Kawa Bath

We had a nice little break from our island hopping tour when we broke off for lunch at Shingley Piknikan. This was actually on the mainland and not on Boracay Island. The place as a modest place which serves Filipino food to the tour groups who pass through here. We arrived past lunch and we had the whole place to ourselves. All this time, we were in no time pressure to finish by a certain time. Although, we were later told that if we went past a certain time, it would be nice to hand the crew a little more money for the trouble.

On the way out of the Shingley Piknikan, we noticed a group of large vats with water in it. There was wood under it that appears to have been burned. No, they didn’t cook anything here, at least not in the normal sense. This is a kawa bath. A kawa is a large vat used for cooking. These are usually used to cook very large batches usually for very large groups of people. Shingley Piknikan probably uses them at the back of the restaurant. However, these kawa are not used for cooking food, but for cooking people. The kawa is large enough to fit a full grown person sitting down. Add the water and you have boiled human in the kawa. Of course, no one really gets cooked here. The kawa here is just for show. The wood burned below takes a very long time even heat up the water, much less cook a person in it. Some of our group got in an took photos inside the kawa. The tour guide had to scramble to find something to light the fire under the kawa, or at least get a fire going large enough to photograph. It was a fun thing, especially if you are into social media. There is a donation box here for anyone who wishes to donate.

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