Susan's 'must-see' places

Curtain-raisers:

• I am printing the following e-mail from Jose Mari Chan with the permission of Wilson Lee Flores in whose column last Sunday the item about Joe came out: I am now in Narita awaiting my connecting flight to New York. My daughter phoned me that in today’s Philippine STAR (Sunday, July 10) someone reported that I had bought a JET PLANE. Goodness gracious! I categorically deny the story. M y work takes me to Negros and with several Philippine Airlines flights daily to Bacolod, I find it most convenient taking PAL commercial. Besides, I get to hear my jingle played on board. The PAL flight crew service is a bonus, too. Whoever tipped off (Wilson) must have mistaken Willie Revillame for me. (Note: Willie did buy a private plane for P200M.)

• DMV Entertainment under Manny Valera is looking for male singers 16 to 20 years old, must also be a good dancer. “X” factor is an advantage. Auditions will be held at No. 5 Scout Magbanua corner Roces Avenue, Quezon City (near Amoranto Stadium) on Saturday, July 16, 1 to 4 p.m. Applicants must bring photo, resumé and Minus 1. Call 347-1361 or 415-0373 for more information.

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Like her longest-running travel show Travel Time, Susan Calo-Medina’s new magazine, also named Travel Time, is a must-read. Very informative, very interesting and, like travelling, very broadening. With it, you can “visit” so many places by being an armchair tourist. Susan herself is the publisher, with Floy Quintos as creative director.

Features in its April-June issue include Enduring India, Hidden Subic, a guide what and where to eat and, a “must-read,” Floy’s story about San Pablo, the resort town, that focuses on Casa San Pedro (“the magic of memory”), Sitio de Amor, Sulyap Gallery Café (“a remembrance of things past”), a glimpse of old houses with precious “collectibles” and Villa Escudero (“beyond the resort and into the private world of Ado Escudero”).

As soon as you put down the magazine, you get the urge to pack up and take off.

During a recent lunch, Funfare asked Susan what her 10 “Must” Destinations are. Here they are:

1. “Climb Mt. Pinatubo; it will take you only 45 minutes to hike to the crater along a landscape of lahar;”

2. “Swim with the butanding in Donsol, Sorsogon; it’s an out-of-body experience;”

3. “Spend overnight in Batanes;”

4. “See the Banaue Rice Terraces;

5. “Visit Bohol; it’s rugged, it’s natural, it’s raw, it’s isolated; the province has everything — heritage, hotels, beaches, adventure, nice people…everything!’

6. “Explore Palawan — the El Nido Park, the underground river, the Coron area, etc.;”

7. “Take a sunbath in the beautiful beaches of Tawi-Tawi; I won’t advise you to go there on your own, go there with the proper connections…get in touch with the authorities and request them to show you around; check out Ungus Matata island;

8. “Visit Jolo; it has the most beautiful mats (banig) in the world, made of pandan, very soft;”

9. “Enter the Sohoton Cave in Basey, Western Samar, and check out the old church in Guiuan (Western Samar) where the altar is decorated with shells;” and

10. “Go on a food tour of Pampanga.”

And the 10 places she hasn’t been to but would love to go to:

1. Luang Prabang, Laos;

2. Angkor Wat, Cambodia;

3. Nepal (“The perfect place for soul-searching”);

4. Libya (“I want to see the Roman Ruins”);

5. Iguazu Falls in South America, which is bordered by three countries (including Brazil and Argentina);

6. Victoria Falls in Africa;

7. Machu Picchu in Peru;

8. Borobudor in Central Java, Indonesia;

9. All the national parks in America (Yellow Stone, Four Corners, etc.), “Kasi when I go to America, it’s always New York”; and

10. Patagonia (“Considered to be the end of the earth”), located between the Andes and the Atlantic.

SAt the Temptation Island victory lunch with the press, Tessa Prieto-Valdes (center) with (from left) John ‘Sweet’ Lapus, Regal producer Roselle Monteverde-Teo, GMA Films producer Annette Gozon-Abrogar and Lovi Poe

So what are you waiting for?

Follow Susan’s cue.

Tessa, the ‘accidental actress’

If there’s an accidental tourist, there’s also an accidental actress.

”I’m one,” admitted Tessa Prieto-Valdes who reprises Bibeth Orteza’s role (originally as emcee of a beauty contest and now of a fashion show) in the remake of Temptation Island, a Regal Films/GMA Films joint venture showing nationwide. “It took me more than five hours to dub for my five-minute appearance on screen but I enjoyed it.”

Already, she’s cast as the mother of Lexi Fernandez in the film version of the popular GMA youth-oriented show Tween Hearts.

“If I were younger,” said Tessa, “I would love to do a role played by Lovi (Poe) in Temptation.” (Lovi is a scene-stealer in the pool scene, showing her in a tight-fitting, highly-revealing swimsuit.)

There’s only one role that Tessa said she would not do — a bold role.

“Otherwise,” she said, “my father might get a heart attack.”

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