war echt ziemlich heiß#natural #hotsprings #coron #philippines
A long overdue delve into the global soaking culture and in particular that of Southeast Asia.
Starting off with the latter, nature newschannel Mongabay (Dec. 31, 2021) has an informative in-depth article on an initiative to expand the Mt Apo (Mindanao, Philippines) geothermal power plant:
'In the 1980s, when the Philippines’ Energy Development Corporation, or EDC, began developing plans for a geothermal energy plant near Mount Apo, a dormant volcano on the southern island of Mindanao, it faced fierce resistance.Decades later, the geothermal plant is frequently cited as an example of a project that has fulfilled its commitments to traditional landholders, and its permit was renewed without major dissent in 2017. But a bloody struggle preceded the agreement, and as the company seeks to expand, it may again find itself facing opposition from Indigenous peoples'....Despite its troubled beginning, the deal is now widely regarded as having been a success.Under the agreement, Madadma gets 1 centavo per kilowatt-hour from the electricity sold by the geothermal plant, giving the tribe a steady income stream. This royalty goes to the Environmental and Tribal Welfare Trust Fund, administered by an NGO, the Mt. Apo Foundation, Inc. PNOC-EDC also provided housing for 68 families relocated for the project, granted scholarships to students from the affected area, and gave tribal members priority for hiring during the construction phase.The company running the plant wish to expand, whereby the expansion in capacity will also mean more land will be needed. Hope is that a negotitions with tradional tribes will result once again in a win-win situation for local tribes'.
Remaining with the Philippines. Outoftownblog (Apr. 17) has a local's list of natural hot springs in the Philippines. About 10-ish, most with resort in the name.
Viatravelers (Apr. 26) has an overview of hot springs near Manila:
'Some are located within resorts that have capitalized on their tourist-luring appeal, while others are accessible by the wider public.Either way, hot springs near Manila offer everything a weary traveler desires: warming waters to revitalize the body and spectacular sceneries to calm the mind'.
Authentic Indonesia has a dozen of Indonesia's best hot springs.
'Traveling has many purposes. One of them is for relaxation. To get your own relaxation can be obtained in many ways, including by visiting natural hot springs. Soaking in a hot spring pool can be one solution to make the body fresh again after tired undergoing holiday activities. If you want to travel to the hot springs, here are our recommendations for 12 best Indonesia natural hot springs'.
Live#24/30Heiße Quellen in Bandung -Was war bisher dein schönster Reisemoment?•Warum ich die Welt sehen will! 🌎❣️Heute Thema in meinem Live, um 22:00 Uhr geht es los 😊 ich freu mich auf dich!#livetogrow #reisen #weltsehen #lebennacheigenemstandard #heissequellen #bandung
ThinkGeoenergy (Mar. 8) has an article in which with the example of Flores they try to propose that geothermal electricity is especially required to assist the tourism sector in developing.
Unlikely, but there's a recent article (Jun. 24) by the Smartlocal concerning Singapore's onsens.
'Good news for those who miss Japan’s hot springs: Singapore, too, has spas with their very own onsens for self-pampering – both the nude and non-nude sort. While we don’t have many natural hot spring sources, the water at these onsen spas in Singapore do come with minerals or at least some sort of health benefits....There’s no better way to bond with your mates than for all of you to jump into a pool together, fully butt-naked. But you don’t have to illegally skinny dip in a reservoir when you can do that at Yunomori Onsen & Spa, which brings the public hot spring experience to Singapore. Yup, the gender-separated pools here are 100% communal, so mentally prepare yourself, and let your inhibitions free!
klook has an updated (May 26) listing of what they consider 8 of Vietnam's best hot springs. Pretty odd, that the article lists the hot springs, but posts of hot springs from the US!
Wellnessvietnam has another more thoughtful article (Feb. 15) on Vietnam's natural (but developed) soaks:
'There are more than 200 hot springs throughout Vietnam though only a handful have been developed and are safely accessible for public bathing. Our guide to the ‘Best Hot Springs Experience in Vietnam’ features six unique locations that combine wellness, adventure, and cultural immersion'.
Are you looking to soak in mineral hot springs on your next vacation?On our final stop of "4 Waters" Day Tour you'll find an oasis of hot spring resort opportunities...
Values
Over to the global chapter. Which is mostly Japan focussed.
Japan's open onsen soaking culture, quirky for foreigners is slowly being eroded.
Japan Today (Jan. 9):
'Communal bathing has long been a part of traditional Japanese culture. Mixed-gender bathing, though, or konyoku, as it’s called in Japanese, is something that’s been largely phased out at hot springs and sento (public baths), with the vast majority of such facilities now having two separate bathing areas for male and female customers.An exception is made for young children though, with Japanese society, for the most part, thinking it’s no big deal for a mother to take her young son into the women’s bath with her, or vice-versa for a father and daughter in the men’s bath. The question is what age qualifies as “young,” there’s now a new legal cutoff in Tokyo.Previously, children as old as nine were allowed into the bath for the opposite sex, provided they were bathing with a parent or guardian, of course. As of January 1, though, the new age limit is six, meaning that once children hit the age of 7, boys are legally allowed only in the men’s bath, and girls the women’s....“If it’s such a problem for parents, then they don’t have to come to the public bath in the first place.”As alluded to by the last comment, though communal bathing was once more or less an unavoidable necessity of life in Japan, in the modern era it’s pretty much an optional way to get clean. Two or three generations ago, it still wasn’t all that unusual for Japanese homes, especially those of working-class families, to lack bathing facilities, meaning family members had to make regular trips to their neighborhood public bath. Nowadays, though, all but the most spartan of apartments have a bath/shower combo, so going to the sento is more a leisure activity than a cornerstone of anyone’s hygiene routine'.
Guardian (Mar. 12) looks at another aspect, also reflecting the gradual demise of traditional values:
'The absence of women seemed to confirm Japanese media reports that konyoku – mixed bathing – is at risk of becoming a cultural curiosity, especially when it requires participants to go naked.Many blame the rising menace of wani (crocodiles) – the nickname given to men who spend long periods immersed in the water, their eyes constantly scanning the room for female bathers....Other hot springs have followed suit, with one proprietor who recently introduced a clothing rule on a trial basis suggesting the change would become permanent since it had clearly deterred bathers with “perverse motives”. Another onsen in the south-west of the country saw the number of female bathers rise from 10% to 80% after it made covering up compulsory....Kobayashi [Yasuhiko Kobayashi, a lawyer who has written a guide to the country’s best onsen], who has sampled about 3,000 onsen over the past three decades, attributes the breakdown of bathing manners to a lack of consideration for other people that now afflicts wider Japanese society.“People think that if something is not actually prohibited, then they can do as they please,” he said. “When foreigners arrived in Japan in the late 1800s, mixed bathing was one of the things that really surprised them. But that was a time of tolerance and respect in Japan. It meant Japanese society was safe and peaceful. The decline of mixed bathing is proof that standards are declining.”The introduction of partitions and bathing wear requirements diminishes the value of what should be an innocent shared experience, he added. “It means that onsen are losing their individual charm. That’s a real shame.”
Globalhobo (Dec. 13, 2021) looks at the soaking culture from the dive into the unknown aspect:
'No. My clothes we’re staying firmly on, thank you very much....So, with my new friends Abbey and Jada bravely leading the way, I tentatively lost my onsen virginity.And it was… freeing.Although I had thought that being in an essentially translucent swimming pool with a group of strangers would be daunting, once I got over the initial shock of seeing boobs every which way I looked, I found the whole experience transformative....You can look at all the glamourised, picture-perfect female bodies you want on Instagram, or in magazines, but at the end of the day, those photos are artwork: the most ‘ideal’ of the ideal body-types who are paid to pose and edited so that the photos are flattering. Normal human bodies are naturally lumpy, lopsided and flawed. But that doesn’t make us any less beautiful or valuable. Bodies, too, are essentially just superficial skin prisons that enclose the real us: it is our feelings, thoughts and actions that make us intrinsically unique.So frankly, I think we Brits have a lot to learn culturally, and maybe practicing becoming relaxed with taking our clothes off more readily (within the parameters of the law) is a good a place, as any, to start. I believe we could all do with being a bit more naked!
Elsewhere, ThinkGeoenergy (Jul. 13) has a short article on the supposed threat of geopower generation versus soaking:
'On June 21, 2022, the Japan Hot Spring Association held their own in-person general meeting in three years after the restrictions caused by the pandemic. One of the major topics discussed during the meeting was the potential of geothermal power generation in Japan and its possible effect to Japanese hot spring culture....“The hot spring culture is pervasive in Japan, with 130 million people staying at hot springs annually. Geothermal power generation is now used for conventional hot springs.” said Ministry of the Environment Director Yoshiaki Kitahashi. He added that the minimum line for geothermal power generation is that it should not affect the conventional use of hot springs'.
Dicen que el agua cura todos los males.No sé si los cura, pero te hace sentir mejor.#aguastermales #thermalbaths #family #coloredhair #nature #relax #greenery #naturalspa #naturalsprings #travel #trip #wanderlust #travelphotography #travelmania #rainbow #naturelover
Away from Japan, MTL blog (Jun. 7) notices that Iceland's hot spring culture is to be exported to ... Canada!
'A giant geothermic pool could be coming to Quebec. With a surface area of 120,000 square feet, the Iceland-style swimming hole would be the largest of its kind in the world, promoters say.The lagoon would be the centrepiece of an eventual 600-door retreat in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, a small town on the Saint Lawrence River roughly an hour north of Quebec City. There are also plans for restaurants and a spa....The pool itself would rely on geothermal, biomass and solar energy to maintain a year-round temperature of 38 C'.
It does look though that it's Iceland's soaking culture for foreigners (not the national soaking culture) is to be exported.
Finally, BBC (May 19, 2021) has a video on geothermal energy.
