Robin & Mariel: To and from Russia with Love

The wanderlust has again bitten Robin Padilla and wife Mariel Rodriguez who came back fully-recharged from a week-long vacation in Russia. They left on April 23 with the owners and dealers of Cherry Mobile and came back on April 29.

“Actually I was just a saling-pusa (hanger-on),” Mariel told Funfare. “The trip was a bonus for Robin who is a Cherry Mobile endorser. It was also an incentive for Cherry Mobile dealers who have reached a certain quota. They were given free round-trip tickets. The airfare, hotel accommodation and food were paid for by the Cherry Mobile bosses. All that Robin and I shouldered was our pocket money.”

The couple toured Moscow and St. Petersburg.

“We fell in love with Russia!” gushed Mariel who is back co-hosting Wil Time Bigtime with Willie Revillame and Camille Villar. “We’re planning to go back.”

Robin and Mariel toured Moscow and St. Petersberg with Cherry Mobile owners and dealers. Robin got the trip as bonus for being an effective endorser of the product.

It’s one of the couple’s several trips abroad since they got married. The first was to India where they exchanged vows in Muslim rites at the Taj Mahal. They also went to Morocco recently. During all these trips, they buy pieces of furniture and décor for the dream house they’re building — Robin’s version of Taj Mahal dedicated to Mariel.

Besides traveling, what fascinates Robin is mountain-climbing. So far, he has scaled a few, including the 2,070-foot Mt. Mohaji in Basilan in 2006 to raise awareness for the Muslim children caught in armed conflict, the 9,609 Mt. Pulag (said to be the highest peak in Luzon) to honor his Igorot forebears and recently the Mt. Apo (the highest peak in the country), reaching the top in just a little over 24 hours together with some friends and members of the Philippine Army who acted as their escorts.

At the peak, Robin planted the flag of Psoriasis Philippines, the local community of psoriasis patients whom Robin is supporting.

“It’s a big inspiration to us suffering from psoriasis, knowing na mayroon kaming kakampi in the person of Robin,” said Carol R. Velasco of Psoriasis Philippines.

When his daughter Kylie was 11, Robin took her along to climb King’s Canyon in Fresno, California.

“I plan to climb Mt. Apo again,” said Robin, “next time with my son Ali (11).”

Next target: Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world at 29,029 feet.

Sizzling takes

• Could it be true that Heart Evangelista and Legacy co-star Sid Lucero are, according to a Funfare source, “getting closer and closer?” Is Heart bouncing back so fast from her recent break-up with Daniel “Crying Boy” Matsunaga? What about Sid? Wasn’t he able to patch things up with his non-showbiz girlfriend?

• It happened years back — you know, when a controversial sexy young actress and an equally controversial wholesome actor were caught in the act inside the girl’s car parked in front of her house. They were “busy as bees” when a cop (or was it a barangay tanod?) caught them with a flashlight. No report was made. After the incident, the actress spread the word that, the Funfare source added, “walang ipagmamalaki si aktor.” Hmmmm, maliit na bagay para gawing malaking issue.

• Funfare’s Big Apple DPA calls a beauty-queen-actress ilusyonada. You see, every time the actress goes out, she wears huge dark glasses, wrongly thinking that she would be recognized. When the DPA chanced upon her at a Manhattan restaurant, he asked, “Are you ‘S’?” The actress said, lowering her dark shades a bit, “Sshhh, huwag ka maingay baka pagkaguluhan ako!”

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Robin plants a flag of Psoriasis Philippines at the peak of Mt. Apo which he scaled in 24 hours