i shall return...

So I am finally coming "home" after almost 4 years, my longest absence from home country. I must admit I have gone quite distant from my feeling of longing for the Philippines.

I vowed not to return after a long time after the traumatizing experience I had during the Ketsana typhoon and flooding which turned Manila overnight into an Asian apocalyptic version of Kevin Costner's 90's hollywood flop Water World. From my last trips to Davao, Cebu, Boracay, Iloilo, Batangas and Manila, storms and water followed me incessantly and it even came all the way here to Cambodia where it flooded for the first time due to Ketsana reaching its borders.

I still recall hanging on to my dear life traversing the sea from Samal Island to the Davao City wharf with a small speed boat in the middle of a deluge at 3 am just so I can make it to my 5am flight to Cebu. I was living the set of The Perfect Storm and it was probably only my tongue that didn't get the lashing of the rain and sea water coming from all sides. I arrived at the Davao International Airport looking like a wet puppy, shaking from the cold and from the experience.

Then came Boracay and Batangas which were suppose to be perfect postcards of a thousand glorious summers. Coming there on September is probably a very bad idea, especially if you're there for work - shooting resorts and the destinations for a brochure. The search for the perfect sky and light is like looking for a lost 1000 peso bill in Divisoria.

Then the perfect coincidence of Typhoon Ketsana lashing its watery might to Manila on the same day I was flying out back to Cambodia. I was happily going about with my last minute shopping in Glorietta, but after an hour, I discovered that all its mall entrances were blocked with water and there were no taxis in sight. The underpasses were filled with water as well and I didn't happen to bring my scuba gear with me, so technically, I swam over to dry land to find a taxi to bring me to get my luggage in San Antonio Village where I was staying. Imagine my surprise when the guards at the village entrance told us the taxi couldn't go in anymore because the water level inside is already more than a meter high! So I had to fetch my 80-kilo luggage (3 bags - I know, this deserves another post!) on my own, in the middle of the waist deep water whose current is enough to make the Niagara Falls blush. Thankfully, my heavy luggage kept me anchored until I traversed the 1 kilometer journey safely - twice!

But of course, finding a taxi, getting your luggage and surviving the raging water is one thing. Getting to the airport is another.

As Manila's busy streets were instantly turned into rivers, we got stuck on the road for 8 hours. My flight was at 230pm so by 5pm, it was clear that it's impossible for me to beg Thai Airways to wait for me. At 8pm, I finally managed to find a hotel room (probably the last one) in Makati's red light district after Manila residents scrambled to find shelter in hotels.

I have stayed and lived in Manila for almost 5 years but this is probably the worst troubles I've ever seen the city tackle.

Now, this is my first time to go back after that, but even if I still picked the same month when the sunshine takes cover from the wrath of typhoons back home, I am still positively excited about it, considering how resilient my country has been, and how my fellow Filipinos who, even through the face of near cataclysmic events that come their way almost every day (typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, protests, bad fashion from moms of millionaire boxers, bad presidents, etc), everybody still lives their lives with a big smile on their faces.

And that alone is enough to make me go back.

And of course, there's also the Pastillas de Leche donut at Go Nuts Donuts.

shipping news

a visual poem

by loven ramos

weird wondrous words

by loven ramos

cambodian connections

The great thing about living in Cambodia is being able to welcome people you'll probably never have a chance to meet at home or anywhere else in the planet for that matter. I guess it's just a matter of being at the right place at the right time...

A couple of weeks ago, we welcomed the group of Ben Chan, creative director and founder of Bench, the Philippines' largest retail group with clothing stores stretching from San Francisco to San Fernando, Dubai to Divisoria, Beijing to Boni Avenue. He was with Miguel, the head architect of Bench; talent managers Arnold and Rey; Xander Tantoco and Mons, daughter of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.

They visited our shop, Poetry, and did a big shopping spree. Ben got a couple of stuffs and was especially fond of the book I did. He asked me to collaborate on him on some design projects for Bench and Pinoy Lab. My designs will be available on Bench this December!

Had dinner with them on the last night at the Aman House. T'was such great fun.

The next couple of weeks, I got a call from the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh to welcome and help out Senator Pia Cayetano on her trip to Angkor. She came with friend Anne who happens to be a triathlete like the senator.

Senator Cayetano was here as a speaker for a United Nations-sponsored conference. A young driven politician, a great mom and a health buff, she is truly an incredible person that it's hard to believe she exists in the flesh... my wife and I have just become a big, big fan.

becoming boracay

It's been more than 7 years since I last set foot in an island I almost called home. There was a point in my life when I savored trampling on its powdery white shores almost every weekend, and the best parties I've have had until now still screams the name Boracay.


I'm glad I finally made it back again on its arms, this time as a photographer for Fuego Hotels which has just opened a new property here called 7 Stones Boracay Suites. I came at the right time too as they were throwing a party for Channel V during my last night.


It was sort of like an after-party for the music channel as they were shooting their 2010 swimsuit calendar in the property.


Channel V jockey Alfie interviewing a Boracay local


I had to do some Tatler-esque shots as these photos are to be used for the Fuego Hotels Magazine... here's 7 Stones General Manager Dani (straight from Barcelona to Boracay!) with a guest and the Italian developer of the resort.


VJ Alfie with one of the models of the shoot


Dani with more models, stylists and Channel V people




Host of The Duke and Amazing Race runner up Rovilson Fernandez with another model


Guests from Spain, Australia and Taiwan...


'Twas a great night of party, booze and pool fun... I got myself a wealth of photos worthy enough for blackmail but I promised everybody not to post it here... or else... it's still unbelievable how such small island can cull that much euphoria in parties... must be the air... must be that amazing shot I can't recall (a shot of Sambucca, Cuervo gold and a dash of Tabasco), or maybe just because people forget the world exists once they set foot here. Whatever it is, wish every weekend is like this in Cambodia!