Still on simple living

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Roger D. Sinot

ASIN, TUBA, Benguet--  In the lowland, a tourist was driving his rented car to the beach. During his trip on that hot summer day, he saw a man and his carabao resting under a big mango tree by the highway. The man was taking a nap while the carabao was busy wagging its tail and was contented with eating a meal of grass.

To satisfy his curiosity, the tourist stopped his car and approached the man who was sleeping like a Mexican having his siesta at noon. He woke the man up and asked, “Hey young man, why don’t you go work?” The man was at first reluctant to answer but said, “what for?” The tourist said, “To earn money.”

Again the man said, “what for?” The tourist answered, “so you can save a lot of money and go around the world like me.” The man repeated his answer, “what for!” The tourist finally explained, “so you can go look for a place to rest.”

“But can’t you see what I was doing? I was busy resting,” said the angry farmer.

***

A middle-aged Japanese came to dip in the hot bathtub of Asin Hot Springs while I was by the swimming pool. He kept on staring at the huge mango tree that stood between the dipping area and the pool. Then he approached and started a conversation by telling me that he knew how old the tree was.

I just kept on nodding, pretending that I was convinced of his story about the Japanese occupation. He related how soldiers loved to soak in hot water bathtubs, and how they put fire under a steel drum filled with water for their officers.

He said, “Perhaps this was a resting place of Japanese soldiers during the war. I said, “Maybe.” Then he asked when was the resort made, and I answered, “It was done by the Americans in the 1930s.” The conversation got interesting with him until he said, “You know what, I believe that a treasure of gold is buried under the mango tree.”

I saw in his eyes how serious he was. So I said, “Stay away from the mango tree, the gold falls from above. The mango fruits are gold when they ripen and they might fall on you.”

***

In Asin, one does not have to be rich to have a dip in the natural hot water. If you do not have your own car, there are jeepneys waiting along Kayang St. below the Baguio police station. Regardless of race, religion, height, weight, status in life, sex and age; everybody is welcome to Asin Hot Spring.

In Asin, one can bath as a way of cleansing in a total dependence on water that wash away dirty particles from our bodies that drain away as waste. In that sense, man as an artist who appreciates beauty, creating something beautiful out of himself before going to Mt. Pulag to commune with Kabunyan or before gojing to Sagada to commune with nature. For one to have a clean body, mind and soul, he has to come to Asin Hot Aprings to take a bath.

In addition to the hot bath as an art of wellness, one has to consider in his health program the food that he takes in. A wiseman once said, “eat to live, not live to eat.” Let us now experience a long and fruitful hundred year life without pain. “Anay!” Welcome to the Autonomous Region of Asin. - rds