Justin Skywalker and Darth Jayden (or is it the other way round, …aww what the heck!) battle it out at Luke Skywalker’s childhood home, Lars Homestead on the Planet Tatooine (which is actually now a hotel in Matmata, Tunisia …ahem)
Whoa! February’s come to an end!
At the rate I am blogging, it’ll end up like the countless inactive blogs that we see on the web. Can’t let that happen, no way! So here goes, a completely unrelated blog to what’s happening now!
I’ve been wanting to write this blog since Jan, when we were buying tickets to watch Star Wars 9, The Rise of Skywalker. We visited a few places where the Star Wars films were actually made, in our recent trip to Tunisia in December 2019, when Star Wars 9 came out in the cinemas. So, I was pretty excited, and started picking out the photos immediately after I downloaded the photos from the phones and camera.
And then, this fiasco at work converted me back to the (Acting) Project Manager like before (which means I am the Project Manager in all, except the name, and the salary package that comes with it, FUCK! DOUBLE FUCK!!)
Anyway, here’re our Star Wars photos! Anything is better than the Coronavirus that’s blowing out of hand, and the one minute off, one minute on, Malaysian Government drama that’s happening at home. Come to think of it, what I’m stuck with at the office, is kinda like the schemes that are happening in Malaysia now, and the schemes that unfolded in Star Wars 9. So, it has some relations after all.
The creators of Star Wars borrowed the idea of Lars Homestead (Luke Skywalker’s childhood home in Planet Tatooine) from the traditional underground dug homes of the Berbers in Matmata, Tunisia. The place where Lars Homestead was filmed, is now a hotel! – Hotel Sidi Idriss, Matmata, Tunisia
We stayed a night at the Star Wars Hotel (Hotel Sidi Idriss) during our recent Tunisia trip. Nope, it’s not on Booking.com. I just wrote them an email (you can get the email address from Google) to confirm the date and price! That door on the lower left corner of this pic, was our room
Our room on Planet Tatooine – Hotel Sidi Idriss, Matmata, Tunisia – Tunisia’s not expensive. We paid AED 180 all in for a night’s stay for our family of 4, including dinner and breakfast (half-lodging they call it). The rooms were pretty cosy, and kept us warm during a blistering winter storm outside that took the temperature down to 5C! The only drawback is that the rooms don’t come with attached bathrooms! (There’re shared showers and toilets in a central area of the hotel for the use of all)
Our dinner consists of couscous with chicken, lentil & tomato soup, ample amounts of bread, mint tea and some local dessert. (Couscous and bread are their main staple food, live with it, or bring your own food). We’re pretty fond of couscous and bread by the way, hehe
Is that Obi Wan Kenobi? Umm, it’s actually Mohammed, the hotel attendant and local guide. That’s their traditional outfit. Guess Star Wars didn’t only borrow ideas from their homes!
Hotel Sidi Idriss at night
See ya! Hotel Sidi Idriss, Matmata, Tunisia
And here’s another traditional Berber underground home we came across when we’re leaving Matmata
You’d probably not notice them if you don’t keep a keen view. This is all you would see from the road side. (This is the entrance to the home shown in the photo above!)
Another Berber home!
See tourists inside the home? Nope, we didn’t enter. We’ve been to one too many!
By the way, this was our first trip into Africa! Till we meet again, may the Force be with you!
