Not a Cover Girl

I'm delighted to report that I landed in two magazines lately. Now that explains why I've been absent from this blog, no? LoL.

No, I'm not on the cover of Time Magazine's '100 Most Influential People' (yet!). Nor was I People Magazine's 'Sexiest Bayot Alive' (yet!).

Last May my piece about summer in London appeared on Mabuhay, the in-flight magazine of Philippine Airlines. Read it here http://issuu.com/mabuhaymagazine/docs/mabuhay_may2014.

Forget the article. The highlight of the exposure is really my photo on the contributors' page. Is that sleazy or what? I didn't expect them to publish the photo; or at least I hoped they'd crop it. But no; I'm right on the page of Mabuhay in my semi-naked (un)glory.

And then for the June issue of Fashion Lab, a Phnom Penh-based magazine, I modelled a few clothes for an editorial entitled Wasting My Young Years. The title is a song by London Grammar, whose album was playing when we were shooting this on the last week April.

Fuchsiaboy took the photos. He's also Creative Director of Fashion Lab.

The sitting session was really simple. Fuchsiaboy draped a black cloth on his bookshelf and, using natural light, he snapped some photos. The outfits were military inspired; many of the garments came from thrift shops in Cambodia.

Fuchsiaboy instructed me just act languid. That was, of course, easy modelling.

I'm glad the photos came out fine.

Phnom Penh Visit

I've just came back to yet another trip to Cambodia. I recently started working again in my old office, so I had to process my work visa in Phnom Penh (I still don't understand why it has to be done abroad).

So on short notice, Fuchsiaboy kindly hosted me for a week in Phnom Penh.

I never actually explored the city as much as I wanted to when I visited PP last March. This time I attempted to discover the city a bit more.

I joined a guided tour of 1960's modern architecture in PP, which included stops at the Institute of Foreign Languages and the Olympic Stadium. Lately I've been interested in tropical architecture and the tour offered me a glimpse of how architects - or Vann Molyvann in the case of the buildings we visited - incorporate cooling systems in buildings.

 I would've wanted to see colonial architecture in PP as well; unfortunately, there were no such tours during my visit. I did a bit of exploration around the Royal Palace instead. I saw the UNESCO Building and the Mansion, the latter having been brought by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of PP.

The rest of the time I was mostly hanging out with Fuchsiaboy and his fierce gang. We went to the pool one time and then we had several dinners hosted by various Pinoys in PP.

Kembot in Cambodia

I recently came back from a ten-day holiday in Cambodia with some very dear friends. God knows I need a brief break from being unemployed, no? Really, I'm tired of being so utterly useless, so it's nice to take my mind off the mounting sense of helplessness I have been feeling the past few months.

The first stop was Siem Reap, my third time in the popular tourist destination. There I met L, G, and J, who flew in from Ilo-ilo. It was G and J's first time to visit Siem Reap, therefore, a temple run was in order. The thrill of seeing the Angkor Wat complex never ceases despite repeated viewings.

We then traveled to Phnom Penh where we met FuchsiaBoy and R. The Ilonggo mafia only got bigger, di bala? (Fortunately, I understand Ilonggo!)

It's always exciting for me to visit a city for the first time. I didn't read beforehand on its must-sees, confident that FuchsiaBoy would show us around. Indeed, he brought us to some great restaurants in the city.

As for sight-seeing, I was gobsmacked by the scale of the Central Market. I especially love its grand curves and sharp angles.

For a bit of history, we paid a visit to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison. Both places left lasting traumas to Khmer society no thanks to the horrific rule of the Khmer Rouge. There was a heavy energy in these sites, of course; but still they are worth a visit.

The pack then went to Koh Rong, an island off the coast of Sihanoukville.

I've seen quite a few beaches in my life but nothing is as stunning as Koh Rong. From our guest house, we had to trek through a hill (or what felt like a mountain to me) for an hour. All my exhaustion went away when I first laid eyes on the clear blue water of Long Beach. Its sand was perfectly powdery white, almost blinding in the midday sun.

Long Beach has yet to see its share of infrastructure for tourists, and I hope it stays that way. It was simply kilometers of empty beach. Perfection, isn't it?

We lay on the grass, under the shade of a pine tree and did nothing but soak in the serenity of the beach. We also swam in the warm water, blissfully rocked by the gentle waves. Watching the sun set was the perfect ending to our day.

The following day we hired a boat to take us snorkelling and fishing, both of which did not go very well. I mean, fishing for bayots? I don't think so.

We ended up going back Long Beach to do more lounging on the beach and swimming. We simply couldn't get enough of the place.

On the side of the island where the accommodations are located, we stayed in huts just a few steps from the beach. Electricity was cut off at midnight. We were lulled by the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. And then we woke up to the cool sea breeze.

Here's hoping that Koh Rong is left undisturbed for years to come.

Guysh, guysh, thanks for the lovely time in Cambodia. Special thanks to L and R for making the trip possible. I had a blast and will treasure the memories from that trip. Until the next reunion...