It looked like a scene straight out of “Revenge.” An invitation done in black paper with silver lettering was given to guests prior to the event, along with a note from “J.”
As it turned out, actor Josh Bowman hosted a private party at 71 Gramercy, where he effortlessly charmed the guests. Resembling a plot from the Daniel Grayson playbook, we had to look around to see if he was distracting us so that Amanda Clarke could go and plant hidden cameras in our house.
Josh said that he had been to the Philippines before. “Last time we came out here, we went to Palawan, which is beautiful, by the way.”
Chuckling, he added: “The hospitality here is amazing, everyone’s so welcoming and happy. You guys are very happy. It’s like you are on something; maybe it’s the water…”
Josh was dressed like his TV alter ego, navy blazer over a shirt and light-colored pants.
Filipino-British TV host Kim Jones asked Josh if there are more things he fell in love with, aside from Filipino hospitality.
Learning a new phrase
“Yeah, yeah… I learned a phrase today,” Josh replied, pausing a bit, before exclaiming, “Ang sarap ng mangga!”
He pointed out: “Mangoes are amazing. I’ve had five mangoes today, I’m going to try and smuggle them back,” he added with a laugh.
He reportedly eschewed taking long breaks during his morning interviews, preferring to snack on dried mangoes instead to keep his energy up.
He was also wowed by his billboard along Edsa. “I saw that today, we actually stopped on the highway,” he recalled.
Guimaras
“We heard you took a selfie,” said Kim. “Well, this is the selfie capital of the world, yeah?” Josh quipped, flashing his trademark crooked grin.
His description of Manila weather: “It’s bloody hot here, unbelievable!”
Before going around to greet and mingle with guests, he made it clear that his love affair with the Philippines and mangoes was far from over. “’Cause I’m such a mango lover, I think I’ll visit Cebu next, which I heard is the best place for mangoes. There’s an island near Cebu, Guimaras… I wanna go there next!”