The International Beat

Subsequent to the RI convention in Melbourne, I had the opportunity to visit our sister clubs, RC Bangkok and RC Singapore.

On 23 June 2023, RC Bangkok held its handover for Rotary year 2023-2024, with IPP Nicolas Reschke turning over the RCB presidency to President Lalita Hongratanawong. The handover was held at the venue of their regular lunch meetings, the Grand Hyatt Erawan, in the heart of the Sukhumvit shopping area in Bangkok. RCMer Steve Mommaerts, our ambassador, assisted me in greeting and congratulating RCB members, who are all RCM friends, as well as personal friends of mine. It was truly a comfortable and enjoyable evening as I spent time with longstanding friends from RCB.

On the very next day, June 24, I hopped over to Singapore to attend RC Singapore’s turnover. This special event was held at the elegant ballroom of the Ritz Carlton Singapore. At the handover, I was happy to meet many other Rotarians from other Philippine clubs. Notable among these rotarians was DGE Reggie Nolido of RC Makati, who is the brother of our very own Rtn. Ramby Nolido. Another group I met were officers of RC Cauayan (Isabela), among them President Czarah Dy. RC Cauayan is a potential partner for a prospective medical mission.

On June 25, several friends from RC Singapore treated me to dinner at an old favorite restaurant of mine. The Banana Leaf Apolo has been serving Indian Fish head Curry for decades. I have not encountered something closely comparable to this dish in the many international restaurants I have been to. Their curries, including Lamb Shank Curry (Roganjosh) are unbelievably flavorful yet not piquant enough to bother this memorable meal. My hosts, PP Jimmy Ooi. PP Perlita Tiro, and the peripatetic PP Mark Wang were so hospitable; they made sure that I got what I was looking for… and I did. Thank you again, our dear friends from RC Singapore.

On June 26, I stopped over in Bangkok on my way home, for another unforgettable meal with friends from RC Bangkok. PP Abdullah Alawadi and RCM Ambassador Steve M. orchestrated a fun evening of gastronomic delights and warm bonding from games of pool and drinks.

I was back in Manila on June 27, albeit a few pounds heavier. On July 4, a group of Rotarians from our sister club RC Kowloon East visited us to attend our handover. During their anniversary celebration a few months back a group of around twenty Manila Rotarians attended. They wanted to show their appreciation for our gesture of friendship by attending our handover. Top officers of RC Kowloon East including President Chung, PE Chan, IPP Mo Louis, PDG Peter Wong and PPs David Yau and Albert Poon were at the City of Dreams to witness our handover. They even had a cash gift for RCM. Sec. Edwin H. received this gift on behalf of Pres. Raffy Alunan and RCM.

During their visit, there were several dinners hosted by us for them. Arrival day dinner was set up by Pres. Raffy with Rotarians Henry Go and Director Jujut Enriquez. I and Pres. Raffy shared the hosting chores. On the next day 05 July, RCKE PP David Yau joined me for a round of golf at the Sta. Elena Golf Club while the other visitors took a tour of the city and its environs. Dinner was hosted by IPP Hermie Esguerra at the La Cabrera restaurant in Makati. Our handover was at lunch of Thursday 06 July. On that evening our visitors hosted a dinner at the East Ocean Palace restaurant in the bay area. Among those in attendance were Pres. Raffy, DGE Jackie, PDG Vince, PD John Cutter, VP Reggie, BLA Raoul, AS Rami, and myself.

At a farewell lunch on 07 July, we hosted them at the Manila Polo Club, Willow Root Bar. Pres. Raffy, Dir. Hans and Sec. Edwin, among others, were at hand to bid farewell to our visitors. All in all, I am glad to report that our guests enjoyed their visit. We/They strengthened friendships with old friends and made many knew friends. Commitments of cooperation between our clubs are solid. Individually we may be gaining friends for life. This is the cycle that has proven to nurture and develop friendship from our Rotary global network… we honor them with a visit and they reciprocate with a visit of their own.

May I remind everyone, RC Kowloon East has already set a date for their next anniversary celebration. December 4 is their red letter day. Let us take this opportunity to again honor our friends. And a big plus to that will be an opportunity to have fun and bond in Hongkong, now very nearly recovered from the pandemic and only one hour and forty five minutes away from Manila.

On July 18, five members of the Rotary Club of Takatsuki East visited us with the main purpose of connecting with RCM whilst looking for partners for prospective projects. They were headed by their International Service Chairman Mitsumasa Asaka san who was ably assisted by RC Olongapo PP Hajime Yokota san. Their prospective projects have been passed on to the chairmen of the committees tasked to handle those type of projects. In this case I turned over a potential water project to WASH chairman, BLA Raoul Creencia, and a potential project for the environment to chairman Dir. Hans Palacios.

On July 21, the Circle of Centennial Rotary Clubs (CCRC) held its first meeting for the rotary year 2023-2024. I am pleased to announce that the CCRC will hold its second meeting for ‘23-‘24 on August 21. Anyone interested to connect with Rotarians from the US and Europe is invited to attend the online meeting on said date. Please coordinate with the undersigned if you want to join the meeting.

May I also advise everyone that our sister Club RC Seoul Muak has INVITED us to visit them on September 15 and 16. They also invited their sister club RC Osaka East to join this visit. RC Osaka East is also our sister club. Anyone interested to join this visit, please advise me via a personal message on sms or Viber.

In fine, it was a fun and productive four weeks of interacting with other Rotary clubs. Thank you all for your interest and support of our activities involving Rotary Clubs from the global rotary network. Remember, the friends that we make are your friends too.

A reminder…..December 4, RC Kowloon East (Hongkong) anniversary celebration. Please mark that day for a visit to Hongkong.

In the service of Rotary,