TUBA SWIMMING POOLS: SINOT RESORT

Located at about 1350 meters above sea level, Baguio city is no way near any body of water except the artificial lakes and ponds constructed. Surrounding this small city are the nearby city of La Trinidad and the province of Tuba. La Trinidad is the seat of gardens and amazing trekking fields and caves. Tuba on the other hand, offers different swimming pool resorts from opposite sides.

The adult pool from 4 ft to 8 ft

Sinot Resort in Asin road is known as the original swimming pool in the mountains. Next to it is the Asin hot spring, where I catch tadpoles years ago when I was younger. Sinot resort is just beside the Hedcor Electric Plant, now condemned and abandoned. The hot spring and the river is just around the resort where you can see divers swimming for tilapia. The water is green (due to algae) and deep and you can see fish swimming in it.

Four chambers of hot tubs under the shade

The gentle sloping ground is good for wider parking space in Sinot. Surrounded with trees, the ground is covered with leaves. The two original pools (for kiddies: 3 feet and adults: 4 to 8ft) are still functional. These two are at the higher grounds of the resort. Water here is colder than the other smaller pools on the lower ground.

The shallower kiddie pool on the lower ground

Innovations added rooms (basically for the sauna and bath) and more cottages on the lower ground. The hot tubs have been transferred to the lower area. Four smaller tubs lined with concreted boulders are situated next to each other. Adults usually just stay and submerged their bodies in these hot tubs.

Fishing for tilapia in the Asin river

Cottages at 100 Php

Another shallower kiddie pool is on the lower ground along with the foot pool. The kiddie pool is somehow warm but not as hot as the hot tubs. The foot pool, however, is also hot.

Common grill stations

Grill areas and lavatories are also available as communal and individualized depending on the cottage you choose.

Outdoor showers with refreshing cold water

HOW TO REACH SINOT RESORT

Abandoned Asin Plant 2 Hydro Electric Plant 

If you are riding a private vehicle, check on he road diverting from the Naguilian Highway at the Cooyesan- Recolletos area. Taking a taxi might charge you around 750covering the drive back to town. For bigger groups, you can always take the public utility jeepneys stationed in the city market just below the police station. Asin jeepney station is among Tublay and Nangalisan jeepney lines. You should not get farther from Mucho Pan Bakery.

Bathtub and Sauna building

FEES IN THE RESORT

Entrance fee for adults is 100 Php, kiddies up to 8 years old pay half. Cottage fee is 200. Other additional amenities like the bathtub and the sauna range from 100 Php.

DO’S AND DON’T’S

Higher and lower ground stairs

 There are many visible rules boards located in the resort. The NO ALCOHOL rule is posted in the entrance. They also do not allow food and drinks in the pool. Visitors with pets can bring their pets in, unlike other resorts, as long as pets stay just in the cottage area, they are not allowed in the pools. Sinot is not very strict with swimming attires.

Hot tub and Sauna building lobby

A SIMPLE BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT FOR MY PRINCESS

It is surely hard to live with a mom who likes everything done fast and efficient. With my two jobs, and relying solely on myself to work for my daughters, build their dreams, keep a household, have a nice career, and be happy, I need to move like a whirlwind from that very moment I open my eyes in the dark early morning. Wonderwoman, and Darna in one as I say. My daughters might not understand why I keep on pushing them to work perfectly, to move fast, and be very efficient…. life is too short to coop up in one’s comfort zone. As I keep on telling them, the “comfort zone” is surely a nice place  to stick around in, but where will that take you in the end? Remember that part of Percy Jackson when they got stuck in the casino having all the fun, but that was all they got until they realized their mission was not at all completed?

My daughter’s 13^th birthday fell on a Monday, I get home really late on Mondays due to my new work schedule so got to celebrate my daughters birthday a day earlier. …just a simple buffet with my best friend. Unfortunately, Tin’s birthday falls on the main event days of my city where always more than a million visitors pack up the establishments and streets so it is just so hard to walk around and have a decent lunch or dinner out.

On the 26^th, I dropped by Jollibee just to buy a chicken meal for them both. I get out of work at 8PM and got home almost around 9PM hugging the meals in a paper bag to keep them warm

The simple get together was just the weekend after, March 03. With my aunt having her birthday the day after, Tin celebrated her birthday in a pool resort. My family made the day great - full of stories, full of singing and swimming, full of jokes, full of laughter!

Simple food were dished out, no luxurious delicacies, modest enchalada, grilled fish and meat were served. Everyone enjoyed eating but just half of the food was consumed. Then everyone started to worry on how we are going to eat all.

Children never got out of the water until their eyes are already red. Many times their mommies changed their clothes just to find out they want to dip in again.

My princess keeps on running around with her cousins, laughing and joking together. They only get back to the cottage when they needed to eat and drink then ran back to the pools again.

She managed to stay awake in the trip going home, just rested a little bit and went to her room. I asked her for some errand and she replied a little bit later. And a minute right after, I already heard her snore.

Looking at her happy made me complete. All sacrifices and stress are all washed away seeing my daughter laughing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANAK! I LOVE YOU!

ROMOSS 6 PLUS AND 6P: THE POWER BUILDER

Romoss 6 Plus with you when going on a long travel. This powerbank will make your phone going for a great extent of time. Although it is not so much portable because of its almost half kilogram weight and size (16cm x 8 cm), this device will keep your device alive longer than any other powerbank.

Romoss 6P courtesy of Romoss

The release of Romoss 6P, which has the same specifications and functions, has kept Romoss 6 Plus in comparison. These two have the same capacity of 20000mAh, same weight and same size. They have same design on charging ports - one for fast charge and another for normal charge. Every device only comes with a short USB charger.

• The difference lie on the display where 6 Plus is using LCD while 6P uses LED. By LED, one can easily read the percentage of life remaining at any angle without any glare at all. 
• The battery for 6 Plus is lithium ion which is lesser in quality than 6P's litium polymer. Claims say that polymer is safer to use and charges faster. On the contrary litium ion decreases capacity to 95% to 98% as time passes.
• The charging power for 6P (model with iPhone 7) advertised to be more than 10 times got short to only 7 times. The charging power for 6 Plus has gone way beyond advertised (5 times using iPhone 5s) to 10 times.
• It also takes 24 hours to charge 6P and only 15 hours to charge 6 Plus.

Current prices for these two heavy duty power builders show affordable ranges - Romoss 6P just a little bit higher than Romoss 6 Plus.

BID GOODBYE TO AIRPOTS OR HOT WATER DISPENSERS AND WELCOME ELECTRIC KETTLES

Who doesn't love a cup of hot coffee, tea, milk or choco? Everybody would like to have a sip of their own choice of hot drinks every now and then, especially in the morning. Hot drinking water is just one of essentials to keep the day going. But how does one acquire hot water these days?

 The rise of the Airpots

courtesy of Hospitality Supply Inc.

Airpots were the "thing" from the 80s. They have totally changed the experience of boiling drinking water from the kettle on the stove to conveniently pushing a button. These devices' capacity ranges from 2 liters up to 4 liters. So if you have a big bunch of coffee drinkers at home, then surely the airpot is a good thing to have. However, having that big capacity will take a while before the red button turns orange or when the water reaches boiling point. Usually it takes a few minutes to 7 minutes tops. One more thing is it is recommended that the container is full when boiling is turned so as not to damage the heater inside the flask.

Water dispenser galore

courtesy of Germes-online

Then 90s came the rise of the water dispenser. This is truly great in offices where continuous supply of hot water is needed. With the smaller tank for boiling water, it would take around 5 minutes to reach boiling point. How about drawbacks of the water dispenser? The device currently is utilizing the principle of gravity whereby one needs to carry a big 5-gallon bottle of water and flip it on top of the dispenser. If there is no one to give the water a flip then others would have to wait until a water bottle will be replaced. Although recently, another development of the water dispenser is already out to the market. This has similar appearance to the previous but the bottle need not be flipped. One can replace water bottles from the bottom of the dispenser and water is pumped into the faucet.

Electric Kettle of the Millenia

The switch always automatically
shuts off when water boiled.

For the smaller household, it is best to use an electric kettle for fresh boiling water every time one needs a hot drink. The electric kettle has a capacity of 1.2 liters to 2.0 liters. They are compact appliances so they can easily be kept or carried anywhere at home. Although it has the same power consumption like the two others at around 900 watts, the boiling period only takes a few seconds for 2 cups of 500 ml. 

The heater placed at the bottom of the kettle,
making it safe to boil even a cup of water.

It is also detachable from the power source which means you can easily wash the inside as long as you don't submerged the kettle in water. Power sources are usually located at the bottom of the kettle.

Transparent water indicators up to
2 liters maximum.

Unless you would like to use the bigger capacity appliances and keep the boiled water in vacuum flasks in order to cut the power consumption, it is more convenient and practical to have an electric kettle around.









Different styles of these kettles are available, the bigger capacity of 2 liters, 1.8 liters, 1.2 liters (most convenient for students) or even 1.0 liter, the stainless kettle, the beautiful black, the clean white, trendy look... various styles for various tastes.

PARKS OF BAGUIO CITY: MALCOLM SQUARE

Just like the Igorot Park, Malcolm Square is a paved park right at the heart of the city. Once a paid parking lot, it was renovated to a city park with a stage, and again renovated to this paved park. This is a space at the foot of Session road where pedestrians can walk freely without any cars passing. 



Although there is no shade in this park, there are still a number of people sitting on the benches and concrete chairs. This is a good place to wait for friends or have meet ups.









How to reach the park?

As it is in the foot of Session road, there wouldn't be any public utility jeepney passing or unloading to the park. This spot is best reached while walking after one reaches downtown .




Establishments near the park?

Maharlika Livelihood Center is across the park. The immediate establishments near this place are banks - BPI Family and Security Bank, U-need Grocery, Tiongsan Bazaar and other small establishments on the block. DBP bank is also right across Session road.

Malcolm Square is one of the parks you can visit in Baguio city.

BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL: STREET DANCE

February 24th marks the Street Dance Competition - one of the big events of Panagbenga Festival here in Baguio city. There were three divisions for this event - elementary division, high school division, and the open division.

This 2018, Baguio expected to have 1.2M visitors to watch the street dance. The route would start at the top of Session Road, Baguio's main thoroughfare, down to Maharlika Livelihood Center, then turn left to Harrison Road, and end up in Athletic Bowl. Upon reaching the oval, participants are going to perform and be judged.

 The guest speaker for this year's competition is Ilocos Norte's Governor Imee Marcos who spoke in Ilocano inspiring all spectators with a motivational speech.

There were 8 schools participating in the elementary division:

1. Aguinaldo Elementary School
2. Apolinario Mabini Elementary School
3. Tuba Elementary School
4. Dominican Mirador Elementary School
5. Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School
6. Josefa Carino Elementary School
7. Jose P. Laurel Elementary School
8. Baguio Central School

These schools showcased their talents in a 7-minute span which already included the time setting up. The judging was strict in this matter that for every performance, the time spent was announced.  Manuel L Quezon Elementary School was the second runner up and recieved 150,000 Php. The first runner-up went to Apolinario Mabini Elementary school recieving 200,000 Php. The champion for the elementary division this 2018 is Baguio Central School taking home 250,000 Php.

Five schools competed in the High School division where the University of the Cordilleras Senior High School was proclaimed the champion. The other participating schools were:

1. Remnant International School
2. Pines City National High School
3. Baguio City National High School
4. St Louis University Laboratory High School

There were 14 participants in the open division where St. Louis University took home the crown. Some of the other participants were:

• Gardeners' Tribe
• Umili Ay Kalalaychan Cultural Group
• Tribu Rambak
• E Kalinga Performing Group
• Caba National High School
• Tribu Bugkalot
• Chenmo Cultural Performing Group

BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL: FLOWER FLAMINGOS IN SM

SM Baguio is also participating in Panagbenga 2018. Not only in the float competition but also has showcased humongous flamingos made of beautiful Lilies of the Incas or many know it as Peruvian Liles.

It has been early photo shoot sessions for all those visiting the mall or shopping although having your smiling face with the birds is somehow impossible not unless you would be okay taking a pose with their feet.

View from afar would be better but its not going to keep a clear face anymore.  With the problem of taking shots, still a lot of people made happy poses with the flamingos.

BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL: GRAND FLOAT PARADE

The Grand Float Parade for Panagbenga 2018 was again another blast. With a lot of eager participants from two divisions and also those who are non-competing participants, the event was another success.

 Marching bands from Philippine Military Academy and St. Louis University opened the parade with great performances. The bands were followed by the participants of the non competing float division.  The theme of Baguio Country Club (a hall of famer) was the Greek mythology. The float was full of gods and goddesses like Aphrodite playing the harp. Those who modeled as gods and goddesses are models of FHM. The lead float was themed "Clash of the Titans" where you can see a big scorpion.

 Next was the float of SM Baguio. Using the Cordillera concept, this float is a participant in the non-competing category. With models in their native attire on the float, the float also follows a group of natives performing the canao.

Another non-competing float was from NLEX with humongous pineapples and a big parrot  with the rainbow background. The concept was tropical country. Also those signing autographs and joining selfies are the NLEX baseketball players.

 Floats that followed next were those participants for the big float category. 

• MC Master Siomai Hut Inc. float has a set of siomai on top. 

• Another is the float of the Department of Agriculture having a theme of "Big Corn" using 25 species of flowers. The float showcased so many gigantic corns made of flowers. 

• M Lhullier has the concept of the Years of the Dog and Rooster together. On the float are the models and some celebrities. 

• Porta Vaga's entry has the concept taken from the Bible: "From a tiny seed it has grown into a big tree." Their float has a big seed with sprout.

• Jolibee mascots starred their float. They danced jofully. The float has a big Jolibee to celebrate their 40 years of bringing joy to the world. 

• Sitel Phils Corp. has a Cordilleran concept. Their performers also danced actively before the float. Kambal Pandesal float joined the big float division with the concept of small retail stores in the Cordilleras. 

• ABS-CBN float is filled with so many celebrities and the theme is Love.
• Also participated is the Coop Taloy Norte.
• Efficascent Oil float reminisced the kings and queens of the Philippines before (datus and lakambinis)

 The small float division was started with the Maybank float. The concept is "The Tree" Their concept last year was also the tiger but it has grown now. They were the champion in the small float division last year.

• Lubao International Balloon Festival Inc. has the concept of a hot air balloon. This year's Lubao Festival (the biggest hot air balloon festival in Southeast Asia) will be held on March 23- 25 in Pampanga.

• Metro Pacific Water /Saleng Garden  also participated in the small float division.

• Coca Cola also had their float in the concept "Taste the feeling of happiness." The Filipinos love of culture and diversity.

• Universal Robina Corporation had the float's concept of the Lion Head in Kennon Road.
• Float for Igorot man has the concept is to promote the Igorot Man.

• Palawan Padala also joined the competition with a parrot mascot. They highlighted the culture from the south.
• 
  

 Also participating are the winners in the street dance the previous day. From the Elementary division are Baguio Central School the champion; Apolinario Mabini Elemetary School - the first runner up, and Manuel L. Quezon Elementary School - the second runner up. In the High School division - University of the Cordilleras Senior High school was the champion. For the open division, champion is Saint Louis University.

Congratulations once again Baguio City!