Movies That Inspired Me to Travel

Movies That Inspired Me to Quit My Job and Travel

I recently and officially quit the job to travel. Nope, it was not to travel around the world. Tho it is what I would very much like to do. The reason is because I am moving to America to be with my husband and his family. In the mean time while waiting for Green card, I would like to travel as much as I can or as much as my money can afford it.

I have been craving to travel around the world since I was little. There are several countries I would really like to visit and there are other that I would visit but only if I have to. There are also other countries which is not even on my list to visit (mostly dangerous war zone country).

My thirst for traveling mostly inspired from movies, songs, and books that I encountered. These are the list of movies that inspired me to travels.

1. Queen

source: desiglobetrotter.com

IMDB Rating: 8.5
Queen is a story about a shy Indian girl from a well respected family who got left at the altar. This is about her story finding herself, her happiness, and courage to live on through a series of event she experienced during her backpack trip around Europe.

2. Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara

IMDB Rating: 8.1
This is a movie about friendship. 3 guys from different background who used to be best friend, but somehow life throw them apart. In a last effort to reconcile, one of the guy who is soon to be married invite the 2 other guys on a journey as his bachelor party trip. The only requirement is each one of them get to choose one activity and the rest should do it without complaining. A beautiful movie about friendship, traveling to Europe with beautiful scenery, and yes good looking man with yummy abs is present as eye candy.

3. English Vinglish

IMDB Rating: 7.9
English Vinglish is a great movie. I have watched more than twice now. A shy and conservative Indian lady who barely speak English has to go to US for a wedding of her niece by herself before her family to help with the preparation. Scared to go since she barely speak english, she nervously joined an English class for foreigner in New York. The trip that was originally scary get her to understand more about things surrounding her and help her get the respect she deserves.

4. Finding Fanny

IMDB Rating: 5.9
A group of misfit get together for their own purposes but mainly to help an old guy found his long lost love. A group that was not your ordinary group, get together in a long road trip in search of love while portraying the beauty of Goa and South India. What else do you need?

5. Swades

IMDB Rating: 8.3
Shahrukh Khan played as US based Rocket Scientist trying to get US Citizenship. While waiting for the process, he went back to India to bring his last remnant of India which is his old nanny. However, on his trip to his homeland that he barely recognize, he found love in a beautiful woman who teaches kids in the village. His journey to India, his road trip to the village areas, made him realize how beautiful India is. Portraying the beauty of North India's village, this movie will capture your heart and tickle your thirst for traveling.

6. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

IMDB Rating: 8.3 (should be rated 10/10)
I am sure you all know about this movie. If you haven't watched this movie. I seriously question your life choices. Seriously, defcon 5, need to watch this movie. Believe it or not, this movie has been running in the cinema since 1995-2014 (probably still up to now).
A romantic story about a young man (Shahrukh) went for a Euro Trip with a group of his friend and accidentally encounter a young girl (Kajol) who was also doing Euro Trip with her friends. The key of this movie is Euro Trip, Beautiful and magnificent India, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. Really, do watch this movie!!!!

Movies You Should NOT Watch Alone

I love horror movies and thriller movies. But I am too scarred to watch it alone. Tho sometimes I would still watch it alone if none was present to accompany me. What I would do is minimizing the window and sometimes mute the sound when it get too scary.

These are my list of Horror/Thriller movies that I would not watch alone; (click on the title to find out more about the movies on this list)

1.  The Exorcism of Emily Rose

2.  Ringu Trilogy (Japanese) or The Ring

3. Ju-On Trilogy (Japanese)

4. Shutter

5. 30 Days of Night

6. The Conjuring

7. The Amityville Horror

8. Insidious 1 & 2

9. Evil Dead

10. 4bia 2008

This link will take you to video by WatchMojo or you can watch it here. They have compile their list of Movies You Should Not Watch Alone. Let me know what is on your list and I will be sure to Not watch it alone.

10 Movies You Should Not Watch ALONE

Musim Gugur dan Kisah Menyeramkan

Danau Guntersville

Sesungguhnya tidak terpikirkan oleh saya untuk menorehkan kisah ini dalam blog saya. bukan karena penggunaan Bahasa Indonesia, yang berbeda dari biasanya ketika saya menulis untuk blog ini. Bagi pembaca setia saya, teman-teman pasti tahu bahasa pilihan saya untuk blog ini adalah Bahasa Inggris. Tapi ketika saya hendak menuliskan kisah ini, saya pilih penggunaan Bahasa Indonesia karena kekuatan bahasa ini sy anggap dapat merepresentasikan apa yang ingin sy ceritakan.

Minggu malam sy dan pasangan berkendara sekitar pukul 12 malam dari Gulf Shore menuju Guntersville. Perjalanan dimulai dari jam 3 siang dan 12 malam kita sudah hampir sampai ke Guntersville. Rumah di Guntersville adalah rumah yg kemungkinan besar akan kami tinggali selepas kami menikah nanti.

Malam itu, udara musim gugur lebih terasa dari hari-hari biasanya. Ketika jendela mobil sy buka, dinginnya udara malam menusuk kulit sy. Seketika sy tutup lagi jendela mobil dan tak lama kemudian perjalanan kami dihiasi kabut tebal. Hal ini mengingatkan sy akan film "The Mist" yg merupakan karya penulis Horror handal, yakni Stephen King.

Jalanan kosong selain mobil kita. Memang biasanya malam musim gugur jauh lebih sepi dari musim panas dan semi dikarenakan udara semakin mendingin. Kadang kami berpapasan dengan satu atau dua mobil lainnya, tapi tidak banyak.

Perasaan sy sudah tidak enak. Tapi sy tidak utarakan pada pasangan, karena pasangan sy bukan orang asli Indonesia. Dia tidak percaya tahayul maupun kisah mistis. Bulu tengkuk sy berdiri setiap kabut semakin menebal. Sy pun khawatir karena jalanan semakin sulit dilihat.

Jalanan menuju rumah yg akan kami tempati harus melewati banyak pepohonan dan hutan. Rumah tersebut memang dibangung di sekitar Danau Guntersville. Lingkungannya masih asri dan dikelilingi hutan, bahkan rusa pun masih berkeliaran. 

Jalanan kecil menuju Rumah (diambil esok hari-nya)

Kami pun sampai tidak lama kemudian. Rumah yg kami tinggali berukuran sangat mungil dengan dua kamar dan satu kamar mandi. Ruang duduk dan dapur menyatu. Semua dekorasi dalam rumah terlihat sangat menawan dan membuat sy nyaman. Sy merasa lega seketika sy sampai di rumah ini. Tidak ada aura yang tidak mengenakan dalam rumah ini, yg membuat sy tidak nyaman adalah perjalanan menuju rumah ini.

Rumah kecil yang kami tempati di Guntersville

Pemandangan Musim Gugur dalam perjalanan kami.

Esok harinya sekitar pukul 5 sore menjelang maghrib, selepas memasak dan makan malam yg dipercepat, kami memutuskan untuk berjalan-jalan di sekitaran hutan-hutan kecil dan pondok-pondok terpencil di sekitar danau. Sy puas rumah kecil kami terletak di sekeliling banyak rumah lainnya. Tetapi pondok-pondok yg sy lewati nampak seperti pondok sunyi dan terpencil. Walaupun belakang rumah kami dihiasi pohon-pohon dari hutan kecil.

Kami melewati perkemahan atau biasa disebut Girl Scout's Camp Site. Saat itu Camp sangat kosong dan sepi. Mungkin musim gugur yg dingin bukan musim yg tepat untuk berkemah. Saya melihat ada beberapa ayunan kecil dan perosotan yang nampak sudah lama tak digunakan. Angin sepoy mengayunkan satu atau dua ayunan tersebut. Sy segera merapatkan diri ke pasangan sy. Angin dingin seakan meniup tengkuk sy. Sy pun menyegerakan pasangan untuk berjalan lebih cepat agar kami tidak terlalu lama di lokasi tersebut. Perasaan sy dihiasi banyak bayangan aneh dan mungkin ini hanya paranoia sy semata. Karena sudah terbukti teman-teman sy yg katanya dapat melihat dan merasa, bahwa sy ini cukup tumpul. Sy sih cukup berbahagia dianggap tumpul dalam hal Indera keenam. Tidak terima kasih, sy tak mau melihat atau merasakan hal-hal tersebut.

Rumah burung di Camp Site, bahkan burung pun tak ada.

Tempat bermain yang telah ditinggalkan. Lihat ayunannya tengah berayun..mungkin angin, pemandangan danau dapat dilihat sedikit dari arah pepohonan.

Suara anjing menyalak kencang ketika kami melewati rumah kecil di dekat danau. Sy ketakutan dan pasangan mencoba menutupi badan sy dari anjing yang hendak mendekati kami. Kemudian pemilik si anjing keluar dari pondok dan memanggil si anjing. Kami meneriakan ucapan terima kasih, si orang tua tersebut hanya melihat kami dan melambaikan tangan menyuruh kami meninggalkan propertinya. Dia terlihat seperti pria tua kesepian tapi galak dan tidak ramah.

Pondok kecil milik Pria tua dan anjing galaknya

Kami pun menyegerakan langkah kami menuju hutan-hutan kecil agar memotong jalan kembali ke rumah.

Semakin dekat menuju rumah kami, sy meminta pasangan untuk mengambil beberapa photo sy untuk menunjukan hutan-hutan kecil di atas bukit yang menuju rumah kami.

Sy agak ketakutan ketika mendengar suara-suara, mungkin hanya pine jatuh dr pohon atau rusa dan kelinci bergerak.

Rasanya, mungkin photo ini cukup menggambarkan ketakutan-ketakutan yg kerap sy rasakan.

Pohon sudah mulai berganti warna

Pasangan sy menyemangati untuk berjalan lebih cepat bila kami ingin sampai rumah sebelum malam menyeruak.

Perjalanan kami yang hanya sekitar satu jam itu, memberi sy banyak cerita dan inspirasi film Horror. Sy banyak teringat lokasi-lokasi pembuatan film Horror seperti pada film The Conjuring, Amtyville Horror, dan lain-lain. Sy pikir, sy ingin berbagi ketakutan sy dengan pembaca. Semoga foto-foto yg sy upload ini dapat memperkaya imaginasi teman-teman. Hati-hati tidur nanti malam, jangan sampai memimpikan mahluk yg hidup di dalam hutan sana.

Selamat menikmati.

Haider, An Adaptation to Hamlet

'Haider', an adaptation to Hamlet will be completing Vishal Bharadwaj's works after 'Omkara' (adaptation of Othello) and 'Maqbool' (adaptation of Macbeth).

" The adaptation was made to portray the political intrigue and history of Kashmir as well as the play's sexual conflicts." -Bharadwaj about Haider

I am looking forward to see Shahid Kapoor in a movie that might be his ticket to the Award functions (not as MC or performer). This will be slightly too dark for my taste, but the trailer looks very promising. Almost can't recognize Shahid's boyish face behind the crazy looking appearance as Haider/Hamlet.

This might be a movie that people can enjoy..even though they are not into Bollywood movie.

I haven't seen 'Maqbool' and I think I have seen 'Omkara' before, but I vaguely remember the story. Omkara wasn't really stick into my mind as I hope it would be. No offense to Saif Ali Khan's fans, but his work as a character actor wasn't as convincing as others like Salman Khan for 'Tere Naam', Priyanka on 'Barfi' and 'Mary Kom', etc.

As someone who went to English Literature major (It doesn't give me any credibility to judge tho, my judgement would be personal whether I like it or not), I am both excited and afraid of this 'Haider' movie. It could either go 'amazingly' well or 'horribly' gone wrong.

However, the trailer and some of the songs preview see very promising to me. I hope it will play in Indonesian's cinema as not so many Indian movies played here. Though recently people has been giving more attention and appreciation toward Bollywood movies.

Here it is, the trailer of the promising movie I have been talking about;