Thai heartthrob Mario Maurer returned to the Philippines to meet his fans at the Penshoppe Encore event last night, December 13, at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall Of Asia, Pasay City.

Mario said he was surprised to see his billboards for the local clothing brand all over the metro.

He was also amazed at the number of fans he has in the country despite being a foreign celebrity.

Aside from the warm welcome he got, Mario also liked it that he could easily communicate with his Pinoy fans.

He told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), "With Filipino fans, I can communicate the best because all of you can speak English.

"I can speak English so we can communicate better. And they're very nice.

"[Fans] are always nice in every country.

"But in the Philippines, I can always communicate better."

"BEING A CELEBRITY IS A CHALLENGE." After the event, PEP and other media guests were given an opportunity to have a short interview with the 23-year-old actor.

In the interview, he mentioned one of the downsides of being a showbiz personality.

Mario said, "I think one of the hardest parts of being a celebrity is when you go around town and anywhere you go everyone recognizes you.

"Like, sometimes you wanna go to the mall.

"Like me, I go to the mall with friends, it's hard, but I get used to it.

"It's kinda hard to just go around with friends and they're not movie stars, so when they [fans] go with you, [my friends] just stand there."

Despite this, Mario still gets motivated because of the challenges in his job as an actor.