September 9, 2007

CONTENTS

Features

• Spa Retreat
• Flip-flop Fever

Columns

• Stings from the Wild
• La Vida Loca
  

Spa Retreat

Text by Mitzi Ibaya

The sound of flowing water instantly puts one into a peaceful trance. There is nothing like the sight of ocean ripples shimmering like sapphire under a lucid sun to calm the restless spirit. This and more is the promise of one of Bohol’s prime spas, Mithi.

The old world European Baths have been translated today into beauty and wellness retreats, commonly known as spa. This includes a variety of spas that offer physical and spiritual cleansing.

And Bohol, ever the tourist savvy tourism destination, has wizened up to the multi-billion dollar industry that mushroomed all over the world. Perhaps, the modern world’s fast-paced, over-competitive lifestyle has brought more people seeking vacations that offer more than the sun and sea.

In Bohol, Mithi is just one of several spas that are now incorporated in many of our high-end resorts. And these spas mostly cater to the A-list vacationers. The editor assured me however, this has a local-friendly rate that dispenses with the local-unfriendly resort entrance fee.

Modesty wrapped in a towel, I resolved to experience what many raved as the answer to the stress-ridden workweek; a spa retreat.

The thirty-minute sauna already loosened up the kinks from two months of political drama. Heat permeating every pore, sweat pouring from forehead to foot pads, I was surprisingly enjoying being subjected to intense heat that seeped through my soul and put me in hot, languid stupor.

A hot shower to wash away the toxins and a foot soak with a view of the sea and some tea to relax were all I needed to remind me it is still a beautiful world. My musings were broken by soft-spoken ladies dressed in asian-inspired costumes in muted colors who beckoned me to my massage.

Like several Filipino spas, this one also offers the local massage traditions of the hilot, bentosa, and the like. I, however, am treated to the combination of massage techniques. The customary query of “soft, medium or hard”, momentarily placed an impish thought. But the candle-lit room coupled with soft music and the knowing ministrations of my wellness attendant transformed my thoughts from impish to congenial.

Calm yet invigorated, I ended my retreat with a determination to subject myself to more of these beauty and wellness treats. The day’s experience has left me with nothing but happy thoughts that for a moment made me forget political madness, breakwaters, and manmade islands.

Flip-flop fever

Text by Liza V. Macalandag

Now we’re flaunting our flip-flops, like the island people that we are.

The good ole comfy tsinelas (or swalu in some parts of the island) is making a renaissance of sorts not just in our lovely island but elsewhere in the world.

Gone are the days when the slippered walk the streets with toes curled down in shame. Slippers, the enduring footwear for the casual and laid-back, the ordinary people, are coming out to the streets, trendy malls, exclusive hotel lobbies and even the red carpet - with pride (and fervor).

The culprit to this tsinelas fashion revolution? Havaianas (ah-vai-yah-nas), not only considered the “Best Rubber Flip-flops in the World” but the company that brought the cool back to flip-flops, brought to us by the coolest people in the world, (nope, not us, Pinoys) the Brazilians.

Havaianas transformed the perception of slippers, altogether. Although, a good peducure would definitely matter a lot, still, the brand made it possible for people to wear slippers with pride.

Havaianas is Portuguese for Hawaians because of the laid-back island culture that inspired the Brazilians designers way back in the 1960s, which for decades has also been the choice footwear for most Brazilians, from the Amazon natives to the stylish Sao Paulo elite. From Brazil, the Havaianas fever spread like global warming to the rest of the world.

Havaianas had people flipping over flip-flops that most designer brands now have flip-flop lines of their own.

And of course like every fashion explosion, it spawned cheap rip-off’s. So now the flip-flop fashion is not only confined to the moneyed but the indigents as well. (Buy a regular pair of Havaianas in the Chocolate Factory. Splurge P800-P1000+. Buy a rip-off in Agora, or kilid sa Agora. You dish out P40.)

Which is exactly why people wear flip-flops, to live the simpler life. In the case of Havaianaticos (yes, fanatics are called thus), living casual and chic.

Taking Presumptions

Appearances deceive. One can insist that a person matters more than what he wears, but in a world of strangers, it takes a dress to approximate how one would be initially treated.

Think of a man of the cloth, with a clerical collar and a small cross pin, beside a shabbily dressed chap with uncombed hair. Let’s say both have business with a frontline female bureaucrat scowling like she’s on rapid descent to menopause, like those tourism department travel tax collectors at the Mactan International Airport.

I bet my million centavos the man of the cloth will be dealt with more courteously. Let’s just add here, both for hypothesis’ sake and to thicken the plot, that the man of the cloth is actually a disguised terrorist while the shabbily dressed guy is the country’s best secret agent.Presumptions about people and situations can go beyond appearances as well. One’s job counts. A good job with a known good pay invites presumption that one has money to spare. I work, therefore I am.

Talk about jobs and presumptions, and I’ll always hark back to that diplomat whose statement of assets and liabilities cost him undue attention. While some are investigated for unexplained wealth, he was unique in that he was investigated for unexplained poverty.

Personal attitude, self-regard, and even delusion also spell presumptions. Thus did I come face to face with presumptions once again. Never mind having been subjected many times to the usual presumption that housewives are know-nothings. I’ve learned to live and laugh with that.

My kid sister and I were sitting on the grass one evening beside the Dubai Creek for a respite in the outside world, watching our little girl cartwheel and run wild, freedom written all over her laughing face. The two are still adjusting to an indoor lifestyle where going out for a block’s walk is a treat. When they became cantankerous, I understood that it was time to breathe the evening desert air.

Along came this smiling lady with two small boys. Kabayan? Yung alaga n’yo, Filipino ba rin? (Fellow national? Your ward, is she also Filipino?) She asked.

She volunteered personal information. She’s a teacher in Zambales. She arrived just a month earlier with her two pre-schooler sons. Her husband had been in Dubai for two years. That explained her oozing confidence.

Not all OFWs here can afford to have their families. It takes a certain pay, mostly reserved for successful professionals, to be able to afford a flat to accommodate one’s family. Otherwise, one settles as a bedspacer.

Some choose to save on rent, so it’s not unusual for three families to divide a three-bedroom flat’s rent three ways; one family to a room with the kitchen, restroom, and living and dining rooms as the common areas.

As to that lady in the grass, we volunteered no personal information. At least she’s not abrasive, my kid sister said softly as we listened to her, but why doesn’t she speak English? That, too, was another presumption. We spoke English thinking she’s teacher enough to speak as much. Besides, my sister may be a superb English speaker, but her Tagalog is atrocious. Suffice it to say that the trend of that lady’s questions showed her presumption that we were employed nannies.

My all-time favorite presumption though was about a lady ambassador who crossed paths with a lady kabayan in a department store in Rome. Friendly at best and a monger at worst, the kabayan told the ambassador that it was good that she was allowed by her employer to go out. When the ambassador issued a check for her purchases, the kabayan finished her off. Uy, pa-tseke-tseke ka pa ngayon, ha! (Hey, so now you even dare issue checks, hah!)

That particular lady ambassador happens to be capable of pulling rank, no matter who got hurt. In that instance though, she let the other lady’s presumptions be; that like her, the ambassador was also a household employee.

I would raise hell over presumptions only if it involves a case of mistaken identity and I end up landing in jail. Save for the extent of one’s personal delusions, presumptions can be good levelers. They that cannot kill cannot diminish.

Blazing Bohol.

Bohol did shine at the First Philippine International Tourism Fair 2007 held on September 5-7 at the Cebu International Convention Center (CCIC) in Mandaue City. The fair was participated in by the different regional Department of Tourism (DOT) offices, provincial and city local government units, resorts, hotels, airline companies, and travel agencies in the country. Several visitors and travel agents from all over the world came to forge connections with the Philippines through travel and tourism.

The Provincial Government of Bohol through the Bohol Tourism Office (BTO) joined the fair. Among the hundred booths in the fair, the Blazing Bohol booth came out unique and amazing. Instead of the usual four-cornered booth with tarpaulins and picture frames showing off photographs of a certain destination, Bohol recreated the river cruise experience. Designed by Mr. Boy Dumadag, the area was filled with green palm trees, ferns, and birds of paradise. The centerpiece was a bamboo raft with dashing Boholanos aboard. A play of lights made the greenery more scenic and alive. People flocked to the booth to take photos or to have their photos taken with the models. Either way, it prompted people to get the different brochures and flyers on display, and to ask for more information about our island paradise. Mr. Dumadag also designed the stage during the Blazing Bohol presentation on September 6.

The Bohol booth was joined by four different resorts from Panglao. Their booths also recreated their look and identity as resorts in their small four-cornered areas. Amarela Resort designed their booth with wood works and rustic sculptures; the Bohol Bee Farm with colorful mats, walls, and lamps made of native materials; Eskaya, on the hand, showed their elegant posh look. The Bohol Divers Resort represented an under-the-sea look. There was also Amorita Resort, which joined a country-wide collective of inns and resorts but nevertheless proudly made it known that it’s Bol-anon. A resort in Pandanon Island of Getafe managed by a Cebuano also joined the fair.

The Blazing Bohol presentation highlighted the Bohol video that Teddy Ramasola created. Each of the participating resorts were given time to share what they have and what they can offer to their guests. A raffle draw with prizes from the said resorts as well as from the Bohol Federation of Travel and Tours Operators (BOFETTO) excited the fair participants and visitors. A group of Loboc river cruise singers serenaded the crowd with beautiful Visayan music. They also performed the famous single “Biyaheng Bohol” of the Brownbuds, a Tagbilaran-based reggae band. The presentation, which was hosted by Vida Tirol (murag kaila ko nija!), was followed by a cocktail catered by the Port Seafood Restaurant of Waterfront Hotel.

The three-day fair was also participated by independent travel agents, thus, members of BOFETTO were there, too. Aside from BTO headed by Ms. Baby Balio and Ms. Josephine Cabarrus, our strong supporters were there. We met Mr. Vic and Mrs. Purita Soliven among the crowd. We also bumped into Ms. Vicky Wallace, Ms. Resti Tejido, Mr. Holger Horn, Mr. Danny Nazareno, Ms. Nonette Bolo, Mrs. Sarah Dejaresco, Mr. Jun Caturza, and Mr. Michael Yu, among others. I was told later on that Mr. Peter Dejaresco, the Bohol Tourism Council president, was there during the opening as well as BM Ae Damalerio, who was quoted saying that the Bohol booth was beautiful.

Recalling the Bohol booth during the WoW Philippines 2005 in Intramuros and the Philippine booth during the 3^rd China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China, wherein Bohol was the centerpiece, I have concluded that the Boholanos have its own way of coming out unique. Molahi gyud ang Bohol!

For that, Congratulations!

****

Blazing Boholano!

We would also like to congratulate Mr. Noel P. Tuazon for grabbing a bronze during the Palanca Awards 2007 for the Short Story in Cebuano category. He also won an award for the Gawad Komisyon 2007 for his poetry in Cebuano. Mr. Tuazon teaches at the Holy Name University (HNU) and is a member of KaKa (Kaliwat Ni Karyapa), a group of writers in Bohol.

We’re proud of you, Roy!