Our Amanpulo Weekend

Two girls and a turtle

The opportunity to experience Amanpulo came to us like manna from heaven.

Amanpulo is part of the luxurious Aman group of boutique hotels owned by Adrian Zecha. They are known for their ultra-unique properties and outstanding service.

This private island is their only property in the Philippines.

Last November, C bought one raffle ticket worth P100 at her school's family fun day. She was in a long line but remained patient because she had her heart set on buying one ticket. She even allowed three people to go ahead of her.

Well guess who won the grand prize with her ONE ticket? 

I wish I could say it was a "once in a lifetime" thing...

But the amazing thing is that many years ago, when Amanpulo was still fairly new,  B won the exact same thing also from a raffle!


He gave the certificate to his mom and dad.

When C excitedly handed me the certificate, I right away thought of B and his gift to his folks.

Aww, it really comes around...

Instead of enjoying the spoils by ourselves, we decided to take the girls along make a family trip out of it.

Our spacious beach casita had a grand view of the sea. The bathroom was also very big. 

 

We drove our own private buggy around the island, checking out all the other outlets but eventually spent most late afternoons at the clubhouse where the pool and library were.

 

 

In the early afternoon we went go out snorkeling. In the not-too-deep waters just a few hundred meters from the shore, batfish as big as dinner plates fed directly from our hands.

On both times out, the girls even got to swim with a sea turtle. They followed it around and for almost twenty minutes.

The boatmen explained that the turtles on this side of the island are friendly and are used to people swimming close to them. On the other side, they are terrified and swim away quickly. 

welcoming us back from snorkeling

Let me insert here that being on Amanpulo is more about  relaxing and doing nothing, enjoying the peace of the island with the most attentive service. It is definitely not about running around hoping to be entertained, which is anti-Aman.  

There are kayaks and windsurfers, tennis courts and a gym. But I think the most popular amenity is the spa.  

Yes, unfortunately the island does have wifi!

On our second day, we bumped into friends who graciously invited us to dine with them at their own villa.

 Our private-villa al fresco dining set up

Aside from the beach and treetop casitas, the resort also has a number of 2 to 4-bedroom villas. These villas are privately-owned, but are maintained, staffed, and booked out by the resort.

the kids ate in the dining room

What a nice treat to have been able to see a villa on the island. 

The three days went by ever so slowly,  but it was still too soon for me.

At the little island airport, I overheard other guests sharing their Aman experiences. One couple said they came over a couple of times a year  from nearby Hongkong. The other couple, from Europe, mentioned they had been on the island for two weeks. Two weeks?! I made a quick computation in our mind--eegads!  Clearly Aman junkies.

I dreamily picked up other Aman brochures in the lounge and thought of planning a long weekend somewhere else--maybe Cambodia, or Sri Lanka? Then I looked at the published rates--and fainted.

To the raffle gods, to the one Lord Almighty,  and to C's guardian angel for leading her to buy the lucky ticket, Thank you! Of course, a big THANK YOU to Amanpulo for supporting the Family Fun Day.

We are extremely grateful for this manna from heaven. We will be back!

Ps. Amanpulo has a "local resident" rate.

A Pop-up Sisterhood Sale

It popped up last weekend, and now it's gone. "Why didn't you tell me about it?!?!" many of my friends asked when I mentioned that I passed by.

 love these bohemian slipper chairs

I also didn't know about it but mom happened to go on the first morning and called me immediately.  "Go to Makati Garden club right now, there's a sale of everything you like," she said excitedly.

Of course I went right away.  I stayed quite a while, looking at and liking everything. I would've wanted to buy but I don't have space for anything anymore. If I buy something now, I must really really love it.

This "pop up store" was an event/project of a group of Assumption HS'68 friends. There was an article in the Inquirer  on it yesterday.  They started this last year and this is only their second time to do it.

I think a pop-up sale is brilliant. It gave me an idea of how I can sell my own collections so I can acquire others--keeping the "vintage energy" flowing.  My last flea market visits have just been browsing trips,  content just to snap photos.
 

I can imagine the fun these ladies had shopping for all these things. The looked like they were having a grand time together during the sale--talking to customers, collecting payments, writing out receipts.

News of the event only spread by word of mouth so there were not too many people there on the first day.  But some early birds got really nice things, I saw them behind the cashier table.

I had my eye on some imari-style espresso cups. But while I was still thinking, it got bought. Oh well, not meant for me.

 Now I'm excited for my next flea market trip. Watch out for my own maleta sale!

Blue Carreon Home

 

There's an new home store that just opened in Manila. Take a look at the beautifully curated items. 

Blue Carreon Home is on the second floor of the new Century Mall on Kalayaan Avenue in Makati.

I first heard of Blue Carreon when my friend Alicia texted me about a trunk show he was having at his condo a couple of months back.  Unfortunately I couldn't make it that weekend, and hoped he was going to have another one.

Turns out he was preparing for the opening of this store but since it was delayed,  he opened his "shop" from his home. Too bad for me because it would've been a treat to see how he set up his condo.

He designs many of his items and sources the others. The result is a beautifully curated collection of furniture and table top accessories. 

I texted Alicia as soon as I came from the store and she texted back, "Blue is a really nice guy, and he has exqusite taste!"

I totally agree.  I'm a very deliberate shopper who likes to overthink my purchases but I was just so enamored by his store that I bought on impulse--and mind you, this is even if I had to leave my personal check and come back for what I bought! (Alicia, name-dropping you didn't work).

By now, they would have sorted out their credit card facilities.

Blue's style reminds me of that of Daniel Romualdez, the talented architect/designer who does all the stores of Tory Burch, among many other projects. Daniel also did her Manhattan apartment. Read about Daniel on Cote de Texas.

I'm looking forward to seeing the shop evolve.  When I walked in, they had only been open four days.

This above is mine. Have to pick it up! 

I love this too, but don't know where I can put it at home.

Here is Blue (in blue!), the very personable proprietor. Remember his name because I only see great things happening for this guy.

Delhi Break

A trip to Delhi right before Christmas was not really in the plans, but here I am accompanying B on his quick trip. I hired car to drive me around and look what showed up--this vintage taxi cab. Narem, the driver, even looks like a 50's college student! (I have to take a better photo)

Yesterday we went to Khan Market. Today we are off to Dilli Haat and Central Cottage Emporium. Having him drive me around for the day costs about $20. There are other car services with more modern cars, but I think this is pretty cool.

Villa Kalimaya, Bali

Bali has its share of 5-star hotels like the W, the Bali Hyatt, and all the others in the Nusa Dua area. But originally unique to Bali is the experience of staying in a fully staffed Balinese villa.

Outdoor dining bale

A Balinese villa is just a big house usually on a sprawling property. The common areas like the dining and living rooms are in the main pavilion and the bedrooms are usually separate stand-alone structures. These bedroom pavilions have their own ensuite bathrooms, and if it's truly Balinese, an outdoor shower.

There are other bales in the property, for gathering together and hanging out.

Villa Kalimaya one such villa-- perfectly located in the fun area of Seminyak, where all the hip restaurants and bars are. The W Hotel, Potato Head and Ku De Ta are a little more than a javelin throw away.

The very first time we stayed in Bali was in 2005. I booked the whole (extended) family in a big sprawling, newly-open villa in Ubud called Sukhavati Retreat. We stayed "home" a lot and hang out in the living room bales, the kids swimming in the pools all day.   Ubud is the artists' area of Bali--quiet, serene, far from hip noisy bars. It's like Manila and Tagaytay (in distance).

This time we were seven girlfriends in Bali for a retreat. We had to have enough peace and privacy,  but we also needed to be right in the happening area because we wanted to shop, and go out for dinner and drinks after a full day of reflecting and goal-setting.

Seminyak is authentically Bali and centrally located--it has cool upmarket shops and the most of-the-moment bars and restaurants.

Villa Kalimaya consists of a main house with two bedrooms, and three other bedrooms that are stand-alone units laid out in the sprawling 2000 m2 property.

There is a pool bale, which we didn't even have time to hang out in (But I did a yoga session here one morning!)

(Yoga facing the pool--what a great view!)

The bedrooms were all equal in size with one king bed and a big bathroom.

One of the bedrooms in the main house

The bathrooms are equally spacious, and the showers are all Balinese-style--outdoors--so you're close to nature, meaning there could be a little frog staring at you while you're sudsing.

The villa comes with a complete staff of cleaning ladies, gardeners, guards, butlers and a chef. 

We gave them money for marketing, and they just cooked whatever we desired. If we didn't plan ahead (and they didn't cook anything), we could order take-out from a thick folder of menus compiled by the villa. Remember, we were so close to the main street, and also many restaurants.

Chef Ketut could also give cooking lessons! (But we didn't have time, sayang)

With PAL flying straight to Bali now, Denpasar is just 4 hours away. I remember when getting to Bali was a trek--fly to Singapore and overnight there to be able to catch the morning flight to Denpasar. Not anymore! (except that the PAL flights are at night, not good for morning people, but perfect for night owls like us)

Entrance to our home for the weekend, Villa Kalimaya

I remember always being mesmerized by the low lighting of Balinese gardens. They are masters of atmospheric lighting with subdued glowing "dark-sky" type of lighting.

Many Manila homes have since caught up, and many gardens here also have this kind of dramatic lighting.

It's a bit dark, but that's the whole point. You can see the stars in the sky and there is nothing glaring in your face!

Our stay at Kalimaya was memorable. And to think I found this gem online! I'm looking forward to my next Bali trip, and having another villa experience!

The very efficient staff who saw us off at midnight!