what happened last year - thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is primarily a very American holiday, but having been raised in a city in the Philippines where American Baptist missionaries took good roots, we have been celebrating it all our lives. And besides, thanksgiving is such a universal celebration these days...


So it's only natural that we prepped up our Cambodian home for this holiday. I had an event organized for Guerlain Paris the month before so, I ended up with tons of scrap metal that I turned into two outdoor lounges.



We made and screen printed special throw pillows for the dinner with the names of our guests and guests-to-be (Obama and Hillary were too busy that evening)


We set our table with sculptures from Bill Bensley's Fantastical Creatures Exhibit and some bounty from the harvest (harvest at the supermarket, that is). We also made special placemats and coasters which stated things we were thankful for...



By dusk, the al fresco corner of the house was ready and so was dinner!


Me, my wife Faith, Don, Sheree (fresh from Newcastle, flown in especially for the Wanderlust fashion shoot) American authors Shannon and Jason and of course, Liz!

Our menu included stuffed chicken (turkey was too darn hard to find in Cambodia!), roast potatoes, buttered peas and veggies, battered fish, prawn cakes, pasta, stuffed pumpkin dessert, cream cheese cake, etc... Jason and Shannon brought a super cool drink that they concocted themselves!


Inside, we had our tree set up too for the holidays...


Guests got to bring their pillows as souvenirs!


A few days later, we had dinner with some new friends... Max, who's Vietnamese-French, Rachel, from the US, who's opening a boutique next door to us at the Alley West and Ruben from Mexico.


We definitely love welcoming friends to our home!

family portraits

Our not-so-little boy came home to Cambodia last month with Nanie, my mom and my sister and made our holidays the best we've ever had. It was our first Christmas and New Year altogether so we had to do our portraits!


My son, Freedom, all grown up!


The two of us doing a Lacoste ad!


Family snaps

Our Family! From left: my mom Love, my sister Love Grace, Don - the high priest of Cambodian avant garde fashion, my wife Faith, our son Freedom and Nanie.

year ender

Although the holidays wasn't as crazy as last year, it was still crazy nonetheless. I was juggling several shoots and last minute design works but was able to keep myself free for Christmas eve to prepare for a "white Christmas" feast.


I was especially inspired since we renovated and repainted the kitchen firetruck red and my wife came back from Australia with a treasure trove of holiday recipes and inspirations - thanks to Donna Hay!


Since everybody else was working on Christmas eve, I was left alone with Nanie and Olive (my office manager) to conquer the kitchen. We were able to whip up a little Grilled Salmon, Ham with Spicy Mango Confit, Steamed Garlic Scallops, Green Noodles with Seafood Brisket, Lentil Soup, Buttered Veggies (turned out to be a disaster but Don rescued it from oblivion) and Raspberry Cake with Caramelized Fresh Berries on the side for dessert. For a little Filipino fare, Olive cooked her famous embutido and leche flan which was truly sinful!


While waiting for everybody to come, we had some chardonnay, blue cheese and crackers which Freedom tried with his chocolate Smarties!


The gang after the feast... we gave our gifts at the struck of midnight. Freedom got a mini drum set (our sleep will never be the same again) among many other things while I got a travel folio and a full collection of Woody Allen films!


Come new year, it was just me, Olive, Don, Nanie and Freedom as everybody else had their own parties to go to, but by midnight, we were all together to greet 2009. The fireworks display was short, but the sight of hundreds of candles on paper balloons floating on air was a truly magical sight.

At 1 am, we were all shuttling our way between the street party at Pub Street, the revelry at Linga Bar and the live band at Cafe Central.

By 4:30, we were hungry as wolves from all the partying, so we went home to raid the fridge.


By 5:30, we made our way to Angkor Wat to catch the first sunrise of 2009. The freezing cold didn't deter us as we came prepared with our own thermos of coffee and tea! By now, the pack was now reduced to me, my wife, Olive and Don.


Then slowly, at around 6 am, a hazy blue sunlit sky made its way to the horizon... revealing Angkor Wat's distinct spires...


I have seen it a million times, but it is still a magical, exhilarating sight...

Happy New Year everyone!

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!

enchanting ubud - amandari

Ubud for me is like Siem Reap – fast forward 20 years! With its amazing landscape of rice paddies, river gorges, misty mountains and a very dynamic town centre overflowing with Hindu temples, art galleries, designer shops, boutique hotels and restaurants, this place is a revelation – no wonder thousands of expats have fallen madly in love with this place!


We had a chance to stay at Amandari and was utterly enchanted by the resort...


Planned as a traditional highland village, the rooms are actually walled warungs or thatched houses perched on a gorgeous river gorge


Nature has full control over the resort as moss creeps into the stones


This two bedroom villa is the ultimate in luxury


The reception desk at night with thatched alang alang roof sheltering the evening rain


This is the villa where we stayed that had a pool on it but we didn't bother swimming at all because the water was freezing!


Our amenities on handmade ceramic vessels


Our own private lounge inside where we enjoy puffing our kreteks


Our messed-up bed (we plunged into it before even thinking of taking a photo first!)


Me and my wife (with her treasured Rafe Totengco bag) on the reception saying goodbye to our Amandari family.

Liv, the general manager and everyone there were so gracious and amazing... thank you!!!