No Regrets

Chapter 8: Racing & Traveling with Leo

By now, my husband Leo was the president of the Manila Jockey Club. I myself did not appreciate horse racing. I would only go when we had guests or special races.

One of the perks of being the president of the Jockey Club was traveling every three years to a different part of the world to attend the racing conferences and meet your counterparts and other racing officials. Of course, the wives were also invited. Of all the places we went to, my favorites were Paris and India. Beautiful Paris, the city of lights. My father-in-law used to say, "Paris walang kaparis." Truly, the sights were incomparable. I loved the little sidewalk cafes where you could sit for hours and watch the world go by. The excitement of seeing the Eiffel Tower from all points of France. The grand Arch of Triumph, the Louvre Museum with the odd glass triangle made by I.M. Pei. The old Notre Dame Church which always reminded me of Quasimodo and Esmeralda, the haute couture of Dior, Chanel, Yves St. Laurent, and other boutiques, the River Seine, on which the tourist boats went up and down all day long. The night life which was so dazzling and daring.

In Love With Paris

I remember when we once went to Paris, we took our children with us. After we had shown them the sights one evening, we took them to the Follies Bergere. The show was quite risque, but we figured the boys had to grow up sometime. At the end of the revue, three horses came on stage with three nude women standing on their backs to the trumpeting of music amid confetti and balloons. When we got out of the theater, I asked my boys what they thought about the show. Mike answered, "It was OK." Junior said, "Yes, it was OK." And when I asked my youngest, who was 14, he said, "Gee Mom, the horses were really great!"

The biggest race of the year in Paris was the Grand Prix. Everyone bought their entrance tickets weeks before the event and the women had special hats made for the occassion. Hats ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. You could feel the excitement in the air, the men and women rushing about to bet on their favorites. Fortunes were made and lost. It was at races like these that you could see the most magnificent horses in the world.

It was not only racing that we went to – there were also receptions, dinners and balls that were specially given in honor of the delegates. One of the most impressive occasions was a black tie dinner given by Aly Kahn and his beautiful English wife. When we went by the reception line with Aly Kahn shaking everyone’s hand, I wanted to ask him if he still remembered the time he came to the Philippines. I recalled very well that a reception was given in his honor by Salipada Pendatun and his wife Ada, who is Ben Farrales’ sister. He had come to visit with the Muslims in Mindanao. But the reception line was much too long for me to delay anything. We were in Paris about three times in the course of the racing conferences.

The Lights Of Calcutta

My other favorite place was India. Its colors, culture and history are overwhelming. But if you are a tourist, you will not see the sights that are so exotic, something reserved only for the upper class.

We arrived in Calcutta at night. The lights were dim and everything looked so depressing that I thought to myself what in the world were we doing here in this God-forsaken place? On the sidewalks I could see, through the window of the bus, bodies lying side by side. When I asked the conductor why the bodies were lying so, he answered, "At midnight, a truck comes by with guards that give the bodies a kick. If they move, they’re left there, and if they don’t, they’re thrown into the truck and taken to a place where they are burned." How horrible!

But the next night, our fears were dispelled.We went to a reception given by the Indian delegates in honor of the visiting officials. As soon as we entered the huge tent, a beautiful sight met us. The women were dressed in gorgeous saris of all bright colors, bejeweled and beyond description, huge diamonds in their noses, rubies on their ears and emeralds on their hands. The men, equally as attractive as the women, were dressed in their Nehru outfits, very suave and gentlemanly. But a sight to behold was the tent itself. From the middle of the ceiling, there were millions of ribbons of all colors intertwined with jasmine strands all around the roof. Not only did it look beautiful, it smelled divine!

The next day was race day, the pomp and splendor of everything were mind-boggling. There was first a parade of the dressed-up elephants with their mahouts (drivers or trainers) brightly dressed in outfits and turbans of all colors, accompanied by a band whose musicians were dressed in red. Then came the representatives of the different provinces of India in their beautiful colorful costumes. What a great show!

The race club itself was from the colonial times – large, breezy with huge acacia trees giving shade to tables that were strewn about for refreshments. The waiters, too, were a sight in themselves, dressed in tunics with turbans with a pleater swirl on their heads. It all looked so exotic. India is a diverse country with so many aspects to it that it would take years to know and see everything it has to offer. The majority are Buddhists, but if you go to a Catholic church on a Sunday, you will never see a more devoted people than the Indians. Many of them would extend their arms upward throughout the Mass.

When going to a bazaar, you will be dazzled by what you see. Everything in all colors of the rainbow – shawls, saris, jewelry, fake or genuine, evening bags embroidered in gold. In fact, their embroidery is exquisite.

Every province has dozens of temples dedicated to their gods, each one has a history. Sightseeing can last all day, and then some more on the next day. Indian food is not to everyone’s liking, but I enjoyed it as I am fond of spicy food. We went to India three times and each time I enjoyed and discovered more things about India.

Japan, Hong Kong & Austria

We also went to Japan, which is clean and beautiful and has a lovely and modern race track. Although we had already been to Australia before, we still enjoyed seeing old friends and renewing acquaintances. The Australians love three things: their wives, their horses and their liquor, not necessarily in that order.

The race track in Hong Kong has the biggest turnover of money in the world. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur also have race tracks. In Dubai, the races opened fairly recently. The main attraction for the women were "the streets of gold," about three avenues were jewelry shops all lined up one after the other selling gold jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, rings, chains, you name it. The prices too were quite reasonable.

The travel bug bit us and we continued to travel on our own after that.

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No part of this autobiography may be used in any form without permission from Mary H. Prieto and the Philippine STAR.