Tuesday, January 20, 2009

obama, black outs and fairytale endings...

It's just one of those days again...

...when a great moment in history is unfolding and you are there, stuck on the couch, contemplating how unfair life is because there is a massive black out in the entire neighborhood. You have an entire office and workshop to run and there is nothing you can do as you are on the mercy of the electrical current. Your 3 year old son is complaining because there is no tv and airconditioning in the house. Your fridge is losing ice fast and its filled to the brim with food that is turning stale fast! You have a mountain of things to print, lay-outs to finish and client deadlines to beat - but sadly, their destinies are all connected to the plug. Welcome to the wonderful world of black outs in Cambodia...



It's already 10 pm. We've just gone back from the mall to get dinner as it's almost impossible to do anything in a house which is darker than a cave. No power still. Then I remembered that it's the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama - a momentous new chapter in world history. And our tv is dead.

So with my family in tow, we packed our bags and searched the inner folds of Siem Reap for a decent guest house with air conditioning and cable tv. We thought of the $8 a night room Olive has found while searching last weekend for a place her friends from Vietnam could stay... or perhaps the dingy old annex guesthouse extension in the hotel where I used to work... or perhaps we could just camp out in the park in front of Raffles (it's cold anyway, so a blanket would be enough)...


Then as we thought that our lives are on the road to the pits, we found the answer staring us right in our faces as we drove down Achamean Street and Sivutha Boulevard - Hotel de la Paix.


A shining beacon of hope amid the dead of winter (I am quoting Obama's speech already), everyone's favorite hotel is a client of mine and owes me a couple of night stays for several posters I did for them. One of them was for the hotel's coverage of the Obama-McCain presidential race last November (which is strangely a coincidence).


So we tried our luck and asked at the front office if we could avail of our barter agreement. It worked, so we were quickly hushed into our gorgeous Bill Bensley-designed room.


So while several hundred thousands were waiting at the National Mall in Washington DC on the unbearable cold of winter on January 20 to witness history unfold, we watched it in the warmth of 300 count Egyptian cotton sheets in a lusciously indulgent hotel room for free.

Thank God for black-outs.

23 comments:

Looking For The Source said...

i guess its cambodia's way of celebrating obama's inauguration.. as the first "black" american to take office as the president... hehehe

Anonymous said...

Lucky you, glad you were able to see history unfold in comfort and style!

blagadag said...

iba ka talaga, love. amo gid na ya ang kinabuhi. kaswerte sa imo.

kegler747 said...

Wow! a barter with a hotel? Big time! hehehe :)

the spool artist said...

@looking for the source: yes, the black-out is a strange symbolism to it all... but this is definitely a great historic moment!

@arollerskatingjam: i'm glad at least we have that option and got it just in the nick of time! otherwise, we would have been sleeping in the park bench!

@blagadag: i consider it more of a blessing than luck!

@kegler747: oo nga, dinadaan lang sa barter, kasi pag binyaran ko outright, mukhang di namin ma-afford! lol.

kegler747 said...

Ano ba ang pwede ko ibarter dyan sa hotel para pwede rin ako magstay? Ayoko rin kse magbayad eh :)

lucas said...

wow...ang ganda nman hotel...may balckouts din pala dyan? hehe!

the spool artist said...

@kegler: maybe do some promotions for them on your site? hehehe.

@lucas: nagkataon lang na somebody crashd into a major electric post near our village, so it took them time to have it repaired. thankfully, by noon the power's back!

Sharon said...

you did not!!of course, all was...pure coincidence??haha

the spool artist said...

and all's well that ends well, sharon!

rainboy said...

wow man..this hotel is marvelous.you one lucky fella...

take care

Anonymous said...

ang sosyal ng hotel wow

grabe uso blackout sa cambodia?

pusangkalye said...

I suddenly remember the electricity crisis in the Philippines in the early 90's. I was a student that time and I could have cared less, but I felt like it was hell, I now feel how it must have been worse in the point of view of a father----hope Cambodia could resolve that too....

RedLan said...

may black out man da gle sa cambodia, abi ko sa pinas lang. wala man ko kawatch sang speech ni obama, nabatian ko lang sa youtube kay ginareplay sang officemate ko several times.

chezza said...

Truly, the best things in life are free! :)

eDreGiN said...

Ganun?! Ang masasabi ko lang eh Bongga! Hehehe..seguro sakaling balik kami dyan sa Cambodia, ikaw nalang kontakin namin segurado malaki discount makukuha ko talaga or baka malibre pa, hahaha!

Alice in Wonderland said...

That hotel looks amazing! What a fun night that must have been. I love the barter...might have to work that one out for myself (but unfortunately we don't have anything that comes close to that luxury boutique style...I WISH!!!!).

the spool artist said...

@007: thanks. but i guess not as lucky as you dude!

@alex: it used to be a major problem here but at least it's getting much much better!

the spool artist said...

@pusang gala: the black outs here are not as bad as before and definitely not as bad as what we had then back home!

@redlan: i think i liked his speech better in chicago when he won the elections... that really was a moment for history books!

the spool artist said...

@chezza: or at least 50% off! hehehe

@edregin: kapatid! siyepre, ikaw pa! libre na... basta may discount din kami kung magbabakasyon din ako dyan sa maldives ha!

@alice in wonderland: yup, who doesn't love a barter! maybe omaha is waiting for you to open its first chic boutique hotel no!

rainboy said...

me and lucky??
how man???

Nance said...

Hi,
blog hopping here.
Nice to know that bartering still exist. i say you did good with that exchange!

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