Adapting to life here on the Paradise Island of Boracay I’ve realized one thing. I’m not here to be a resto-bar owner, a business owner, a manager or a worker? I’m here to be a host. People are here for vacation and people will count on me to ensure they have a great time in an unfamiliar place!

Friends from Manila would text me saying they’ve got a friend arriving and needs me to show them a good time. My good friends from Canada are having their vacation here. Even strangers who I randomly meet I wanna bring them to all the hotspots and hidden gems this place has to offer.

And all this hosting has got me thinking. Our upcoming Resto-Lounge Deja Vu at Station 2 I don’t want to think of a business. That’s not why I’m here. Deja Vu has been set up to ensure everyone has a great time. And if everyone has a great time, then I am successful and naturally what follows that is a successful business.

For opening night the free jello shooters will be flowing and I want to meet and greet each and every person who walks through that door. Really give them that Tambayan Home away from home feeling!

Boracay Paradise….

Wake up, eat breakfast,
drink fresh Mango shake,
swim in a beautiful tropical ocean with fine white champagne crystal sand and turquoise water,
go for business meetings, investments, sourcing, contracts and important decisions. Dinner time, talk things over, networking time,
then party all night long til 4am with beautiful women and alcohol that is cheaper than water…..
Next day……Repeat

After spending quite sometime in The Philippines I get a real kick out of the cool names here.

Here are some of my favorite names of people I met (In no particular order)

Januan (Pronounced Jan One as she was born Jan 1)
Boy Boy
Cutie
Gurley
Dude
Bobo
Kuya Bimbo
and of course I used to live with someone named Disney!

(Our Concept for our future bar opening mid October in Boracay)
Boracay Beach Furniture!!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…..Hmmm
White Rattan big comfy couches with Light Blue cushions with Ottomans and nice big chairs. Or do we go all wood…Browns and stains….white cushions.

We have so many ideas and looking through catalogues and pictures just wasn’t cutting it for us. So we headed to Cebu straight to the factories. We can see how it gets done and get the best pricing di ba?

No! 
We found that here in The Philippines the prices are at least 4 times the price of China….why?! So should we send all our money to China? We’d rather not…but what choice do we have?

Hmmm Well, after meeting the architect (whom is one of the best in the country by the way) he suggested we make our own furniture! Well not us but them.

Maybe a bit different look, but still just as nice. Bottom lines are quality and dollar. It’s now up to us to figure out what we need to do!

(Our front Beach, Station 2) Deja Vu Boracay-Opening Mid October!

So the 3 of us are here in The Philippines. Boracay to be exact to start a new resto-bar! After 2 moths of searching we finally found a place and will be opening Mid-October. Wow so much to do…..

1.Renovations
2.Purchase lots of new furniture….- Real cool Stuff- Trendy but fits the Boracay Beach Vibe
3.Purchase Sound & Lighting and come up with state of the art concepts 
4. Purchase Kitchen Equipment and  design a layout where people won’t bump into eachother

5. Design a Food Menu…And design a drink menu….but no ordinary menu…we’re creating a new concept design that is well…..fun! Nothing like it has been seen here before.

Also conceptualize the concepts of what will go on our food and drinks menu

6. Hiring and job interviews, training and so on

7. Marketing and Advertizing. Radio, Newspaper, etc
Follow us at www.twitter.com/dejavuboracay

8. Networking and making the right connections.

9. Get the legal stuff done, taxes etc

So much more I’m sure! ….so much to do all at once. Gonna be an exciting time thats for sure.

Today we head on a 6 hour bus ride to Iloilo on route to find supplies and nice Furniture. We will tour from here to Cebu to see what we can find. Anyone have suggestions?

Hey! Sorry for the late reply….Actually I arrive in Boracay in 2 days, then it’s time to search for my new home and then new business. So I don’t have a spot here but I’m blogging here to keep everyone updated in my progress!

Family of 9 on a Motorbike and a baby in a bucket!

Will live forever….through his beautiful and inspiring music…..and through impersonators! haha this guy does a great job

Do what the bird says! It will be fun!…….maybe

www.Twitter.com/dejavuboracay 

bnoman:

last days of Philippine summer

Although it just passed just a few months ago, I think The Winter Olympics were some of the best memories of my life. 

I live right dead center of downtown Vancouver, right in the heart and just 2 blocks from Robson Square which was one of the main areas of all the action.

Furthermore my career got me to see first hand behind the scenes of not just one, but most pavilions and venues. It was incredibly interesting just to see how such a massive event was run.

Robson Square……just a block from home

And massive it was!! For 18 full days, 24 hours a day millions and millions of tourists arrived in this wonderful city from all countries of the world.Imagine a giant party that just never quit!! Not everyones cup of tea, but even many of the naysayers agree that the vibe in the city was just awe inspiring!

However the best memories have to be when my best bud Ryan and I decided to rent some Deejay decks, some speakers and a power generator and just set up without a permit right in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in the city!

And the outcome? Well over 1000 people dancing, crowdsurfing and going wild in the middle of the street to our impromptu party. Vancouver has some strict laws for this kind of stuff so normally this sort of thing could’ve got us in serious trouble with the police, but instead they seemed to be all for it! Well sort of….they did shut us down once the crowds got too large. But the very next week we did it again!
Check the vid here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpa38PFuEaw&feature=player_embedded

We used to throw these types of parties for a living for almost 8 years so I guess it brought back some sort of nostalgia! haha And I guess when I move to Boracay, Philippines next month I can continue with that dream….except on a tropical beach…Can’t complain!

And wow…..I guess the most epic moment was Canada winning the Gold Medal vs the USA in Men’s Hockey. The streets erupted in celebration for the entire night, you couldn’t move anywhere, people were dancing on cars, climbing street lights, it was madness! It was totally awesome!

Leaving Vancouver will be tough, but I’m so thankful to have such incredible memories of Vancouver that the 2010 Winter Olympic Games provided.

And now I leave you with just one last vid….one of my favorite videos of a flash mob that happened outside my place! 
A flash mob is a group of people who don’t know eachother who meet on the internet and all decide to show up on the same spot and do something strange and crazy! Leaving everyone around them to think WTF?  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUZyX8qQgvE&feature=player_embedded

Have you tried Mangosteen before? Yum! 

5 weeks and our life is about to change! A very exciting time!! And a very uncertain time…..We’ve sold all our possessions including our homes. Left our careers behind, our friends, our family….everything that had us deeply rooted in beautiful Vancouver, Canada.

And for what?! To move to a tiny little tropical island just 8km long, and 1km wide, that most people on the side of the world have never heard of.

Have we lost our minds? No….Are we crazy? Probably.
Have we calculated the risks…..oh yeah, we’ve done some intense daily research for many hours a day. Google Wave shows our business plan was edited over 600 times so far…..and counting!
It won’t be easy to set up a business. Finding a place to lease will be difficult to say the least. Boracay property is hot right now and there isn’t much available and when it is, it goes for top dollar and there are 40 applicants waiting to take it.

But we also are firm believers that anything is possible. We’re in love with this island. We’re in love with The Philippines!! And things are possible there that just aren’t here. For example I currently live in a nice apartment in the heart of downtown Vancouver. It’s pretty average, nothing special. We’ve found home to live in similar to below, which is a resort but you get the picture, that are actually cheaper per month to rent than what I’m paying now. 

With Boracay’s alluring pristine beaches, and world class nightlife we’ve decided to take the plunge and do what it takes to move there. We’ve met all sorts of friends there and love the small island vibe and friendly culture.  Personally I love the fact that it’s just a couple hours and about $60 to fly to Thailand, or Vietnam, Bali and all sorts of exotic lands.

So….first things first. Move there legally….Hmm easy for Miss Filipino Citizen AJ and her husband Ryan. And I’m not looking to marry the first girl I meet. So it’s time to set up a corporation which will enable me to eventually get an Alien Employment Permit and a work visa.

Business in The Philippines is run different from here in Canada. It can be frustrating and humorous all at the same time. You can’t just show up somewhere, sign some papers, pay a fee and you’re done. That would be way to easy!

In later blogs I plan to write about our trials and tribulations. 
I suspect at times they’ll be pretty interesting as the one time we went in search of kitchen equipment in Manila we had to go upstairs to the top of a building that looked like it was going to fall over. (See pic below) It was full of loud talking birds and overall it was just a really strange experience. I loved it!!

We’ve also figured that we’re young. If all fails well….it would suck…..big time. We’d lose a lot of money, but overall I’m sure it would be an experience of a lifetime and the worst that can happen is we’re back in Canada living a similar lifestyle we are now. That’s not so bad….just seems like…..Deja Vu!

A different world, a different lifestyle.
We’re ready for it!!!

Follow our adventures here

or
Twitter @dejavuboracay
Google Buzz dejavuboracay
and 
DejaVu Boracay

Counting down the months until the 3 of us Canadians head off to a foreign land we’re all familiar with and loved. A tiny little tropical island Paradise in The Philippines called Boracay. We’re about to embark on a business venture. A Resto-Lounge style nightclub right on the beach.

This blog….at least to start out with, will be about our journey getting there. Our trials and tribulations, our victories and bumps along the road. We’ve learned a lot in our past few visits to this enchanted island. there’s so much more to learn. It will also embrace our feelings of excitement and nervousness as we get ready to leave our familiar surroundings, friends, family and possessions. Also we’ll blog about the different ways business is conducted in The Philippines compared to here. Such as the time we conducted a legit business meeting in a strange upstairs attic full of tropical birds! But that’s a whole different blog entry.

We spend much of our time collaborating on Google Wave, planning all the minute details of our business. Everything from marketing to menu planning and everything in-between. And well after much deliberating and thought we’ve come up with a name….De Ja Vu.