Turkish Embassy’s Ilhame Kilic, Cambodian Amb. In May and Mme. Hana Sagi

Last October 29, the Repub­lic of Turkey celebrated its 83rd Na­tional Day at the residence of H.E. Ambassador Tanju Sumer in Makati City. The day is particularly significant in that it marks a turning point in the history of the Turks, marking the end of the 700-year-old Ottoman Empire and the declaration of the Turkish Republic under its first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923.

Japanese Embassy’s Minister Eiichi Oshima, Indian Embassy’s Tsewang Namgyal and IMF Resident Rep Reza Baqir

Pakistani Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan and Sri Lankan Amb W. M. Senevirathna

As befitting as its widely-acknowl­edged standing as a bridge between the two civilizations, with a culture that is a unique blend of Eastern and Western tra­dition owing to its strategic location at the intersection of two continents, the Turk­ish Day celebrations were marked by an impressive showing of diplomats from around the globe, social, political and me­dia figures and representatives of regional and international organizations.

Mme. Somchit Philakone and Mme. Afia Akhter Dana

NZ Embassy’s Defence Attache Group Captain Mary Cox, Mrs. Nicola Rosenzweig and Australian Embassy’s
Asst. Defence Attache Major Paul Rosenzweig

Turkey is a founding member of the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a member state of the Council of Europe since 1949, and of NATO since 1952. Turkey has been in accession negotiations with the European Union since 2005, having been an associ­ate member since 1963. Turkey is also a member of the G20, which brings together the 20 largest economies of the world. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Philippines date back to 1949, and our respective embassies were established in Manila and Ankara 15 years ago.

Egyptian Amb. Salwa Moufid and Turkish Amb. Tanju Sümer

Turkish Amb. Tanju Sümer, Iranian Amb. Jalal Kalantari, and Turkish Embassy’s Alp Atakcan

Turkey and the Philippines have signed agreements on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments, Prevention of Double Taxation, Economic and Tech­nical Cooperation, and a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the Political Consultation Mechanism. What’s On & Expat extends its re­gards to the people and government of the Republic of Turkey and its Embassy in the Philippines headed by H.E. Ambassador Tanju Sumer. Tebrikler Turkiye!

Mexican Amb. Erendira Paz Campos, Mexican Embassy’s Minister Jose Oramas, and Brunei Amb. Emaleen Teo

Mr. Francisco Fernandez and former Undersecretary for Defense Acquisition Jose F. Santos, Francisco Ortigas III, and Mexican Embassy’s Minister Jose Oramas

Teyfik Aydinliogli, EP ICAD and Fantain International School Asst. Dir. Bora Aslan

Francisco Ortigas III, Turk Amb. Tanju Sümer and Acting
Asst. Sec. DFA Jerril Santos

Al Casimiro, Cora Espiritu, Cor Ebdalin, Letty Han and Nina Casimiro

US Embassy’s Matthew McHorris, Kristen Wiebe and Turkish Embassy’s Alp Atakcan

Italian Embassy’s Dr. Mario Bartoli and Tatiana Bartoli

ADB Asst Chief Economist Frank Harrigan, Rosie Harrigan,
Kristen Wiebe and Gina Capistrano

Nigerian Embassy’s CDA Dada Olisa, Mrs. Olisa, and South African Amb. Pieter Vermeulen

Apostolic Nunciature’s Msgr. Wojciech Zaluski and Czech Embassy’s Jan Janda

British Council’s Ian Cawley and Mrs. Cawley

Honorary Consul to Togo Evie Costa, Annabelle Rama

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Marga Ortigas: A CNN girl goes to Al Jazeera

If you are like most people the world over, you are no stranger to the 24-hour news channel CNN. If you have, again, like most people, stay tuned over the last ten years, it would be more than unlikely that the face of Marga Ortigas has at one point in time, greeted you onscreen. Indeed, a veteran of bringing the news to homes across the world, this Philippine born and bred broadcast journalist started gracing local screens as a commercial model, a weather girl and eventually, at age 23, the supervising producer for the much-admired “The Probe Team”.

Marga Ortigas in front of the Gaza strip beach.

It was in 1996 when Marga’s broadcasting career took a turn. Offered a scholarship to do her Masters in the UK by the British Council, Marga was faced with some tough decisions as to which school to choose. “I had been accepted by several universities” says Marga, “one of which was the highest rated school in journalism, and was located in Scotland, but I didn’t want to get a masters on something I was doing for the last six years!” Sound advice came from one of the members of the then British council who told her “It doesn’t matter what school you get into, what matters is what kind of student you are “so if I were you, go to Greenwich University for the simple reason that it’s in London. At the end of the day, what will make the experience worth it for you is just living in London and she was absolutely right.” It was not only her choice of university that was deemed unconventional to her peers but also her decision to finish with an MA in Literature rather than journalism.

Marga with cameraman Brendan in Korea

“For me it is all about telling a story and the only way to properly tell a story is if you know what are the stories important enough to tell. And there is no such thing as a small story, just small-minded story tellers right? Proper storytelling is all about developing insight and depth and learning about how to look at content and all of that comes from learning how to read literature. I’ve always encouraged that if you want to be a journalist, don’t take journalist classes, take something that would be more reflective of life. Art, humanities, philosophy…”

CNN London
Upon completion of her Masters a year and a half later, Marga felt it was too soon to come home to Manila. Putting her resourcefulness to work she set about trying to find a job, which proved both challenging and frustrating. “It was very hard to get work in TV there (London). I was able to get into the BBC for a job interview but I wasn’t brit enough for them, and having only been in the country for a short period they felt I didn’t know the culture plus I had no accent.” Eventually, just to stay in the country she worked on odd jobs and was then hired by a wine company, where she stayed for two years. It was on one rather nondescript day as she was sitting by her office staring out the window into the rainy London streets that she thought ‘What am I doing? After all my training I’m here selling freaking wine!’ She then decided to do something very bold, and picked up the phone to call up CNN London.

“You know the feeling when you’re at your wits end, you don’t have time to be afraid and I found that when you’re not afraid that’s normally when things work out because you don’t have the fear to hold you back. So that’s what I did, I literally picked up the phone and asked to talk to then CNN London Bureau Chief Tom Mintier. I just said ‘Yeah can I just speak to Tom please’ and they put me straight through! The next thing I know it’s him! He’s like ‘Hello’ and I’m like Ohmigod! as I hadn’t planned further than ‘Can I please speak to Tom’ and he gets on the phone and I started blabbing. I was telling him ‘Hi I met you! (when he was in Manila giving a talk and I was one of 100 people attending) years ago in the Philippines,
you came to the network I was an anchor for…’ so I blubbered on for like ten minutes and I told him ‘Can I just send you my CV and if you have anything anything, I’ll make coffee, whatever, I just want anything…’

He then said ‘Ok, sure’ and he gave me his email address and I sent him my CV.” Although he was very busy he answered and told her he would keep her in mind and let her know if anything
comes out. “So, I harassed him every week” laughs Marga. “ I would email him weekly saying ‘anything yet?’ Finally six months later he said ‘why don’t you come in so we can meet ?’ I came in he took me out for coffee and because he used to be the bureau chief of Bangkok he knew Asia. And he knew that since I lived and worked in the Philippines that I would have experience and knowledge of working in Asia. There was an opening and he called me up ‘we have an opening, you’re overqualified for it. It’s for tape producer, someone who collects tapes and records news from Reuters but if you’re willing to do it, it will get your foot in the door and once you’re '69n , it’s up to you.’ So I said ‘Sure! I’ll take it!’ It was better sitting around selling wines. And that was it.

The Switch
Although Marga’s life had indeed taken some rather timely twists and turns, it was little over a year ago that she was to take another eyebrow raising turn in her life. Having spent almost six years with CNN London, she then made the announcement that she was going to leave and join, of all things, what was infamously referred to as “The Terror Channel”, or Al Jazeera, the 24 hour news channel based out of Doha and fully funded by the Emir of Qatar. “When we were in CNN we always had to watch it, it was always on. It was always important to watch Al Jazeera (AJ) because when Bin-laden started to release his videos it always went to AJ Arabic first. A lot of the video pegs that people were starting to talk about or starting to quote, came from AJ so we knew how big the impact was going to be, especially around the time of 9/11. The press has always had a touch and go relationship with the Middle East.

In a way CNN was crucial in me getting to Al Jazeera as it was CNN who sent me to Baghdad for nearly a year and my understanding of the world really changed.” “Most think of Al Jazeera ( which launched Al Jazeera English channel last November) as news from a Muslim perspective, but that’s not true at all. We are journalists from all over the world working for a media organization, following a pioneering spirit to tell the stories of the untold. I have not been pressured to adhere to anything Muslim; there is respect for who we are as individuals as each voice is respected and heard. We are not airing a musilm perspective we’re just doing the story.

You have to be very clear about that, and this is my background and I’m trying to get as many details and views and angles as possible with every story.” explains Marga. Al Jazeera is now the 5th most recognized brand in the world with is gaining ground, especially with the advent of their new 24 hour English news channel with bureaus ideally located in many countries and Marga is now head of the Manila Bureau although she is not limited by any means to covering just stories concerning the Philippines. “We all work for the same news desk but split into regional hubs, technically I report to Kuala Lumpur and they can send me anywhere they want.”

Al Jazeera English is still not available in the Philippines but Marga has high hopes that it soon will be. “Being in Asia, people have been more open to wanting to see something other than CNN, BBC and Fox News. With Al Jazeera the viewer is allowed to see stories that may impact their lives, and not just stories that will bring in the ratings,” she concludes.

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The Thai people are known for being amiable. In almost every encounter with them, there is bound to be such good-natured hospitality de­livered with genuine smiles. In my re­cent trip to Chiang Mai, a breezy north­ern province in Thailand, I experienced distinctly Thai warmth fit for royalty.

Each of the eight spa and nine residential villas are designed in Lanna (Old North Kingdom) architecture

Staying overnight at the Palm Spa Vil­lage, I felt close to being treated like a princess. In fact, a royal treatment is what Wandee Saisorn, managing director of this charming destination spa, had intend­ed the place to be brimming of. “We want our guests to feel like kings and queens, royalty, when they stay here,” she relates.

Royalty: (L-R) Travel Update’s Buddy Recio, the writer, Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Dave de Jesus, Travel Plus’ Emily Lo and Adventure Travel’s Lala Lingan. And the woman behind giving the royal treatment to its guests is Palm Spa Village’s managing director Wandee Saisorn (standing rightmost).

Nestled amidst a tranquil provincial town, Palm Spa Village is a rustic oasis tucked in the heart of a wide expanse of rice fields. Well-landscaped subdivision lots and a variety of palm trees surround the nine residential and eight spa villas. The villas’ unique details and intricate designs bespeak of Lanna*-style architec­ture with Balinese and Burmese influenc­es. From the teakwood roofs and beams and cream-colored muslin draperies down to the glass and woven lamps and wooden furniture, the whole setup exudes an ambi­ance of the Old North Empire.

The rich heritage of the Lanna culture inspired Saisorn to do more than recreate the embellishments, but also adopt its tra­ditional methods into the spa treatments. Thai Lanna Spa entails selecting an array of herbs, spices and minerals indigenous to the location and blending them as oils and applications for the massages and aro­matherapy sessions.

“Relaxing by day and romantic by night,” is how one could describe Chiang Mai’s Palm Spa Village.

In true royal fashion, a genteel atten­dant in traditional Lanna-style dress start­ed off my three-hour spa bliss in one of the spa villas with an aromatic cleansing foot­bath. It was followed shortly by a detoxi­fying vegetable scrub, a clay mix of pri, yogurt, nutmeg, cinnamon, rosemary and star anise. The rich oils from the crushed herbs emitted a strong fragrance as it com­bined with the warmth of my body. As my therapist, in her lissome speech, instructed me to wash off the scrub, she prepared a blend of ginger, aloe, turmeric and kiaja or Burmese sandalwood and large strips of banana leaves.

The scrub room

Smearing the aromatic blend on my body, she then laid pieces of the leaves over me, to keep the heat and the pungent scent from permeating out of my system. The wrap is supposed to steam the body, draw out the toxins and condi­tion the muscles for a clean and soft slate before the actual aromatherapy massage. The massage is done in a combination of Lanna and Thai styles. There was stretch­ing, kneading, long strokes and the tradi­tional knife technique using the forearm. All in all, the serene environment, with whispers from the rustling palm trees, the sensation of a mollifying rub, the scents of the native ingredients and the gentle coun­tenance of my Thai therapist, I couldn’t help but be lulled into a soothing sleep.

Lanna-style massage techniques performed by the local therapist

As what Saisorn hopes, the 36-acre spa village grants guests a “home-away-from-home” feel, a sense of settlement and comfort sans the bustling stresses and demands of routine. She shares that what I just experienced is one third of the three-day detoxification program offered to the busy, stressed-out folks. Royalty is available to everyone who seeks it, as they say.

The interior of one of the spa villas

More than a city dweller’s retreat, the spa village is also designed for honey­mooners. “Relaxing by day, romantic by night,” my companion commented. And for Bht15,000 (roughly USD500), a cou­ple could spend three days and two nights in the village complete with a package of treatments. Soon, a salon and a health clinic would be put up to cater to guests who seek a holistic experience in a medi­cal tourism setup. But as it is, the Palm Spa Village is already a charming destination. It’s a spa unlike any hotel spa. Because here, you don’t just get a massage, you get a treatment like no other, a service fit for a king, or a queen in my case.

An array of indigenous herbs, spices and minerals used for the spa treatments

For more information, visit www.palmspavillage.com.*Lanna, literally “one million rice fields”, is the name of the old kingdom in Northern Thailand of which the province of Chiang Mai was the capital. It used to be an independent kingdom, later conquered by Burma in 1556 until it became part of Siam (Thailand’s old name) in 1774.

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The annual World Pyro Olympics is a competition between the most prestigious fire­works companies in the world. The event is one of the largest and most intense displays of aerial pyrotech­nics organized.

The dazzling view of the fireworks display from the Heritage Hotel rooftop

The World Pyro Olympics are the brainchild of Ricky Crisostomo of the La Mancha Group of the Philippines, the same company responsible for the spectacular fireworks display during the Philippine Centennial celebrations in 1998. La Mancha then organized the 1st International Fireworks Festival in December 2002 and the World Pyro Olympics Exhibition in March and April of 2004.

Fiery flowers ablaze in the Manila sky

The 1st World Pyro Olympics were held at The Es­planade in Pasay City from December 26-30, 2005. Fire­works were launched from barges anchored 300 meters from the shore on the waters of Manila Bay. Major fire­work makers from nine countries: Australia, China, Ger­many, Korea, Russia, South Africa, the UAE, UK, and USA, competed during the event, which was concluded by an out-of-competition fireworks demonstration by the host organizer. When the smoke cleared, Australia emerged as the champion.

The 2nd World Pyro Olympics opened the year 2007 with flair and flares. Held every weekend from January 5 to January 13, at the The Esplanade behind the new SM Mall of Asia, this year’s participants included defending champion Show FX Australia Pty. Ltd., Glorious Group of China, Nico Lünig Event of Germany, Astondoa Pirotek­nia of Spain, Bright Star Fireworks of Denmark, Flash Art GmbH of Poland, Pyro Studios of Canada, Westcoast Fireworks Ltd. of the United Kingdom and Melrose Py­rotechnics of the United States. Each night, two countries clash in a fiery battle for the skies. Representing the Phil­ippines, La Mancha Pyro Productions closes the Olym­pics with a 20-minute classical aerial pyrotechnics dis­play. The award for the People’s Choice and World Pyro Olympics Champion are then also given out.

Twin whirls of light

What’s On & Expat was invited by 2nd Pyro World Olympics official host hotel The Heritage Hotel Manila, via their spirited Marketing Communications Manager Mina Gervacio, to witness the spectacle from their roof­top while partaking of a sumptuous buffet dinner. The airy and festive venue was full of families, couples, and other privileged guests who all ooh-ed, aah-ed and cheered over the dazzling and colorful lightshow from the strategic vantage point afforded them.
The World Pyro Olympics has introduced the latest innovations in pyrotechnic technology to the country, such as shells that detonate from the water’s surface and ones that give multiple consecutive explosions from a single shell. Aside from the cultural and technical ex­change fostered by the international competition, it also demonstrates how fireworks displays are a viable art form with mass appeal.

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The power of the media in the Philippines is second to none. This is evidenced by our current senatorial line-up where about half of the Senators are either actors, spouses of actors, children of actors, or during their campaigns make bold (and often ludicrous) claims about looking like one celebrity or another.

Of all forms of media, television is most pervasive since it is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. In the provinces especially, many choose to watch TV which is free, as opposed to having to pay to watch a movie. Approximately 90 percent of the Philippine population owns at least one television set. When the clock strikes 6 pm, signaling the start of prime-time, 75 percent of the Filipino people are glued to the boob tube. What draws such a great crowd during this view­ing window? It is the Filipino’s incessant thirst for their daily fix in the form of soap operas.

Traditionally, the big companies selling soap prod­ucts were advertised heavily in this genre. Thus, the term “soap opera” was formed. Back in the early 90s soaps were all heavy drama pegged at noontime. Tear-jerkers like Anna Luna, Valiente, and Agila were on top of their game.

During the latter part of the decade, shows were reshuffled and a new viewing habit transpired. Soap operas found their way in prime-time evening slots while cartoons took the noontime backseat. Another milestone during this period was the emergence of tele­novelas, which as the word implies is the presentation of mini-novels or novellas in a form adaptable to tele­vision. The term was coined when a wave of Spanish soap operas invaded the small screen. Specifically, the nation went gaga over a show called Marimar! I have to stress the exclamation point because the title was al­ways delivered in a singsong tone and finished with the expression, AW! Dubbed in the local language, Fili­pinos did not mind whether the characters looked silly with the mismatched dialogue and mouth movement. The most awaited part is the end of her intermission number where she delivers her signature line, “MA-RI-MAR, AW!”

After the Spanish occupation of the small screen, soaps from Taiwan and Korea took the spotlight in primetime. Meteor Garden was the first and most popular of its kind with ratings that redefined what a blockbuster hit was. It reached 57.4 percent of the total viewership and thus, was renowned as the highest rated Asian drama shown in the Philippines. The series was rerun twice and even the original Manga version, Hana Yori Dango was aired.

In 2004, a new trend surfaced in the industry. Though the foreign invasion still hung over the airwaves, there was a conscious effort to develop and promote locally produced shows. Noticeably, the usual drama gained another dimension — fantasy. It was about time to bring the big screen special effects to a smaller scale. The pioneer series may be credited to Marina, a local soap opera that adapted the “Little Mermaid” storyline. Some criticized the ambitious attempt. Others com­mented that Filipino special effects still have a long way to go before they reach “Hollywood” level. The rival of the station that produced Marina matched the fantaserye (fantasy-series) with their own Mulawin, a series about a mysterious barrio girl whose fate was to restore peace between humankind and the breed of half human, half-bird specie. The fantaserye hype lives on. To date, the two major TV networks continue to outdo each other by producing soap operas with themes that go way beyond our imagination.

The Filipino soap operas that have dominated have all kept common themes that obviously continue to res­onate in our psyche. Understanding these will help one get a peek of what is really going on in this country’s collective consciousness. Almost every successful se­ries has a version of the poor, oppressed character being picked on by the wealthy, tyrannical villain. Then, an event occurs where the person on the bottom somehow switches roles and attains the money and privilege that they always aspired for.

Obviously this stems from the desire of those “on the wrong side of the fence” to break through to the other side, and overcome their difficult situations. The religious Pinoy believes that good will always win over bad. And the romantic Pinoy knows that love conquers all. Regardless of the situation the big families repre­senting rival factions are always involved in whatever on-screen squabbles occur (for anyone in the middle of a family tiff, Filipino style, does this sound familiar?) With the abovementioned themes present, a series is bound for success because these are the top issues that Filipinos deal with. In the end, everyone hopes that the happy endings they see on TV would become real in their daily lives.

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Business Bits

12 Percent Growth in Exports Seen In 2007
Philippine exporters are optimistic that exports will grow this year to 12 percent. The increase was predicted by the Philippine Exporters Confederation in a press statement released recently. In 2006, its growth projection was 10 percent which translated to US$54.9 billion based on 2005 export data, the statement added.

From January to October last year, exports have amounted to US$39.3 billion. No data were available for the last quarter of 2006 yet. In the said 10-month period, exports averaged US$3.9 billion a month. The government, however, opted to be conservative in its export growth forecast for 2007, pegging it at only 10.5 percent.

Environment Bits

Waste Market Day on Jan. 19

Keep your post-holidays junk out of the garbage bin and bring them to the Waste Market on Jan. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alabang Town Center (next to St. Jerome Church). Junk such as electronics, appliances, Christmas lights, used batteries, used ink/toner cartridges, scrap paper, scrap plastics,/aluminums and tin cans could be sold at the market. For more information contact the Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE) and look for Jaz or Nancy at (02) 635-2650/51 or call Adel at Ayala Foundation (02) 752-1084. PBE is located at second floor of DAP Building, San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. You can also reach them via email at ctem@csi.com.ph or check their website at www.pbe.org.ph or www.iem.net.ph

Health Bits

Help for Headaches

As the new year is in full swing it seems headaches that come with their professional or personal lives are at an all- time high. On busy days with a packed agenda, migraines can be debilitating. Sometimes people are prone to getting them more than others. It has been found that a headache can be triggered by eating certain foods or emotional stress. you can find your head splitting due to a trigger like certain foods or emotional stress.

In several websites it was indicated that chocolate, coffee and even red wine are possible triggers for headaches. It is also interesting to note that a migraine can set in during a post-stressful time, like on vacation or another type of break that would normally be relaxing. Tyramine, which is a component of many cheesy foods should be avoided as often as possible if one is susceptible to regular haeahces. Gaining awareness of what foods act as triggers or getting more rest could be the answer. Remember to consult a doctor though if a headache seems to persist over a long period of time.

Tourism Bits

Baguio Prepares for Flower Festival, Tourist Influx

Acting City Mayor Virgillio Bautista, Jr. announced that preparations are well underway for several big events that are expected to draw more than a million visitors to Baguio City beginning this February. Among these events is the annual Baguio Flower Festival, or “Panagbenga,” which starts on February 1 and lasts until mid-March, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduation ceremony in March and the Lenten season in April. Traffic number coding for private vehicles will be suspended until May 2 in order to allow visitors full access to the city’s business district and leisure and resort areas.

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