World War Z

The motion picture which stars Brad Pitt opened last week in Singapore to not much fanfare, other than promotional trailers and posters. But its Brad Pitt and with so much reputation, it should do fairly well in terms of box office, regardless of the reviews.

Honestly, I was not too blown away and its not because its about battling the-by-now-boring-theme, zombies. The idea of an Undead Apocalypse has gained traction the last few years and with so many movies a year on vamps, ghouls and zombies, you would think its getting old and probably won't generate interests. But throw in Brad Pitt, the movie becomes 4 stars cool. His shouldered-length uncombed locks and his unshaven face will get that final star.

Sure, it was fun watching the protagonist defending himself and his family heroically against hordes of undead. It was exciting to see him escaping a what would seem like a hopeless situation. I swear people around us wanted to cheer when he managed to prove that his idea worked against the zombies.

However that's about it. Its a fairly exciting movie where a guy left his family to save the world. And while some parts showed his vulnerability, reminding us that he is still human, there are also parts where his heroism was oozing so much that we wish we were like him.

For me, the movie just reminded me of how much fun I had with the Half-Life video game franchise. Thank you, Brad Pitt and Valve.

Food Court Haze

It was about 2pm in the afternoon. The food court was fairly crowded. There were tables available but most of them have used plates left by previous patrons.

A couple came in and made a beeline for a clean table. Now that they have a seat, the logical progression would probably be, "What to eat?". However, their chosen table was fairly far away from the stalls and definitely too far to read or even discern what the signs and pictures are saying.

So maybe now one of them will say, "You go see what you want and buy first lah. I jaga the table.".

Nope. Both of them stood near their table, blocking the walkway between the tables, squinting their eyes trying to make out if that bunch of blurry red is raw beef or just a chunk of chili. After about I would say 2 mins, I think they just gave up and proceeded to look around at other tables and see what other diners are having.

After another couple of minutes of turning hips to necks, they have finally decided to order. The man went while woman sat down and blank-stared into space. Remember, the food court was not too crowded. There were other tables albeit with uncleared plates.

There are a lot of different kinds of diners in the world. Those here in Singapore, seats are very important. Maybe because of years of overcrowding at food centres during lunchtimes. We are famous for reserving seats with packets of tissues, umbrellas or whatever we have with us and do not mind losing.

We can also stare at a sign of a stall for few minutes before deciding that "Nah. I don't take chili.". We can stand in front of a mall directory, whose eateries list is longer this post and still won't know what to eat. We are spoilt for choices.

I am not trying to laugh at anyone's gastronomic habits and concerns. I guess I am at point in life where observing people is more enjoyable than chewing on my favourite pan-fried dumplings.

Bali

More than 10 years ago, Bali, the island province of Indonesia was rocked by a terror attack. It took more than 200 lives, not counting collateral damages. But that did not stop people from flocking back to the island to look for excellent scuba-diving and even better food. I did just that over the Vesak Day holiday (observed by Singapore).

From huge wreck sites like Liberty Wreck and the nearby Drop Off, to the Gili Tepekong and Manta Point, Bali has lots to offer for all avid divers wanting to experience a very vibant and unique marine fauna. Mola mola and manta rays can be seen almost all year round, depending on your luck and/or perhaps how convincingly you can describe your encounters.

The scuba industry in Bali is growing. At the airport, you can see stacks and stacks of brochures most of them from offering free try outs for curious newbies, to perks like free nitrox to the more experienced. Your only problem is deciding which one to go with.

Even if you are not interested in diving, there are lots to do in Bali. The streets are lined with spas offering all sorts of treatment you can imagine. Cream baths, hair treatments, mani-pedis and other stuffs which I shall not be too obvious about here. All these for half of what you would pay in Singapore.

With so many tourists from all over the world coming to Bali, you can find all sorts of cuisine in Bali. Some may not be as common like french or chinese, but if you look hard enough you can get at least the <insert country name>-Bali fusion. Some of them prepared by actual chefs from <same country name as before>. Bakso, sate, keriting, KFC, Texas Chicken and of course the very familiar McDonald's, food is definitely not a problem.

Nice food and fun activities for really affordable prices separated by a 2.5 hour flight, I will be back!