Paradise turned one

After three hours and a half drive to Kandaya Resort in Agujo, Daanbantayan, we went directly to see the person who made his dream come true - Martin Philip Salimbangon Yeung.

Actually, Martin Philip Yeung, scion of Hong Kong diamond magnate Carlos Yeung and Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung was quite occupied with a hundred-and-one responsibilities after he became the President and CEO of MSY Holdings, Inc. Not to mention his concerns at the family-owned firms in Hong Kong: the Fairway Diamond Co., Ltd and Simplexdiam Co., Ltd. Reason, he now commutes between Cebu and Hong Kong. Martin is happily married to the beautiful former fashion model Claudia Bezerra de Souza from Brazil.

Since the invite was 5:30 p.m., arriving at Kandaya Resort was just on time. Taking a golf cart, we drove around the resort and saw for ourselves the Kandaya Resort elegantly nestled on a 14-hectare property with almost a kilometer-long front beach. Incredible!

During dinner, raindrops kept falling on us all. But this did not dampen the spirits of all the guests from Manila and Hong Kong, and local friends of the Yeungs as they repaired to Kusina where the program proceeded as planned. As the party theme was "African Night," practically everybody came in African-inspired outfits. Looked like a safari, sort of. Led by Mariquita whose costume she got from Africa in one of her trips there, friends from the Big City who came for the occasion followed suit.

And with Martin's imported band "Makumba" very much available, dancing was the order of the night, and surely, guests danced to their hearts' content until the wee hours of the next morning.

Kandaya Resort is a fabulous place, a real sanctuary for peace, harmony and happiness… a modern-day paradise like no other. Congrats to the Yeungs!