MOVIE REVIEW - "DRAGON BLADE"

In conjunctions with the Chinese New Year celebration, I went to watch a Chinese movie with Jackie Chan in it as suggested by someone. When was the last time I watched a Chinese film? It was a very long time ago and Jackie Chan was also starring and it had to do with Shaolin Temple and stuff like that.

How was it? It was a very entertaining, with a lot of fighting scenes (what do you expect?) and I loved the soundtrack very much.

Another movie which tried to instill moral values but it is rated for adults 18 years old and above. Apart from the scenes of people killing each other, which I believe you have seen worse, it is still OK for teenagers to watch. At least, there are no swear words - unless the characters swore in Chinese and I did not understand.

Madame Tussaud, Bangkok

VISITING MADAME TUSSAUD AND HER WAX FIGURINES IN BANGKOK

"I can see dead people."

from"The Sixth Sense"

20th October 2014 ~ The tickets bought were a 2-in-1 combo. We got to visit both Madame Tussaud and Siam Ocean World at a discounted price.This was my second time in Madame Tussaud. The first one was when I visited London back in 2010. [CLICK HERE to read about it].

We were there to see the rich and the famous, from prominent world leaders to sportsmen, from great artists to cartoon characters. However, you would find endless Hollywood celebrities on display waiting to be photographed. People were here basically to get themselves photographed together with people which you would have never dreamed of meeting, dead or alive.

getting our hands reproduced in wax

the history of Madame Tussaud

she who has made it possible

We left Madame Tussaud after all the photography sessions with people we had always wanted to see in real life. It was quite exhausting actually but fun.

[my Bangkok trip main page]

WALKING AROUND THE NATIONAL MALL, WASHINGTON DC

The walking expedition in Washington D.C. started on the second day. I was lucky enough as I had company during the trip, Mr. Rudy, a student who is the son of my friend's friend and his aunty from Singapore. We went to the National Mall which actually is a very large place with monuments, museums and memorial parks in it. There were many people on that day, mostly school kids going on their summer school trips. The place was too large that we only managed to cover like 25% of it within the 4-hour walking trip. The day was cloudy so the pictures from my compact digital camera did not turn out beautiful enough.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

the landmark in the skyline

visible from almost everywhere

The Washington Monument was built to commemorate the first President of the USA, George Washington. This structure could be seen from many parts of the city. According to Pn.Khairul, people could go up the monument last time but we just could go as near as possible to the obelisk structure.

 

WORLD WAR ll MONUMENT

the entrance

The World War ll Memorial was built for all the soldiers who were involved in the World War ll. There were pillars, flags and fountains with carved texts on the walls and this should symbolize the sacrifice done for the country, I guess.

KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL

 

The next spot we discovered was dedicated to the Korean war veterans, hence the name. There were flower wreaths and bouquets because it was the Memorial Day holiday is the US two days before. Anyhow, this is one place I won't come alone at night - it was too solemn, too spooky. If you look at the statues, you could see the sadness and misery on their faces.

VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL

  

Due to its involvement in other countries' affairs and wars, there are many war memorials. This one was meant for the people who fought the war in Vietnam.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

The monument that was specially built for President Abraham Lincoln. The gigantic statue of the president had appeared in many American movies and TV series but the one I remember the most is from "The Night at the Museum" (there was a scene involving the statue, right? Now I am getting not sure.)

THE WHITE HOUSE

 

the silent protestors
and the cops

This is a must-visit venue when you are in Washington DC. Even though Mr. Obama was not there to greet the visitors at the fence, a lot of people were crowding the area to get themselves photographed in front of the White House. There was not a single moment not to  have other people appear in your own camera lens.

MADAME TUSSAUD MUSEUM

with Mr. Lincoln himself

Only one person went in. I did not enter the museum because it cost USD22++. At the same time, I had been to the one in London two years ago so there would be anything new.

THE HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED

The place that we found by accident and it was still spooky to me. They should just label the house as "Lincoln's House". And we did not enter this building because of the same reason: it was not free.

So that was all for the second day tour of Washington D.C.  I went back to the National Mall on my own the day after to explore more places there, especially the museums. Later, there will be more pictures of majestic buildings that I saw around the city.

17TH JUNE - VISITING MADAME TUSSAUD ON THE LAST DAY IN LONDON

Everything had already been packed for home but I still had a few more hours before taking the train to the airport. At the same time, an ex-student who is now studying in Bath, Mr. Aminuddin Shahrom, was coming over to meet me. The good news was that at last I had an official photographer.


Madame Tussaud is a museum famous for its collections of wax figures of famous people. It is some sort of a must visit for tourists to London, and the entrance fee is GBP26 which sounds quite costly if you convert the currency to our local rate but it is worth the money spent.

surrounded by Hollywood superstars

with literary figures, dignitary and scientist

politicians

football stars

It was a large collection of wax statues but I had not that much time to spend there so I had to be selective with whom I would like to be photographed. Some figures were too popular that we had to wait for our turns while a few were not getting any attention from the public. Other than the statues, there was also a scary dungeon that you walk through to see how punishment was carried out in the past. It was like a ghost house, with dark tunnel, sounds of people screaming and crying and real people pretending to be the prisoners scaring you. Then, there was this ride on black moving cars illustrating the history of London. We had something like that it Petrosains KLCC.

with Mr. Aminuddin

at Liverpool Station, before we parted our ways

Thanks to Mr. Aminuddin for taking the photograph and accompanying me on my last day in London. Not to forget, for helping to carry my 24.8 kg luggage bag up and down the tube stairs until we reached Liverpool Station.

So I guess that's all, a long ten days away from home, and school. Surprisingly, I had been to quite a few spots and the more exciting thing was to be able to meet a few people, friends and an ex-student. Now I should be planning for my next trip, and perhaps start saving money too. I will post more beautiful pictures later, but I am missing UK and Germany already.