An Angkor Adventure
Siem Reap is a charming province of Cambodia and is the seat of what could be the country's most famous landmark, the majestic and awe-inspiring Angkor Wat. It was also the venue of the 4th Angkor Silk Fair and I was invited to present my Fall/Winter 2006 “City” hablon collection and my Spring/Summer 2007 “Triumph of Tradition” jusi and barong collection. Nina You and Kelly Karatau, the head honcho of the Angkor Silk Forum was fascinated with the materials I used and they wanted to have a sort of interaction with the silk producers and a foreign designer. My good friend Loven Ramos, graphic designer par excellance, sorted out my inclusion to the fair and along with his wife Faith, booked me on a flight to Siem Reap. I presented my collection at the Royal Gardens with models ranging from an ear cleaner, a cook, a barber to Ms. Cambodia and Mr. Manhunt. Loven, who art directed the show wanted a spectrum of real models and real people to give my show texture. And I'm happy to say I never felt so appreciated in all my life when I took the finale bow. Many Filipinos and foreigners watched the ticketed show. The mood music before the show of classic Pinoy disco like 'Bongga Ka 'Day!', 'Manila' and 'Annie Batungbakal' sure did help. Apsara TV covered and showed the whole show on national TV. That is how I became an ambassador of sorts for the Philippines in the name of style!
Fashion designer Jaki Penalosa and TNT's very own Marichel Magalona tagged along to experience Angkor. The organizers and the Ramos family prepared a wonderful itinerary for all of us. We visited the Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles where Mr. Morimoto, a Japanese designer, creates traditional silk textiles using only traditional methods. Even the tie they use for tying the silk is made of banana fiber and they recycle old rusty Khmer Rouge guns to fix the dye of their textiles (retailing for hundreds of dollars). We also passed by Prolung Khmer, a pottery and cotton weaving industry where we saw pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It turned out it was the pet project of the benevolent couple. We toured all the high end hotels, bars and nooks there – Blue Pumpkin (the best vegetarian drinks and the best ice cream – ginger&nougatine ice cream!), Linga Bar (Won the best atmosphere award from Travel Magazine), Amansara (where the Pitts stayed; simply the best in chic elegance when it comes to resort hotels), Apsalu Market (where you can buy dragon fruits, fried crickets, scorpions, Jurassic-looking fishes and other exotic products found only there), One Hotel ( you pay for the whole hotel, you occupy the whole hotel!), Old Market (a treasure trove of silks, textiles, silvers and the whole gamut of Cambodian products), Hotel de la Paix (the chicest place to have dessert) and so many other places.
I could go on and on raving about Siem Reap and our Angkor Wat adventure but it would take so much more space, so many words and phrases to describe the smell (jasmine, sampaguita) , the scenery (rugged, dusty, dry), the people (trapped in time, friendly, eager), the food (minty, vegetarian, herby) and everything that makes it a wonderful place. It's a developing region and when I'm asked to describe it in the most brief way, I can only say, “There, the possibilities and opportunities are endless!”