It's 8:30pm and we've already done two Christmas sets at the Café Chá restaurant of Shangri-La Beijing. We have two more sets at the Cloud Nine Bar, but thankfully, we're gonna be finishing off before midnight. Big cheers and salute to the hardworking musicians and other people who are workig on Christmas, too! Merry Christmas everyone!!!
This video is wayyyy long overdue! I have tons of backlogged videos and I just thought of sharing them to you anyway, no matter how long it has already been. I'm just taking my sweet time editing them as I know it will still be as helpful as it was back then.
We arrived to Siem Reap by bus all the way from Bangkok, so if you want to watch how to cross the Thailand-Cambodia border by bus, you can watch the video HERE.
So anyway, when we arrived to our guesthouse at 6PM that day, there was a tuk-tuk driver outside waiting and we casually asked him how much it would take for him to take us to Angkor Wat. His name was Jim and he told us that he would charge us USD 18 for a whole day tour. Deal done, and we had an early night to prepare for a whole day's adventure the next day.
We woke up at 4AM and prepped up for the day. We made sure that all the batteries of our phones and gadgets are all charged up as Angkor Wat is far from the Siem Reap. The tuk-tuk driver was right outside when we got out, and we felt a little underdressed as our driver was all dressed nicely in a long-sleeved shirt and black slacks. LOL!
The wind was freezing cold as we tread down the highway up to the suburbs and into the Angkor City. We arrived there around 5AM and the jam to the ticketing booth was already bad and the cue for the tickets was already long - mainly because the best time to go there is during sunrise. We didn't have the chance to buy the ticket the day before but it would be a great move to do that if you have ample time.
Now since we've been reading blogs and watching travel videos, we know that the tour to Angkor Wat won't be done in just a day. So instead of taking the 1-day pass at USD 25, we opted for the 3-day pass for USD 40 each. Their ticketing system is great and your ticket could well serve as a personalized souvenir ID, too, because you'll have your photo taken in the booth and put it on your ticket.
After securing for tickets, the tuk-tuk drove us again to where we should be starting - right opposite the Angkor Wat facing the sunrise. It was freezing that morning and soon enough, it started to drizzle a little bit. The sun didn't shine majestically as expected and it was all cloudy. When the drizzle turned into rain, we all ran to the food stalls to wait up. There were different stalls there named after famous movies and Hollywood celebrities. We had our light breakfast in a stall named after a famous Hollywood actress and Tomb Raider herself, Angelina Jolie.
When the rain finally stopped, we got out to the same spot where we left off to take more photos. I was approached by a girl and told me that since I was wearing shorts, I won't be allowed to get in the temple premises as there's a dress code. So I went to a clothes stall and bought a colorful sarong. Forgot how much I haggled for the price but it became the trademark of our Angkor Wat trip!
We actually didn't know how humongous the place was until we got there. We thought it's just an area where temples are right next to each other. It is an entire city, dude! That's why it's wise enough to book a tuk-tuk for the whole day to make your life easier.
You can see how we explored Angkor Wat in our Angkor Wat travel video below, followed by a slideshow of the awesome photos! Please watch, like, comment on our video and SUBSCRIBE TO OUR Youtube channel: Power Couple Travels. Hit the notification bell to get notified of our new uploaded videos. ENJOY!!!
It was indeed a fun night to remember as our friend Gorgeous Maya celebrated her birthday with close friends and loved ones at the Cedar on 15 of Impiana KLCC Hotel.
Music was provided by Harmony & Rhythm Band. Crazy fun was provided by the young ones and the young-once-upon-a-time - just figure out which group I'd fit in. LOL! Watch the video below.
Taken exactly a week ago, that Saturday night before that fateful Easter tragedy that struck our home, Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, and the rest of Sri Lanka. 🇱🇰
We remember it clearly. It was a fun Saturday night at the Sapphyr Lounge as people came back from a week-long New Year hiatus and our regulars came to celebrate with us. That happy night that will be etched in our hearts and memories forever. ❤️
Looking back, we’re just so thankful that we were unharmed. We are safe right now and being well taken care of. And we feel sorry for those who suffered and died on #EasterAttacksSL. ✝️
UPDATE:
Hotel is still closed until further notice and we are currently on standby with what their decision will be. Will keep you guys posted. Thank you for all your concern and sweet messages. 🙏
Earth Hour is an annual worldwide event that most establishments and businesses look forward to every year as it has become pretty much more of a commercial event, rather than being an environment awareness for global warming and climate change. But yes, turning off the lights for an hour between 8:30-9:30PM in every timezone all over the world does make a lot of difference. It is a simple proof that a change must start from ourselves to make a huge impact in the effects of global warming.
For us musicians, it's an event which we're excited about as most of us go unplugged and serenade guests in a candlelight setting. Definitely something very different from what we do every night as a sequencer band.
And for the second consecutive year, we were once again part of Shangri-La Hotel Colombo's Earth Hour celebration. For a set, Marlou and I serenaded our guests at Sapphyr Lounge with some standard songs without a mic, with the piano accompaniment of our Sri Lankan pianist Shahen.
With YOLO (You Only Live Once) slogan becoming common to most nomads nowadays, there are thousands of reasons to go backpacking especially in South East Asia. Crossing borders in South East Asia has been made easy with different modes of transportation. The cheapest and comfortable way for us is by bus. That's why when we were moving on from our backpacking adventure in Thailand, we decided to take the bus to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The duration of the trip was about 8-9 hours depending on the traffic of vehicles and traffic of people crossing the border. For those with Philippine passports like us, we didn't need to apply visa when we enter South East Asian countries so I guess ours was faster than those who needed to get and pay for their visa on arrival.
First you have to get to Mo Chit Bus Terminal in Bangkok to get a ticket. As for us, we didn't want to take any risk in getting a ticket on the same day so we bought our ticket the day before departure. The ticket costs 750baht and you have to be specific that it's a direct bus because if not, you will be stopping by in different towns it passes by.
While on board, we were given breakfast and lunch and some water bottles. We were also asked to fill-up a manifesto-like form and was each given a lanyard ID to basically identify our buses when we reach the border. There was only 1 toilet break though so you have to hold it up until you reach the town before the border.
After the long toilet break, the bus will bring you right before the border. This is the reason why we were given IDs because the next time we'd see our bus would already be in Cambodia. On the Aranyaprathet border, you just have be alert and follow the signages and you will be led to the immigration office where you can get your exit stamp.
Once you get your exit stamp, just follow the flow of people and signages around to lead you to the Cambodian border until you see this arch that says "The Kingdom of Cambodia"; the left gate is for those entering Cambodia and the right gate is for the ones leaving Cambodia... ON FOOT.
The Arch of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Once you enter the Cambodian soil, you will be greeted by peddlers, beggars, and touts so you just have to beg off nicely as a lot of scams happen here every day. Again, just follow the signages, don't be lured by the big casinos around or else your bus will leave without you. Just go further and you will see the immigration office on the right side of the road. Get your entry visa and go through the market stalls where the buses are waiting. Find your bus and hop in because you'll have a lot more traveling on the road to do.
We noticed that while we were in Thailand, the right-driven bus was on the left side of the road - and it's normal. However, once we left the Cambodian border, the bus stayed on the right side of the road - just like in the Philippines and China. Takes great driving skills to do that.
The journey took around 3-4 hours and when we reached the bus company office, the boys outside opened the luggage compartment and took our bags to bring to the bus office. We didn't like that bit as we don't want anyone touching our bags when we travel and people must also have some decency to do that. We're just trying to avoid hassles and problems.
We were approached by the tuktuk drivers waiting around and said that they could send us to our guesthouse for free but we begged off. We all know that there's nothing free in this world especially when tourists and foreigners are involved, so there's a catch to it for sure. So since our guesthouse was just a 20-minute walk, we just opted for that. It was also a good way to check out the vicinity.
Anyway, check out our video to witness our adventure!
Sharing with you our fun radio interview with DJ Chassy Cortes, a Pinay DJ from Cebu, last March 12th 2019 on TNL Radio. We were joined by Ms. Mahika Chandrasena, Director of Public Relations of Shangri-La Hotel Colombo. Effort-ly captioned/transcribed by yours truly. Thank you for having me & Mar Silverio!
A friend from Malaysia sent me an email and asked how we are doing here in Colombo. I replied to him and said, "We are doing great here." - and I was typing those words with a big smile on my face.
My friend is not active on social media so he's obviously not updated with us. I sent him a few videos, including this promo video above - just a few of the wonderful things that Shangri-La Hotel Colombo has done to promote us.
We also have done radio guesting at TNL Radio - which was the first time for us, and we have also appeared on different newspapers and magazines. With a great supportive management like wehave here, we are always inspired to bring smiles and wonderful memories to our audiences.
Catch the URB Band at the Sapphyr Lounge of Shangri-La Hotel Colombo every night except Mondays; Tuesdays-Thursdays 7:30-11pm and Fridays-Sundays 8:30-12midnight.
I started this blog off by writing "woke up very early" but then I realized that we actually didn't get to sleep. LOL! 6AM is usually our daily bedtime (yes, we're nocturnal beings), so we just rested and watched this movie about the notorious Colombian drug dealer in the 70s til 90s, Paolo Escobar entitled "Loving Pablo, Hating Pablo". Not bad at all.
Anyway, the day before the event, hubby was lucky to score some souvenir jersey shirts from the Ironman merchandise booth. In fact, he was the last customer at the cashier. His shirt fitted him just perfectly, whereas mine was a bit loose. But hey, we're still lucky to have scored these!
Like the first Ironman Colombo last year, which we were lucky to have witnessed as well, the whole event was concentrated in and around Shangri-La Hotel Colombo. The event officially kicked off 4 days before the race day, with most function rooms and ballrooms of the hotel catering for the event itself.
The big day was held on the 24th of February 2019 (Sunday) just outside of the hotel, right at the Galle Face Green by the Indian Ocean. It was well organized this time and the atmosphere was better than last year, not to mention the ambience and the beautiful surrounding - thanks to almost complete construction of One Galle Face - Shangri-La Colombo's premium property that has 2 residential towers, 1 office tower, and the soon-to-open biggest shopping mall in Colombo.
I was supposed to just do stories on Instagram crossposted to my Facebook, hence got this video on portrait mode. But I realized I took quite a lot of footages so I just edited them simply. Enjoy!
