JUNE 8, 2021 Dear Balesin Members and Friends Tang Palace We had our soft opening of Tang Palace, our new Chinese restaurant, last Friday night. My family, including my sister Deanna, and Maribel my sister-in-law, and her daughter Joanna and husband Ramon Duarte were my guests, and we totally enjoyed the dinner. There were a …
MaY 25, 2021 Dear Balesin Members and Friends This will be a short update. Tang Palace in Balesin At long last, we will have our own Chinese restaurant in Balesin. As you know, we built for Apsaras Tribe, a beautiful Chinese palace, not far from Rico’s Hideaway. This was opened some two years ago, but …
MaY 17, 2021 Dear Balesin Members and Friends Halleluiah! I am delighted to inform all of you that we just this minute received the CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY TO OPERATE (For Point to Point Air Leisure Travel) from the Department of Tourism. So, we can start confirming your bookings immediately. I need to remind you though, …
MaY 10, 2021 Dear Balesin Members and Friends One of the original members of Balesin Island Club and my friend, Robert Gustafsson, has written me a letter regarding his new venture. He requested that I call it to the attention of the Balesin members, and I am doing so now. I personally think that his …
MaY 8, 2021 Dear Balesin Members and Friends I am delighted to inform you that last night, we received word that the IATF has approved “Point-to-Point Travel.” This means that residents of NCR Plus will be able to fly from NAIA to Balesin and back, once our application for Point-to-Point Travel is approved. We submitted …
March 15, 2021 To: Balesin Members and Friends Exactly one year ago, Balesin Island Club was locked down due to the pandemic. We were allowed to reopen in mid-June, but then locked down again and reopened in August. Except for two quick trips to Manila, and a trip to London, I have been in Balesin …
December 5, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends Today marks three weeks after typhoon “Ulysses” battered Balesin. Since then, on a 24-hour basis, all hands on Balesin have been tirelessly working to restore the island to its pre-typhoon beauty. We have “imported” workers from the Alphaland Makati Place and from Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges, hired …
November 16, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends Today is Monday, November 16, and it is early evening here in Balesin. It was sunny the whole day, and the calm has returned to the island after the horrific typhoon Ulysses, which made a direct hit and battered Balesin on Wednesday last week. I returned to …
December 5, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends Suddenly, it is September! The days during this pandemic seem to just fold one into the next, like a row of dominoes collapsing into each other. There is enough woe, sometimes despair, in the media and everywhere else, and I do not want to succumb and add …
May 18, 2020 To: Balesin Members and Friends It is Monday, May 18, 2020 as I write this. We are on the 64th day of lockdown and none of us have been spared from its impact. I hear a lot from our members, mostly about the Balesin seafood delivery service that we started over a …
