're not sure of the answer, right?

Island Getaway III

This beach definitely looks better than the one before!

Rode a speedboat to Turtle Island. =) Really shiok.

The waters here are really lively. You can see so many water activities going on, including parasailing.

I carried an animal and its house. I am Hercules!

This island is literally a reptile park. Took the chance to touch the slimy creatures. So scaly haha.

Talking about reptiles, you can't miss this one. Felt like some rubber hose lol.

These hornbills are really clever okay, they know how to put rocks into bottles to drink the water inside haha.

This temple looks calm and serene but it's a real danger zone. Pesky monkeys come and grab any unsecured items like slippers and spectacles. What to do if your items are stolen? Bribe them...

O_O at the white sheet of waves.

Autumn?

How do such pretty sea cliffs form? Let's recall Marianne Chong...

Temple at the edge of the cliff. After few hundred years later it might just collapse into the sea...

Standard temple architecture.

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

The interior deco is very...hard-rock haha.

Giant guitar in the centre of the restaurant.

Went for Balinese massage before bidding farewell to the resort :)

Short but fulfilling getaway. Every single day was really well spent. With so many tourists, Bali's education system seems to gear towards tourism too. They even learn Japanese in school! And I came across a lot of Japanese-speaking local guides. Of course there are also a lot of Japanese tourists to sustain this industry too.

Island Getaway II

Since there are no public transport in Bali, travelling is better done by a tour agent. The numbers in a group are kept small so it's quite alright.

Watching the mythical 'Barong' performance.

The well-known traditional Bali dance, with the 千年之恋 music.

现缝现卖？

Buffet restaurant overlooking a spectacular volcano view.

Mount Batur, an active volcano. Its contours look really pretty.

A beautiful lake lies beside.

How to resist taking an individual photo with this spectacle?

The restaurant has a superb view, but there are lots of flies disturbing our food. =(

These flies are not afraid of humans. I can even take such a close-up shot without it flying away!

Kopi beans for sale! That little boy can roast them for you. =p

It looked like a black bag until I realised it was a bat...

Coffee/Tea tasting session. Some were delicious but some were =/

The famous rice terraces of Bali!

现画现卖？

Woah...this picture looks like...Jurassic Park lol.

Island Getaway I

Went for a short trip to the island of Bali, as a break from my hectic FYP.

We were greeted by this temple gate upon getting off the plane. The architecture of the airport looks like a resort chalet haha.

Aquarium in the toilet! With live fishes inside too.

The most popular (and crowded) beach in Bali - Kuta Beach.

It just stopped raining so the sand was a little sticky, forming all the unsightly footprints. The beach doesn't look that fantastic anyway.

Eeee...heaps of rubbish can be seen here and there.

The most Asian McDonald meal I've ever seen, served with rice and soup. The rice wasn't very appetizing but the soup tasted rather unique.

Walking to and fro the hotel and beach can be quite a chore, as we have to traverse through narrow walkways, while giving way to a constant flow of motorcyclists, who share the same pavement.

There are no public buses or trains in Bali so everyone relies on private transport. This results in heavy traffic jams in major arteries, which can be very frustrating as it delays our schedule.

Memorial for those who died in the terrorist bomb attack in Oct 2002.

Took a ride to this 'high-end' seafood restaurant. Looks very Thai haha.

Fantastic ambience! The flies ruin it though.

Having dinner here can be quite romantic haha. There is also a 千年之恋 performance at night.

This beach is famous for its stunning sunset views. But we were out of luck...it was too cloudy.

Extravagant seafood feast which isn't as satisfying as expected.

The sunset was still beautiful nevertheless =)

Balinese people are pretty friendly, at least towards tourists. The service staff probably do it for extra tips, but what matters is the quality of service given. Unfortunately budget travellers like us, with a no-tipping culture in SG, aren't familiar with tipping rates and aren't as generous as the Australians. Talking about tourists, sometimes I felt like I was in a Western country because there are just too many Australians around, with quite a proportion walking around bare-top or in skimpy outfits especially at the Kuta resort region.

Because of Bali's touristy nature, things there aren't that cheap actually. And I really hate counting rupiahs. Why are the numbers soooo large?! All of us became instant millionaires when we got there lol. Imagine a paper note worth 0.15 SGD, so misleading. (In contrast to Japan where they have coins worth 8 SGD --- never ever drop them!!) They even have denominations down to less than 1 cent SGD worth. I bet the material of the coin is worth more than its own value haha.