This is not the kind of treatment wherein you have to drink a number of glasses of water after you wake up in the morning; before eating your meals; after eating your food; and before going to bed almost everyday.

After I had the strength to stand up and slowly walk on my own, I requested my staff to bring me to Brgy Bucal in Los Banos, Laguna as I remember having visited this place with the invitation of my classmates from the Philippine Constabulary/Philippine National Police when I was still a Major in the active service in one of the hot spring establishments in the area. Although the place where I was invited was an exclusive place, I found out that there are places where it is cheap and affordable. A former classmate of mine in Elementary & High School also owns a house with pool in this area. In the end, I decided to look for a cheap place where there is no reservation procedure is involved.

After lunch last Tuesday, I went to Los Banos, Laguna with the intention of soaking my legs in the hot spring water of the numerous in the said place. I wanted my leg muscles to relax and get the warmth of the sulphuric water. From 1:30 PM to 7:30 PM, my legs and whole body were soaked in the sulphuric water of the old & renowned Laguna Hot Spring which was established in the year 1949. It took me straight 6 hours to soak myself in this therapeutic waters of Los Banos. Surprisingly, after 2-3 hours in the water, I could see that I was sweating and had some snack “breaks” as I felt so hungry due to the effect of the heat from the water.

Staying on the hottest portion of the pool for 6 hours seemed to be so short because of the people who shared the area with me. There was this European guy who was in his late 60’s who was looking silently to me and to other two Filipino guys who were talking in Tagalog. All of a sudden, the European guy joined the conversation in a fluent Tagalog, too! This guy had been a constant visitor of the place. A Filipino guy in his late 30s approached me and asked if I am joining marathons/road races in Manila (he might have seen my singlet in the TV news about PIM) and we started our conversation about running until it reached about topics on politics/presidential election candidates. His purpose in going to this hot spring facility is that he has “gout”! What? A guy so young with “gout”? Unbelievable!

And then there were two “senior” couples who happened to be “Balikbayans” from Cerritos, California. The topic they were discussing was about the bad image of the country’s peace and order situation as gleaned from the TV broadcasts they see abroad. I did not join their conversation but just listened to what they were talking. Later, the conversation went to Tyhoon Ondoy and the distribution of relief goods and the accountability of the money received by ABS-CBN Foundation from the local and foreign donors. Later, it went to the pros and cons of the political figures planning to run for Presidency of the country. Well, what they said were valid and some are the usual “opinionated” remarks. Hearing all their conversations were very entertaining! 

 After 3 hours in the water, I started to move my left leg by kicking it underwater and doing some leg curl exercises. After 15 minutes of leg kicking and leg curling, I started to jog slowly. I was surprised that I did not feel any pain while doing the slow jogging inside the water. The depth of the pool is 6 feet and it was very comfortable to be curling my legs under the hot water of the spring. I did a 30-minute “water jogging” and it was a nice workout that I had to sweat!

After a brief snacks/break for about 20 minutes, I returned to the “hottest” spot and did again some leg exercises—leg curls and leg scissors! A guy suddenly started talking about the therapeutic benefits of the sulphuric water where he said that he had been a constant visitor and user of the place for the past 20 years! According to him, the benifits from the water are better absorbed by the body if you do some exercises or body movements while you are soaked in the water. Well, I silently said to myself that, that was exactly what I was doing for the past 3-4 hours!  

The Laguna Hot Spring in Brgy Bucal, Los Banos is one-hour ride from Taguig City. The admission fee during daytime is P 60.00 only per person. The toll fee from Taguig City to Calamba Exit at the SLEX is only P 87.00, one way. So, if you have the time and want to experience a relaxing moment to soak your running legs and tired bodies to the sulphuric water of Los Banos, a trip to this place is highly recommended. A canteen/store is located inside the establishment where anybody could order cooked food. However, you can also bring your own food and drinks inside the place without any extra charge.

After a full night rest, my legs, most especially to my left, has slowly already regained its strength.