The Dark Knight Rises: deserved end to the trilogy

Good things don't come in pairs. They come in 3. Matrix. Lord of the Ring. And now, of course, Christopher Nolan's Batman. And now, the ending of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, rises and live up to the hype and expectations. 



The story, picks up 8 years after the 2nd movie, The Dark Knight. Harvey Dent aka Two Face is dead. However, Gotham City did not know the truth and basically Dent died a hero, presumed killed by Batman. It does not matter, as the whole city is now at peace. Comes along Bane. He basically has his own army of mercenaries, kidnapped an atomic bomb from Wayne's company; single handedly isolated the police force and threw Gotham city into chaos. People riots, the rich was executed and prisoners freed. Batman, who was defeated before this, (as the title of the film suggested) rises again to save the city. The end.

Sound simple? The story may sound corny, but under Nolan's hand, is actually good. Different take on Batman from the highly acclaimed Dark Knight which deals more with inner struggle, identity, and therefore Joker did make a really suited villain. This deals more with hope and despair on a bigger level, on the society level, and Bane did make a decent villain. At first, I was bit skeptical whether would Bane be a good choice, but now, I am just thankful that it was not Riddler as the choice. And of course, there is always a Nolan twist to the story, so am not spoiling it here.

Acting is good. Expect nothing less from Bale. Action is awesome, then again, this is not a usual action movie, so do not expect Transformer kind of action here. This is more of a psychological thriller. But, the plan/ copter is nice; and the bat cycle is really cool, especially how it turns. Which I have a bike like that. Anne Hataway as Catwoman? Well, lets just say she did a way better job than Halle Berry. Then of course, there is always some hole in the story here and there, but again, Nolan manage to distract us from the hole, and keep our eyes on the bat.

Overall, as a stand along movie, this is definitely THE summer blockbuster to catch. But if anyone compares to The Dark Knight... now, I still like the Joker better.

ratings: 4 poink!
comments: bit too long. Otherwise, it is a fitted ending to the Batman trilogy. However, do not compare with the second movie, it will make anyone enjoy this movie less.

Kuching: warmth and cozy weekend

Land of the Hornbill

It had been real long had not updated on any travel blog. Recently, thanks to Colleen's dental conference in Kuching in May 2012, I had the chance to visit Kuching, which had not visited since medical school. I had good memories here the last time I visited, except for the "lui-cha" which was exceptionally bitter. So, I was really looking forward to step foot again on Kenyalang's land.

Kolok mee, the better ones

However, since the main reason to come here is for conference, so there is limited time to move around. On the other hand, I am a firm believer that with adequate planning, one can make use of the little time we have and still have an enjoyable trip at the end of the day. And that is exactly what we had. This is our itinerary:

Semenggoh

Semenggoh

day 1: on arrival to Kuching airport, we obtained our rented car, a simple Kancil for RM60/day. On careful planning, the car was waiting for us on arrival, so everything was smooth. Check-into our hotel, Abell Hotel, which is within walking distance to waterfront, which basically is the location of all tourist spots. Took some rest in the hotel, and with the help of GPS and Malfreemaps, our first destination is Semenggoh Wildlife Rehab Centre. Buy a ticket for local and drive up all the way to the orang utan centre. One would come here for only one activity, the feeding time. It is not orang utan in cages, but really within the jungle. Walk along the path into small forest, and one by one, the orang utan will come down for a fruit feast. Worth the drive definitely.
End the day by coming back to Kuching town, after resting, we intended to go around for some good Kuching food. However, it was raining, so we ended up eating in Tun Jugah Shopping Complex, which surprisingly, have one of the better tasting food court around. The laksa sarawak is also rather nice, less "lemak" but more on the sour side. Love it!

Laksa Sarawak

Post office

Dewan Undangan Negeri

day 2: half of the day was in my room, since Colleen is in conference. Thought of moving around, but once on the bed, I grew root. The afternoon was sunny, so we walk around town for local food, and found a small  kolok mee stall. Just behind the hotel, the kolok mee was simple but the wonder lies on its simplicity.
The afternoon was rather ambitious, the initial intention is to drive to Fairy Caves, and if time permit, to go to Wind Caves as well. After near 1 hour plus of driving, on arrival on Fairy Caves entrance, it suddenly rains cats and dogs. !@#$*...Cant do much, but to head back to Kuching. It was still raining at night, so Tun Jugah food court naturally becomes our choice. At least, we manage to meet up with Soon Hock for a quick Secret Recipe supper.

St Thomas church

day 3: simple walk along waterfront while Colleen is in conference. Lots of photos opportunities. And shopping for kek lapis. There is a walking guide online, but generally, this is how it goes. Walk along the waterfront, watch DUN and Astana from across, there is an option to go across via boat (which I did not, since need to fetch wife later). Chinese museum is just there. A well kept museum though small. Walk across the road to some old shops, then Indian Street and to Carpenter Street. Some temples in the middle but being Malaysian, it is nothing special

Cultural Centre Show

Spend the whole afternoon in Cultural Centre. Although the entrance fees is sky high, if there is a festival in the weekend, do plan to spend half a day here and the ticket is worth it. Although this is not the first time, I am still impress at how the houses are kept, and the daily shows. The food in front of the cultural centre, was really a letdown though. Had a simple dinner at Carpenter street, took the local mee tomato, but it did not impress me though. End the day with supper at the stalls along waterfront. For a weekend, waterfront is rather quiet and not so happening.

Cultural Centre show

day 4: the last morning breakfast is kolok mee (again!) in Carpenter Street, but this time, it was rather disappointing. Too oily for my liking. Before saying goodbye, we still manage to visit Cat museum in the city hall. Small entrance fees, but surprisingly, the museum is so well kept, and the items, are rather diverse, and impressive. Worth the visit.

ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: food not to be miss: kolok mee and laksa sarawak. Mee tomato was not so impressive to me though. Do not miss Semenggoh for the orang utan, and if time permits, spend at least half a day in Cutural Cenre.