Back to badminton?

I have not played serious badminton in over a decade. My daughter took badminton lessons during the school break and now enthusiastically plays street badminton with her friends. We got her an inexpensive racket from the Yonex store at SM Megamall and another one from Decathlon. Inspired by this development and also playing street badminton with her some afternoons, I decided to bring out the old rackets from storage so I can use them. The grips were already deteriorated and it was a bit difficult to remove them from the rackets.

The deteriorating grip on one of my rackets

I also removed the grip from another racket though it was not as bad the other

My two rackets are in great condition despite being almost 20 years old

One is a Yonex racket I bought in Fukuoka in 2003. The Wilson racket I got in Bangkok before I got the Yonex racket.

Muscle Power is an old series from Yonex. Hyper Carbon is also an old model from Wilson.

Both rackets are in great condition including the strings. After changing the grip on the Wilson racket, I could use it again to play (at least on the street). We're scouting for badminton courts near our place so we can play there and our daughter can probably take more lessons to improve her skills and play.

-

The Chi Spa at Mactan Shangri-La

Whenever I was traveling, I try to check if there's a good spa or massage services at the resort or hotel I am staying at. The better hotels and resorts have the best facilities and these include Shangri-La, Sofitel and Marriott. With the COVID-19 pandemic still about, one has to be more careful about where to go for a relaxing, stress-relieving massage. And so we have not had our usual massages since 2020 as we had not traveled since the lockdowns of March 2020. One of the reasons we decided to stay at Shangri-La Mactan was the Chi Spa at the resort. We knew that it was already open and that surely they implement health protocols to ensure the safety of their customers. Here are a few photos taken at Shang Mactan on the way to the Chi Spa.

There's a walkway from the hotel to the spa.

Garden walkway to the spa

The resort's chapel

Quiet spaces inside the resort - I think this is basically part of its mini golf course.

The entrance to the spa is just beyond those trees

The gate greets visitors

Gateway

Main entrance to the spa grounds. For those who have difficulty walking, you may request the hotel staff for transport. They have electric vehicles to take you to the spa and back to the hotel/resort.

Gate, walkway, fountain and main building of the Chi Spa.

Inviting sight

Bird statues at the pond. The fountain was not activated when I was there.

A peak at the reception area at the main building

Welcome drink and hot towel to freshen up after the walk from the hotel

One of the gazeebos where customers may wait for them to be escorted to the villa where they will have their treatment/s.

Lotus fountain in the middle of the main building

Chandelier at the main building

Understandably, I did not take photos of where I had my massage. That is in one of the villas in the compound. It gives customers the privacy and quiet one needs to enjoy the treatment. The facilities are definitely well maintained and sanitized. The service was tops as expected. We'll definitely be back at Shang Mactan and the Chi Spa in the near future.

-

On vaccinations vs. Covid-19

I got vaccinated last April (first dose) and May (second dose). As I had no choice like many others, I got Sinovac, the Chinese-made vaccine that under normal circumstances would probably have not been maligned so much. I won't write about the controversies about the vaccine or the politics about this. Suffice it to say here that whatever protection it provides is better than nothing. I got vaccinated at a nearby mall and the procedure was very efficient. The staff were well-trained and well-versed in serving the people.

View of the vaccination set-up at Robinsons Antipolo. Much of the atrium, which is used for bazaars and other events is currently allocated for vaccinations. Similar set-ups may be found in other malls as well including SM Masinag and Ayala Feliz (despite it being in Pasig) for Antipolo residents.

Giveaways after the vaccination - I wonder if these were part of the budget or perhaps donated. Whatever, these are very welcome for people after their vaccination.

Most of my family including my parents and siblings are already vaccinated. Even the other members of our household are also already vaccinated with only one not yet getting her call for her turn in vaccination. Most of us got Sinovac but my sister and her husband got Astra Zeneca and my brother's getting Moderna soon. We were joking about our help who just recently got vaccinated and received the Pfizer vaccine. I will not deny that we will likely get vaccinated again within the year. Towards the end of the year there will probably be all the options available to us. In fact, we have reservations for doses of Novavax that will be arriving later in the year. We feel we might need to do this partly for peace of mind and partly because we plan to be back to traveling soon.

-