Puppy love
PERHAPS the greatest love story ever told about man and his best friend is Professor Ueno and Hachiko's. Their love has been told and retold from Japan to the rest of the world and I’m pretty sure it made you cry, admit it.
Oasia so chic
THIS was unexpected. From the Village Hotels of the Far East Hospitality in the Arab Quarter and Little India, it was time to stay in another hotel. I would have thought the next would be another quaint and restored edifice, but no. This hotel in Novena was created as the company's newest hotel...
Aloha Zori!
I love everything Japanese. The architecture, the culture, the discipline, the cuisine, the designers, the clothes.
I love the beach. The sun, the sand, the sky, the crystal clear sea water, the wind, the wide open space, the island vibe.
I love flip-flops. The free and easy feel,...
Gandhi will be charmed
Trishaw: a dead-giveaway sign that the passenger is a tourist.
January musings
THE first month of the year is barely over and so much has been transpired. I am enveloped in gratefulness with the blessings that has been showering me.
With travel (my vision board is filled with places I want to visit) and projects (work and hobbies that equate to moolah), along with...
Middle Eastern mystic
THE "hospitality" in Far East Hospitality, owner and operator of the largest hospitality portfolio in Singapore with seven hotels and 11 residences, is taken at heart. Its brand of Village Hotels & Residences offers authentic, friendly, comfortable and memorable stays, and presents its...
We are dragons
A FEW hours more, we usher the Chinese New Year day. Though it is customary for the Chinese to utilize the firecrackers to drive away bad luck, the Davao firecracker ban applies with no exceptions. Thus, the local Chinese community will have to make do with banging pots and pans or risk jail...
The Tiger, the Lion & the Dragon
A fierce alliance. One that happens only every twelve years. By experience, it was feral for Singapore's Chinatown.
Who are you wearing?
With the couture and prêt-a-porter garment business’ cutthroat competition for high visibility, everyone’s fashion consciousness seemed are heightened. Just about everyone is familiar with the clothing local or international labels and probably stay true to one brand they like for its comfort or...
Nirvana
THE days in Singapore were filled with new discoveries very pleasing to both the eyes and the palate. Singapore may be a “small city” but its surprises are endless, new must-see sites arise and from its diverse cuisine, a cornucopia of the sumptuous must-taste dishes. Fulfilled and exhausted,...
8 parties, 8M calories
SHOULD I count the Noche Buena gathering, my dad’s birthday, the New Year eve’s family party, and the intimate meals with friends who came home for the holidays? Summing it up, it will definitely be over a dozen. But the joy it brought, priceless! The calories, countless!
On the 2012 bucket list
2011. I traveled. I am grateful.
Wishing for an apple storm in 2012
A NEW day, a new year and a new list. Or are you still pondering on what your new year’s resolutions should be? Check it twice. You might have rewritten one or two for the past years and still haven’t gotten around to doing it.
If not now, when?
2011 jeepney stops
GRATEFUL.
There is much to be thankful for. A chance to share a year of stories on this publication from my personal bucket list of travel destinations is one.
A sushi story
WHILE touring the impressive blue ribbon dining destinations of Singapore’s Fairmont and Swissotel The Stamford, I was asked, “What’s your favorite cuisine?” I quickly replied Japanese. “Good,” said my guides. From the 70th floor Equinox Complex we zoomed down to the 3rd level where Fairmont’s...
The Apples & Lemons Awards 2011
SO ENDS another year and it is time to give the coveted and dreaded awards. The Royal Bitch never left town, he knows when you’ve been good or bad. If you get an apple, flaunt it, and if it’s the lemon, well, you can keep it in your closet with the rest of your rattling skeletons.
This...
In Singapore's towering icon of Swiss hospitality
IT IS one of Asia's tallest hotels at 226 meters, a masterpiece by architect extraordinaire, I.M. Pei, the same man who created the iconic Paris landmark, the glass and metal pyramids of the Musee du Louvre- the Swissotel The Stamford.
Luxury & style in the heart of Singapore
GREAT things happen when you least expect it.
Staying in a luxury hotel in Singapore with the iconic view of the Marina Bay is nothing short of amazing. I speak from experience and I am grateful that I have been afforded those chances, I will admit.
The Tiger leaps from Singapore to Davao
NOW we have a choice. Davao has been called an international airport for ages but the few flights that catered to its international destinations came and went. There is one route that stayed - the direct Davao-Singapore route. Recently, another airline entered the scene and took its first leap...
The Club
THOUGHT bubble: Then, it was the Mandarin Oriental Club of the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore, and now, the Mandarin Oriental Club of Manila. It really is my birthday.
I was smiling, feeling light-hearted and grateful for these blessings as I made my way to the 17th floor where the...
The day trip to Nikko. First stop.
THE golden ray of the Gunma sunrise that roused me was a good sign. The day will be blessed with a smiling sun and clear blue sky. It was a perfect time for a trip to the neighboring prefecture, Tochigi.
The Castillos, my gracious host family in Isesaki, took time off work to show me...
All power, the ladies & lunch at Paseo Uno
It was the time of the year for the Houdini stunt. The disappearing act has become a yearly habit- vanish from Davao and appear in a new place (from my bucket list) around my natal day. But due to an unpredictable work agenda, the plan to be in Agra, Prague or Istanbul will have to happen on...
Gunma 101
A HEARTY dinner, warm sake in a local bar, a good night’s sleep in my host’s home, nothing can be more welcoming than this. Then I awoke to a beautiful sunrise that welcomed me to my first day in Isesaki in the prefecture of Gunma.
Role models
THEY lived an active and well-rounded lifestyle when they were single. They’re still living it today as a married couple. Maybe they are fated to meet, marry and mold children who will live in the same “tradition.” And it happened. It’s quite evident whom their kids take after in looks and...
Ngayon, luluhod ang isang tala!
HE ASKED for his mom’s permission to say yes to a last fight on the ring.
That was two encounters ago.
It was then that I decided to stop writing about this famous boxer’s career and exploits, as if he’d care, or anyone would for that matter. Here I am, back again on the computer,...
