the nightmare before christmas

Always, every year, I am compounded by one big nightmare and problem... designing our family Christmas card! If it's with clients, it will take me a breeze to think of a campaign or a design, whip up a shoot and voila! We have a strong pitch...

But family photos and cards are a different story.

One, it's quite a feat to handle the logistics... my wife's schedule is erratic (as well as mine!), it's a major effort (ala Mega Structures from National Geographic) thinking and doing our costumes for the shoot, and Freedom is such a tornado to be kept still for a click or two. Chocky, our labrador is also a formidable force to handle during shoots! That leaves me with only Nannie (my wife's aunt) to keep my sanity intact.


Our first christmas greeting shoot in 2005 was inspired by the turn-of-the-century sensibilities of Cambodia and it took us around the French colonial enclaves of Siem Reap - from the Raffles Gardens to the grounds of Victoria Angkor. Since I didn't have a car and a tripod at that time, our tuktuk driver was our photographer!


2006 was a rather easy shoot because we wanted everyone to be comfortable and casual... but since the temperatures here dropped as low as 9 degrees for a couple of weeks, comfortable means layering, sweaters and thick winter scarves! It was a perfect time to be playful and cool...


"The Golden Age of Travel" was our defining theme for last year's shoot... that meant rewinding ourselves back into the roaring decades of the 1930's. We bought some nice vintage leather luggage from Bali for this shoot while our clothes are an amalgam of vintage finds from around. We got Freedom's outfit from Chatuchak Market in Bangkok and I designed my wife's hat. I got my vintage bomber leather jacket from Hwang Yu - a second hand clothes shop in Makati and Faith's mink fur trim is from Don.



We did a second card last year for our clients. Our red square couch was the modern twist to this shoot... sort of an "advertisement" as well for my furniture design and interior design work! lol. Our outfits were mainly from Jasmine Boutique at the Aman shop.

Now this really gives me a headache thinking about this year's theme. To make matters worse, our friends are now expecting our greetings to be more and more elaborate year after year! I have been thinking from one end of the spectrum to another - from The Incredibles (us in superhero costumes! Too halloween, perhaps?) to full royal Khmer regalia or Filipino traditional outfits (too June 12?) or even something as crazy as an organically-themed, green shoot (too Inconvenient Truth?)... aaarrrggghhh! I'm losing my head already!

Any suggestions?

Help!

kids, calendars and ricky martin

I got an email a couple of weeks ago about my celebrity clicks post from Julie - who was putting together a 2009 calendar for Ricky Martin to celebrate his 25th year anniversary in show business. She found me online and saw my photo of Ricky's foundation trip here in Cambodia. She mentioned that she would like to use my photos for the calendar - the proceeds of which will benefit children's programs at the Centros Sor Isolina Ferre in Ponce, Puerto Rico - a charity that Ricky has supported in the past. The photo(s) she said, would illustrate his continued work on behalf of children in need around the world.

With such a noble cause and the opportunity to work with people around the globe, then by all means, count me in.

So I am making this post for Julie who I am bidding good luck for the success of the calendar. For more information on Ricky Martin's work on the children of the globe, visit http://www.rickymartinfoundation.com/

Ricky's trip in Angkor started at the children's shelter of Friends International. At the gate, kids rushed out to greet him and give him the traditional Cambodian "sompeah" where you greet one another with a clasp of two hands and a bow.

Inside the center, Ricky took time to learn more about the center up close and spent some time with the kids... including a game of petanque!

This little kid did a Khmer rap for Ricky to his amusement... he's probably contemplating of taking him to his next world tour (just thinking out loud)!

After that, we made a swing to the Old Market for some shopping... Friends International had a great shop there that sold interesting items and recycled fun stuff that Ricky and the gang simply couldn't resist! I guess "pasalubongs" are actually a very Latin thing...

Next stop after lunch and siesta was a shelter and transient center that handes cases of abuse, traficking and maltreatment to women. Ricky was galant enough to remove his shoes to go inside!

Ricky doing his version of the Cambodian "sompeah"...

This is perhaps the most used photo from my shoot. Found this published in several newspapers and magazines here already...

Ricky was indeed a natural with babies and kids! He truly had a way with them...

The most hilarious thing that happened was him signing a CD for a fan which turned out to be a bootleg copy from the fake DVD/CD shop in the market! He did it anyway!

As far as I can remember, my only recollection of Ricky as a singer/performer are his massive global hits and their much publicized tour in the Philippines in the 1980's way back when he was still part of the group Menudo. Of course, I was up on my feet in Latin parties as soon as his tracks are played. But when I had an opportunity to meet him, I was indeed humbled by his presence and his conviction to use his fame and good fortune to be a force in changing the world. Meeting and hanging around with his entourage was also a refreshing experience - from his manager and friend for decades, his foundation president, and even the people from the US embassy in Phnom Penh who accompanied him for the entire Cambodian leg... they are experiences worth more than their weight in gold.

a home for strangers

Prior to moving in Cambodia, I have lived in Manila - that bustling Philippine capital of 12 million souls (almost the entire population of Cambodia!), the centre of daring film festival scandals, 3 revolutions named after a single traffic thoroughfare, the teeming cornocupia of 300 years of Spanish rule and 50 years of Hollywood sensibilites from the Americans. For 5 years, I lived on its dangerous streets, glamorous enclaves and rode into its public transportation systems that would give sardine factories a run for their money... and boy, I had fun.

Had I not plucked myself from its toxic roots, I probably would have stayed long enough until my last breath. But just as I thought that I knew Manila by heart, I discovered that I only knew it skindeep...

The last time me and my wife were home, we decided to leave our boring Makati-tinged world - in itself a living witness of the nation's uncertain yet restless growth...


We took a cab, got ourselves caught in traffic and went to a place we would never imagined ourselves going... to the nostalgic walls of old Manila, where we hailed a horse drawn carriage and employed a guide to discover a place we ought to have discovered a long time ago...


So off we went and rediscovered the streets of home where we are strangers all over again...


we rediscovered its deeply rooted commitment and monuments to faith...

we discovered love fluttering around in pure contrast to the bleakness and hopelessness of its smog-choked skies


we discovered how people would sell salvation like cheap pancakes...

We rediscovered the proud tales of its heritage, succumbing to lonely years of decay...

We rediscovered the boisterous playfulness of its youth...


...and the poignant wisdom of its elders

We rediscovered that life and its superficial trappings begins and ends within a microcasm of society called the Sari Sari Stores...

... and we found out how faith and commerce blends in beautifully on its pavement stalls


We rediscovered a world hidden from the sanctity of its faith, and oveshadowed by glittering skyscrapers. We found real people fighting for existence...


...and even people willing to sell their very existence...

But the most important discovery of the day is that we should never ever, become strangers to our own home...

Although I have friends from India who have never seen the Taj Mahal, Cambodians who haven't been to Angkor Wat and buddies from New York who have never ventured out of Manhattan, I don't think it's proper for any Filipino to see the world without conquering our own shores... there is just too much stories, people, colors, characters and aspirations awaiting on every corner, calling and beckoning.

We might love the idea of being exhilirated with new sights, incredible experiences, exotic cultures and world wonders... only to find them existing in our own backyards afterall.

holiday with the beckhams

In my line of work, I sometimes have a chance to experience what my clients offer in order for me to able to get a clearer depth of the concept and ideals they are selling. This is especially true with Amankila, an ultra exclusive Aman hideaway built on the hills of Manggis in Eastern Bali, Indonesia.

We stayed here several months ago - on a hilltop villa overlooking the spectacular Lombok Strait...




Tired from the evening journey by plane from our prior holiday in Central Java, we arrived at the Ngurah Rai International Airport but had to be shuttled for around two hours to the resort as the east coast is far from Denpasar. Although it was already 11 pm when we reached the resort, the breathtaking set up got us back into our feet.


With the bathroom bigger than the actual bedroom, we were almost tempted to stay here instead...


Traditional Balinese flavours abound in the villa - four poster beds (was so tempting we dove into it the moment we finished our welcome cocktails), alang alang thatch roofs, ornate wood work and the sweet smell of coconut around!


After that long trip, the tub was our best friend that night...


We started our first adventure in Bali onboard the aman 16th boat which took us on a spectacular tour of the island's east coast...


We hopped from one island to another and did some snorkeling on a spectacular reef. The highlight of the day was the breakfast prepared by our guide when we swam back to the boat. The Aman service is so legendary that they even knew that I was left handed and a vegetarian... they served my spoon to my left all the time!


We went back tot he resort and soon found our way to the Beach Club below where Amankila's private beach lays. Although technically, Bali won't win in the best beaches category (I'll take Boracay anytime!), their culture and their other natural wonders truly make up for it...


East Bali is THE Bali that everyone deserves to know. As the beaches and the lifestyle of Kuta and Jimbaran are now overrun by backpackers, it is hard to define what the real Bali is.

Manggis, the town where Amankila sits is a laid back and culturally-rich heartland. We strolled around Candidasa and took a fantastic tour of a town where all its citizens are not allowed to marry anyone outside of its walls...


For dinner, we dressed up nicely and went to the restaurant where Amankila's signature and often-copied three-level infinity pool is located...


During dinner, we were all strung by candle light and the cool sea breeze was wisping on our faces. There were other guests in there. There was a couple who was dressed in full kimono attire (so cool!) but what caught my wife's attention was this odd couple... the girl, short, but voraciously sexy was wearing a nice little black cocktail dress, but the man she was with was wearing a plain white shirt and a pair of board shorts! Also full of tattoo, he seemed almost out of place from among the crowd as we were all dressed up to the nines for the formal dinner!

We almost forgot about them but right after the dessert, the couple stood up and when we saw them up close as they approached the table, we almost dropped our dessert spoons out of oblivion...

It was David and Victoria Beckham!

if life is a car transmission...

On our last trip to Phnom Penh, we took our 1992 Toyota Camry for a supposedly 6-hour spin from Siem Reap to Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh on an almost 400 kilometer stretch of good road. We've done the road trip countless times already so we know that before each trip, a complete car check-up is necessary. So we did, and off we went! With me were the Spoolworks Team (my design studio) - Brewster, our graphic designer who was on the wheel and KC, our creative sales director who was our beat boxing specialist at the backseat.

But an hour to the trip, we keep on losing our speed until the clutch couldn't hold it anymore...


Turns out our transmission finally broke after all those years of hard work. So what do you do when you have more than 300 kilometers to go?

Well, you start pushing of course!



Or better yet, sit back and inhale the best of the Cambodian countryside...


Or savor those seemingly dilapidated towns which seem to be trapped in the 60's...


Make friends with the brown-eyed locals...


or perhaps ride the moto with some monk brothers....


maybe settle down the pavement and enjoy a bite of green mangoes...


or stop by some houses for a drink or two...


Maybe enjoy a smoke or a puff by the roadside...


or do a full-scale fun streetfighter-inspired photo shoot...


or finally concede that we needed a new transmission afterall!


So for 35 bucks, we were pulled by a rickety Khmer Rouge - era truck to the nearest town which was another 30 kms away. We managed to find a decent hotel, had some dinner and woke up early the next day to find a car shop. A day and 400 dollars later (roughly 20,000 pesos), we got back our car and raced to Phnom Penh with a "brand new" second hand transmission tipping the 130 km/hour scale...

Then the radiator leaked and overheated. But that my friends, is another story of course...

yearning for china

Was browsing through my China photos and couldn't believe that it's been two months! I really had a blast, and two weeks is not enough. I've been bugging Faith and Don to go back and this time, do the Trans-Siberian Railways... China - Mongolia - Russia. Might be next to impossible but hey, there are tourists now in space!

I simply miss China. Even without the olympics, I think I would have still fallen head-over-heels with it. Getting back to Beijing is enough...


I miss its hutongs and lively streets...


I miss the sea of faces... a billion and a half of humanity...


I miss street culture and the beat of China's youth...


I miss its mad rush to modernity and its priceless heritage...


I miss seeing nostalgia creep in like yesterday's papers...


I miss its daring contrasts...


I miss its love affair with its poetic past, its aching history...


I miss the vulgarity of its authority...


And I miss the rhum ice cream in this cafe! Yum!

I have almost a million photos of China awaiting to be uploaded, so it will be a hundred years of posts like this!