Saturday, September 11, 2010

It's THAT time of the year again...


Get ready for the riveting return of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) on AXN, as 10 new teams begin the most incredible journey of their lives. Relive the intensity, drama and excitement as teams head to new frontiers, face new challenges and trials on the Emmy award-winning reality competition series like no other!

Set to premiere on AXN on September 23, 2010, TARA 4 showcases the ultimate engagement as the new racers from across Asia set out to prove their mettle, bringing their friendship, relationship and kinship to a brand new level. Featuring the first ever father-and-daughter team, a cast of best friends and lovers looking to explore the next riveting chapter in their lives, viewers can prepare to live through their hardships, triumphs, joy, pain and exuberance as they follow teams on a lifetime journey across the world.

Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President & General Manager of SPE Networks – Asia said, “”There is a good reason why The Amazing Race Asia has been so well-received.  It is one reality series that has all the right elements - pace, drama, excitement, emotions, exotic locales and very importantly, a unique Asian flavour.  With over 34 million viewers across Asia tuning in to the last three seasons and viewer reach increasing season on season, the Asian adaptation has no doubt proven to be a hit.” 
He added, “To achieve the kind of success that we have seen, it all boils down to team effort and passion.  It is the collaborative effort, the commitment and the passion of all parties - from the Active TV production crew, AXN staff, our marketing partners, to the contestants, media and sponsors - that have contributed to a great show that we can truly call Asia's very own.  We raise the bar every season with new surprises, so viewers can expect this season to be no less than a spectacular ride.”

Indeed, with teammates ranging from as young as 21, to the seasoned age of 53; with participants stemming from all walks of life, from actor, tattooist, musician, lecturer, athlete to social worker; and originating from nations all across Asia, from India, Singapore to the Philippines, this marks one of the most diverse group of racers in the competition yet. Among them, you will find familiar faces and vibrant personalities, all possessing a broad swathe of interesting abilities, and some good looks. From the 53-year-old dad who still clubs and facebooks and the tattooist who has no qualms about self-tattooing, to the martial arts couple who can really kick some ass, expect an intense and possibly explosive dosage of adventure, rivalry and over-the-top drama from these teams!

But where will they fly to? Who will they meet? What will they end up doing on the race, and to each other, to increase their chances in taking home the US$100,000 prize money for being first in the pack? Will teams form alliances, or is it every duo for themselves?

And for the first time in an unprecedented move, catch Racers Revealed along with the thrilling first episode of The Amazing Race Asia Season 4, one whole week before the on-air broadcast on AXN! Bookmark www.axn-asia.com/tara now and be one of the very first to get clued in on TARA!

Here are some pics I took during the Racers Revealed party at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore:


The Amazing Race Asia Season 4 is sponsored by Sony Electronics Asia Pacific, Caltex, Axiata Group, as well as Official Hotel Partner Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

180 Days of Summer

This year, I was privileged to have been chosen as publicist for the ultra-luxurious Misibis Bay Resort located in Cagraray Island, Albay Province. A lot of my time was spent this year flying to Legazpi City since I took the responsibility of helping promote the resort internationally. Because of its proximity to Manila (just 45 minutes by Philippine Airlines), that part of Bicol has become one of my favorite spots to visit locally.

To give you an idea on why I keep on coming back, here are some great images taken by world-renowned photographer, Francisco "Paco" Guerrero:


Asia's Luxury Island Playground

As published in the May 23, 2010 issue of Sunday Inquirer Magazine

Published Works

Meanwhile, here are some of my published works in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country's most widely circulated daily. The covers include my articles promoting tourism as well as celebrity interviews during my brief stint in Hollywood:















Welcome to my world...

Here are some amateur shots I took while travelling in the last few months (with the exception of the photo that I took in the Maldives circa 2004). I hope to purchase a new camera soon and capture more images in my future travels.

Maldives
Hawaii

Oahu
Los Angeles
Davao
Misibis Bay, Cagraray Island

Note From The Author

Life has a funny way of making you pay for everything it gives you. Luckily, it also rewards you for the things it takes away. This journal is an online imprint of my happiness: the joy of travel. Travel is the thing everybody deserves, yearns for, and saves money for. The fulfilment it brings gives Technicolor to what was once perceived as black and white, radically turning everything before you into high definition.

At the start of the year, I decided to get rid of my shadow, pack my bags and travel. Although a lot of my adventures were purely work-related, a recent misadventure (I ended up very sick and hospitalized because of overwork and stress) reminded me how short life is. Indeed, anything done in extreme is bad for the health. For a while, I was feeling tired and jaded about how my work makes it a necessity for me to go back and forth to airports a lot. When you're on the road, air and seas too long and frequent the same places over and over again, the spark of wonder fades and travel can feel like a long, dour journey – a detour from a good, comfortable sleep that I could have enjoyed back home.

But no matter how many times I tell myself that I don’t ever want to see another airport for the next ten years, travel always has a way of pulling me back to that long and winding road. Similar to the feeling when one is in love, travel is the only thing that makes me look forward to something.

When people turn to travel, they are usually at a spiritual crossroads and are searching for something. Is it possible they’ve stumbled on a journey that leads toward greater fulfilment? Even if they cannot cope with the demands of everyday life, are reluctant to accept more traditional means of therapeutic help, or have difficulty adjusting to society or suffer from personal problems, travel fills a void and answers questions other disciplines fail to answer. It is also the safest form of rebound for those mending a broken heart.

So to all of you: Go out and travel. Do something you’ve never done before. Go someplace you’ve never been, where you don’t know the language, the customs, geography, the culture, the terrain, and even the weather. Challenge yourself to do an adventure you thought were beyond you. Stop planning and start doing. Make new discoveries. I promise you, the joy of travel will be your path to growth and happiness from here on.


@ the Marina Bay Sands
Singapore (August 25, 2010)