The Primitive Jacuzzi in Tibiao, Antique

Ati-atihan 2013 was officially over and that was my last day in Kalibo. I woke up 4:00 in the morning and have no more to sleep, and so I have my flight at 1:00 in the afternoon.  My strong will to go to Tibiao, Antique to experience at least the Kawa Hot Bath brought me in front of the bus terminal going to Antique. I knew I could able to budget my time to return in Kalibo before my flight going home.

I was able to catch up the 1^st trip to Antique.  Since the bus departed the terminal past 5 in the morning. I expected to be at Tibiao by 8am, the travel time is 2 to 3 hours for P160. That was my first time to travel alone out of town. I was praying so hard that I could be at Tibiao at 8:00am. But something went wrong along the way and I arrived in Brgy. Importante, Tibiao at 9:00am. In hurry, I rented a habal habal for an uphill drive for 15minutes. Habal habal cost 35 pesos per ride. Registration fee is 20 pesos.

I must say, the tribal jacuzzi of Tibiao made Antique more attractive for the tourisst. Actually, this witch thing liked is just a complimentary experience to the heart pounding kayaking adventure. But you can have one if you opt not to try the kayaking.Other activities  includes zipline, rock climbing, waterfalls rapelling and trekking. You can experience the kawa hot bath for P200.

Cooking Lesson at Tibiao

Let me share to you the secret ingredients and procedure of the TEA Park main recipe. There are three easy steps. First, fill up the kawa with water in desired level.

Secondly, put  branches of a tree or bamboo under the kawa and fire it. Heating of water is approximately 25 minutes; desired temperature is up to you.

And lastly, prepare yourself as you are the main ingredient of this recipe. Go blanch yourself and feel the relaxing effect of warm water.

 

My whole Kawa Hot Bath experience lasted only for 30 minutes for I have a flight to catch up in the afternoon, and it is already 10am.

Succeeding misfortune came along, I didn’t catch the bus going to Kalibo and I waited for almost 30 minutes in the highway.  I left no choice but to rent a habal habal again going to the next town’s bus station, unfortunately bus going to Kalibo still haven’t arrive. My last option is to ride bus going to Caticlan. It was already 11am when bus going to Caticlan arrived. 2 hours more and goodbye to my flight! I told the driver to drop me at the Caticlan - Kalibo junction and from there I'll ride multi-cab going to the Kalibo Airport. 

It was already 12 in the afternoon and I didn't see yet the junction, few minutes later, I saw a familiar place. That was the Jeti Port in Caticlan, ugh! that was approximately 45 minutes away from the junction. I almost cried because it was too impossible to catch my flight. Yes, I didn't catch my flight, I arrived at Kalibo past 2pm and booked another ticket going back to Manila.  I stayed in Aklan for 2 more days and explored the remaining exquisite attractions of the province. Hmm. Lesson learned! 

I will definitely go back here in Antique, not as a side trip, but to explore the whole mysterious province of Antique. Antique really deserves a re-visit from me.Oh, I forgot, this is actually my second time in Antique, the first one was on 2011, and again as a side trip from my Iloilo tour.

HOW TO GET THERE

From Kalibo, take any bus going to Antique, maximum travel time to Brgy. Importante is 3 and half hours, the fare is roughly 170 pesos. 

TRAVEL HEALTH  TIPS

Kawa Hot Bath can actually be a natural cure for lots of diseases. It can ease body aches and pains. Sitting in warm water of Kawa Hot Bath relaxes your muscles and blood vessels causing them to dilate, thus making a good blood flow. Blood that carries nutrients easily supply to all parts of the body and it also help the healing process.

Researches also show that Hot tub technique can help diabetes patients. Sitting in the warm water make it easier for the insulin to be transported in the blood vessels because it is dilated. Studies reveal that those who are using hot tub every day for ten days had better blood sugar levels.

For weight conscious, just like sauna, the heats of the water increases the body’s temperature and as an outcome causes you to sweat, burn calories and subsequently lose weight, however this doesn’t happen after just one sitting, exercise is still the best calorie burner.

With these effects, our brain releases endorphins in neurotransmission. Endorphins reduce our perception of pain thus they are the body’s natural pain killer and alike with the effect of an analgesic drug morphine. In addition to secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response.e. With high endorphins levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress.

Avoid use of hot tub if you have history of heart problem. It increases the likelihood of heart attack or stroke. Pregnant women also should avoid the exposure to hot tub/bath to temperature of 101 degrees or higher. It creates an imbalance of the body’s internal body heat which is important to maintain for the growing baby inside, higher temperature increases the likelihood of birth defects or miscarriage.