Hot and Cold at Laguna Hot Spring

Last Wednesday was a public holiday so my boyfriend's family planned an out-of-town trip to Pansol, Laguna. I was excited to go with them because I haven't been to a hot spring before. They said that where we're going is one of two resorts in Laguna with naturally flowing hot spring; the rest have swimming pools with "hot spring" water coming from the faucet. Plus, there's an area for massages so I was doubly excited and looking forward to the much needed vacation.

Unfortunately, there was a storm that day but that did not stop us from going on as planned. It was raining hard all the way from QC to the South Luzon Expressway so it was a relief when it turned into a light drizzle when we got to Laguna. When we got to the place, there were a lot of cars already parked outside; turned out we were all thinking of doing the same thing that day. Good thing we were still able to a book a room. The children were already wearing their swimming gear so they just took of their shirts and bolted straight to the pool. I wasn't wearing mine yet so I had to change first before diving in. The water was not as hot as I expected, probably because of all the raining, but I did see steam rising off the surface of the pool. Then my boyfriend took me to the corner where the hot spring flows in and that's where the water was still very hot. It was so relaxing and so soothing, I could have dozed off if I wasn't cramped in with the rest of the people wanting to get near the hot spring flow. I must have spent a couple of hours in the pool before coming up to have lunch. There was a grilling area where we cooked the pork liempo and barbecue that we brought.

After lunch, it was back to the pool, but this time to have my massage. It's not your typical massage where you have dimmed lights and scented candles and you just lie on the bed and sleep if you want to while you're being massaged. This one involves spring water being poured on you then your hair shampooed and your body soaped. It's actually like being a kid all over again and having someone bathe you, plus the massage. It really was a unique experience and one I would have again given the chance. And at P150 for a thirty-minute massage, you just can't lose.

After a couple of hours more, we each took a turn at the shower and dressed back into our dry clothes. Then we packed our things and drove back to Manila. It was still raining when we got back to the highway but the travel time was a bit faster than that morning. We arrived at QC at around 3pm, which was a good thing because it left me more time to get rested before going back to work yesterday. Sometimes you just need these types of vacation to recharge yourself and get through the daily grind :)