A just like that, another season of The Amazing Race China Rush is all wrapped up. Of course, it’s not always fun and games when it comes to filming one of these seasons, but we definitely made the most of it as we always do. Here’s a few pictures to share with you before I unleash the mother load after we inch closer towards the premiere date…
Of course, this first pic is for all of our Spartacus fans out there…and you know who you are!
As you can see, there’s never a dull moment for me during the course of the race. In the picture above, I even get to explain what the contestants will be performing next with a few birds perched on my arms.
Now, with the race all completed, what is a tired, undernourished, and homesick host supposed to do? I immediately buy the first ticket out to Singapore to catch up with my family. Unfortunately, I decided to try out Cathay Pacific this time, and I cannot emphasize how disappointed I am with this airline. First, I never received any confirmation for my internet booking after the Cathay Pacific website took my credit card information, charged it, and ran. Both my wife and I tried incessantly to get a hold of someone from the airline to confirm the booking, but we never got a hold of anyone in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Why does Cathay Pacific even give a customer service number when no one even attempts to answer your call throughout all hours of the day? To top it off, my family’s flight to Singapore was delayed for a few hours, but that’s something I’ve come to accept flying in and out of China. However, the lack of customer service on the part of the airline is completely unacceptable. Cathay Pacific, your airline’s customer service totally stinks!
Now that I got that out of the way, it’s time to do a 180 degree turn and pile on the praise for our wonderful hotel accommodations in Singapore at the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel. Located at 50 East Coast Road next to Parkway Parade, we had the privilege of being invited to experience their top notch hotel during our time back in Singapore. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend as much as time as I would have liked in the actual hotel due to work and media engagements, but we definitely tried to make the moments count when we were there. To top it all off, the food from the various restaurants were simply delicious, and I would go back just to eat the food in the future. The gym is opened 24 hours, which was a huge plus because I definitely needed to squeeze in a quick “pump up” work out before my iFitness magazine topless cover shoot, and the swimming pool looked so very inviting throughout our time there. I managed to snap off a few shots of our room, but please forgive the messy state because we were all in a mad rush at 545 AM that morning to catch our dreaded flight on Cathay Pacific back to Shanghai…
While Li Lin was busy tidying up our belongings in the photo above, Sage was a happy camper taking one last look at the kids’ room before we had to check out…
Once again, a big shout out and Thank You! to Jennifer, Tika, and Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel for going above and beyond on every front to take care of us during our most enjoyable return to Singapore!
I might have to call upon you once again because I just didn’t have enough time this trip to experience all of your amenities!
Now that it’s “Back to Reality” after completing my reality show, it’s time to take a look at some new scripts and prepare for my next job coming up in Hangzhou for Lancome as they prepare to kick off their own version of The Amazing Race! Should be a lot of fun ahead and have a great week yourself!
I just realized my latest article for the May 2012 issue of FHM Singapore is already out so I’d like to share it with you all. I find this one especially funny because it deals with me being bullied…by a young little girl!!!
Enjoy!
One thing I’ve learned from working in the entertainment industry is that no matter how hard I try, it’s always a challenge to plan too far ahead because work can have the tendency to just pop up…and also at the same time. Even though I’ve had more than my fair share of ample down time to spend with family and friends, work seemingly prefers to coincide right in the middle of another project. This past weekend was a perfect example of me scrambling to juggle my schedule so that I could basically be everywhere at the same time.
As you might already know, I am currently filming the newest season of The Amazing Race China Rush, which is going extremely well. I sometimes wonder whether I might one day get sick and tired of racing everywhere and then standing around waiting for tired and motivated contestants at each of the respective pit stop mats. As of now, I can say that the fun and excitement has not waned one bit even though all the contestants and crew are increasingly more and more fatigued.
Knowing full well that I would be racing on both Friday and Sunday this past weekend, I also committed to somehow making it back to Shanghai on Saturday so I could assume the hosting duties for the official kickoff launch for the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 2012 season…
I still recall the days leading up to this weekend scrambling to figure out how I was going to somehow use planes, trains, and/or automobiles to ultimately how up for this exciting motorsport event in Shanghai. Even though I was wiped out after another grueling day of filming all day a few days before the weekend, I woke up at 3 AM one morning because I couldn’t sleep and spent quite a few hours assessing the most viable option to return to Shanghai. Before I knew it, the morning sun had arose to welcome and remind me that we would be shooting another leg of the race. Fortunately, I was able to link up a few modes of transport to get me back to Shanghai so I could “suit up” for PCCA 2012…
Fortunately, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia gala dinner was a huge success, and I know all the teams, drivers, media, sponsors, and fans involved are really revved up for the upcoming season. I am really looking to watching the races in Ordos, Zhuhai, and Sepang (Malaysia). Of course, I’m especially excited about returning to Singapore during F1 weekend for the PCCA 2012 circuit too.
With the PCCA gala event all wrapped up and completed on Saturday night, it was time to prepare to wake up at 430 AM so I could make my way back into the next leg of The Amazing Race China Rush, which I am proud to say I seamlessly slotted myself back into before any teams arrived on the pit stop mat that Sunday afternoon.
Needless to say, we’re back in full swing on the race and now it’s time to fly off to our next location so I’ll catch up with you all soon after we land again!!
ASDFDASFAS
Should you give boot camps the boot or give it a try? Here are my thoughts in the January 2012 issue of FHM Singapore…
I know this isn’t the most recent article, but I’d still really like to share it with you all from FHM Singapore December 2011 regarding personal trainers…
“Race like a Dragon!”
With The Amazing Race China Rush now underway, I’m now going to take a break after a long day of filming to share another different but equally adrenaline-pumping sort of racing coming to the circuit this year with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA). A few weeks ago, we kicked off the exciting new 2012 season in Zhuhai with our test sessions for all the new drivers and crew teams to get together to prepare for the biggest and most prestigious single car model race in Asia. Unlike Formula One, PCCA drivers are only permitted to race with the blazing fast Porsche Carrera GT III Cup, and these year’s racing machines are stunning. Here’s a few shots of the various car designs…
I’m psyched to be involved with the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, and it has all the makings of being the biggest and best season yet! If you like to find out some more information about PCCA, then please check out the official website at:
Whoops! I just realized I’m late for a production meeting so it’s “Bye” for now and see you in at the next location!
It’s that time of year as the sun now rises for us to set off once again for another exciting season of The Amazing Race China Rush! I am not even sure where we’ll be venturing to this time, but I’m already excited to be back on the road with an entirely new batch of contestants ready and willing to duke it out to become this third season’s winner. With The Amazing Race Asia temporarily shelved at the moment, the prospects of traveling across China (and possibly even further) has never looked even more brighter. I haven’t really had the opportunity to personally meet each and every team this season, but I’ve already got the sense that all of them are very well versed in the show…and this even includes the Chinese contestants.
It’s a fantastic feeling to be back on the road with familiar faces from the crew and production, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the new and exotic locations throughout China…
Between the crazy amount of traveling and racing during this intense period, I’ll do my best to keep you updated on the latest happs without revealing too much so you’ll have even more to look forward to once the show airs later this year. Until then, our cameras will be rolling and I’ll catch up with you next time because I need to jump on my flight now to our next destination!
For all the team members who are getting to race in the upcoming season of The Amazing Race China Rush OR just anyone needing a lift in achieving their fitness goals, here’s some inspiration from a true champion…
We might not all enjoy the pain and suffering from working out, but it’s our attitude that will enable us to achieve our personal goals and dreams! Go! Go! Go!
Finally! The sun has emerged for the seemingly endless weeks of cold, grey, wet weather. Along the way, I inadvertently lost my bearings in terms of blogging and am now working towards heading in the right direction towards updating it. After spending about a decade in sunny tropical Singapore, I’ve been conditioned and taken for granted the warm (and often to stifling) heat of the sun’s rays, but I think now everyone in Shanghai welcomes its long awaited return to the city skyline. To start, the favorable turn of weather has made watching my son Jonas slowly learn the finer aspects of soccer (or football in all other parts of the world minus the United States) much more palatable despite the still chilly temperatures…
Not only has the weather taken a turn for the better, but the good sun has even turned up the work load here in China for me a few notches, which is always an “Amazing” thing! Several weeks back, I began work on a commercial for Audi’s new A6L at the Shenzen International Airport…
Our plan was to continue the shoot in Shanghai. However, the plans have been postponed a few weeks until now due to unfavorable gloomy gray weather. Now, I hope we can switch back into high gear so we can get this shoot completed and wrapped up.
Last Thursday night, I finally attended my first fashion show here in Shanghai for Mango at the Shanghai Exhibition Center…
I recall a time quite long ago when I used to wonder what I was even doing on a runway myself. Now, I definitely find it more enjoyable to just sit back and allow the new generation of models do the “heavy lifting” (or lack thereof) on the runways…
From here, things really begin to go “Varooooooom!!!” as I get set to work on the exciting new season of the Porsche Carerra Asia Cup 2012. We’ll be kicking off our first event in a few weeks at Zhuhai, and here’s a taste test of what’s to come:
http://u.youku.com/user_show/id_UMzM3MDA2OTk2.html
And since we’re on the topic of racing, let’s not forget that the latest and greatest season of The Amazing Race China Rush will soon be up and racing all around China once again…and more on that to come!!!
In the meantime, thanks for dropping in and I’ll be sure to keep the pedal on the metal for you as you have a great week ahead!
The New York Giants “did it again” to the hapless New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLVI! I had the pleasure of being invited to the Kerry Hotel in Pudong, Shanghai, for their official NFL Super Bowl party. This was my first time watching the Super Bowl in China, and I could not imagine this virgin experience being any better. There’s nothing like waking up early on a Monday morning to watch the most watched sporting event in the US with over four hundred sports fans in the same venue.
Along with a silent auction to raise charity for a few charity organizations along with a “Tryouts Area” for the anyone game to catch some passes from a football machine, the event had it all. We even had Marion Barber, running back for the Chicago Bears, in attendance to make it NFL official. Of course, there’s nothing like sipping on fresh micro-brewed beer from The Brew at Kerry Hotel, and the staff even set up a Beer Pong table for the participants to give it a go…
Add it all up and it made for one unforgettable Super Bowl experience here in China! Jack Brewer, a former Giants player, even added that this is the biggest party he’s been to for this event so congratulations to Ed, Miguel, Lisa, Mike, and their fantastic staff for putting together such a fun event for all of us football fans to enjoy. Special thanks to Andrew West for inviting my family and me to be a part of it all! You all rock!!!
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