The Other Side of Kawasan

Me and my bestfriends decided to go to Kawasan Falls in Cebu, Philippines few years back. We trekked for half an hour. Legs were aching, stomach churning, but when the waterfalls were in sight, we forgot everything... We just wanna dive into its beauty.

As I looked at the waterfalls, I was mesmerized by its unexplainable beauty... It feels like its speaking with me... It feels like its saying "Come, be with me, and feel my magic."

I shook my head. I was imagining things...

Its a mysterious place... but beautiful and fascinating...

A lot of people went missing in this place... One of them was my bestfriend's friend who suddenly disappear and was nowhere to be found till now.

Spooky, mysterious, captivating... I couldnt find the right words to describe Kawasan Falls.

We enjoyed swimming... and hopped on from one waterfalls to another on a bamboo raft...

Then, suddenly, one of my friends found a small trail up the hill. One locale saw us looking at the trail and told us to stay away from there with a sharp warning look...

We looked at each other and without words, we knew what to do next.

I needed some hot water for my instant noodles. I asked our local guide to get me some hot water somewhere coz I was really hungry...

He happily went... and we happily escaped to that mysterious trail. Of course, that was a technique to get rid of him, LOL...

I know, we dont know the place but without second thoughts, we went ahead to discover what lies on the other side of the hill.

My instinct told me its not dangerous... I usually follow my instinct :-)

We climbed up the hill and trekked down and crossed over what seems like a river.

Gosh, it was very slippery and the rushing of water could let you go out of balance in any time and if youre not careful, you could hit your head to a lot of big rocks around.

So there we were, slowly and carefully balancing ourselves while crossing...



On the way, we met a British couple who were in their mid-forties (I bet) and they said "its awesome out there, go and explore".
The more our excitement rushed up.

After 15 minutes, we heard a sound of flowing water.. Wow, it must be another waterfalls.

But we were surprised to see something else...

It was a huge dam... and it looked awesome!

...and we found a rock where we could enjoy the waterflow...oh yeah, thats how mischievous we were... We bathed in the dam... of course, we were very careful not to fall over... it was very slippery... If youre not careful, you could slip or be taken away by the force of water...
What an experience!

Then we found another trail at the top of the dam... We again looked at each other, grinned and said "lets go".

At the end of the trail we found a spring and it was boiling but its very cool, not warm...
Without second thoughts, we soaked ourselves into it and let the coolness enveloped us for awhile.

The water was very cold but the boiling felt like massage. It brought freshness to our aching muscles. We were refreshed after the bath.

We noticed the sun was starting to go down the horizon. We need to go back. Our local guide might have already be freaked out right now, LOL.

We went back with a feeling of satisfaction and without regrets. Yes, it could have been dangerous. But you know what, as long as you are careful and know how to respect nature, we believe nothing could go wrong...

These are the simple things that we have kept in mind while discovering new places, specially in a place where lots of people died and went missing,hehehe :-)

1. No shouting
The place is very quiet so I think nature would not appreciate your shouts or singing or whatever. Its very disturbing for them. Its their place, not yours. Respect it...

2. No littering
You can eat on the way but never throw stuffs. Have a special bag for your leftover goodies...
Nature's beauty lies on its own magic and cleanliness. Respect it the way it is.

3. Dont touch and take anything on the way.
Whether a flower, a plant or an egg or something that fascinates you on the way, always remember, not to touch or take it with you. I remembered one of my highschool classmates who almost touched a Venus flower basket but few seconds before she could touch, it devoured a fly. LOL, she was shocked for few minutes and thought that it could have devoured her hand, hehehe.

There are lots of wonderful things nature has in store for us. They are just waiting to be discovered, not to be destroyed...

I believe that if you respect nature, it will respect you back.
So back to the story, we met our locale guide back in the cottage. We were all prepared for a sermon...but then he just smiled and said "its good to have you back".



We looked at each other with puzzled look... and smiled...

We had an adventure of a lifetime :-)

Spa in the Volcano

Expect the unexpected!

When I first visited Indonesia, I was wondering where to go for the best spa.
I found it in the most unexpected place...

In Domas Crater- one of the Indonesia’s volcano’s crater located near Tanguban Perahu Mountain. We walked down to the crater for half an hour. My legs ached. It was quite a long time I haven’t walked that long and the path was steep and slippery.
But I enjoyed the scenery. It was breathtaking! I felt so close to nature!

We arrived in the crater… There were smokes coming out from the ground…Yayy, it feels like I’m going to be barbecued alive, hehehe. The guide might have read my expression so he assured me that its safe. It would just feel warm.

There were pools of water with different temperature, one pool was boiling. They said its 98 degrees Celcius. Wooohhh, how hot. They could even boil eggs on it in few minutes.
The best of this journey was the foot spa experience. It changed my view of a spa.
SPA on a Live Warm Crater of a Volcano

Can you believe it? Even until now, I couldn’t believe such wonderful thing nature has to offer.
The water was warm, you just have to soak your feet on it and feel the sand and the stones that are warm yet comforting. After a few minutes soaking, they gave a massage. The local was very polite and asked me first if it’s okay to massage my feet. I appreciate his politeness.


Instead of oil or whatever it is that they use in spa centers, there in Domas Crater, they use the volcano mud which is green in color. It doesn’t look like a yucky mud at all and it feels like lotion when it touched the skin. The locals said it’s very good for the skin and muscle ache.
Indeed, the aching of my legs subside after the spa. I felt refreshed and ready to trek up the mountain again, hehehe.

Indeed, a very unique experience I'll forever cherish.