Today we arrived in Los Baños, a city an hour or so from Manila. It is situated on the shore of Lake Laguna, and is famous for its many resorts with volcanic hot springs, hence the name ("the baths"). It is also the location of one of the University of the Philippines campuses, which is where we are staying. It was here that the so-called "green revolution" reportedly started, centering on developing new rice varieties and stimulating cereal production with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Our plan is to climb nearby Mt Makiling, a dormant volcano. We will also tour the local botanical gardens, and, if we have enough time, take a swim in the swimming pool.

We have spent the last few days in Manila, just relaxing after the return from El Nido. We finished our souvenir shopping and visited many of the busiest markets in the city, including the Mall of Asia, supposedly Asia's largest. We also took advantage of the low local prices for spectacles and ordered new pairs for both of us. (Our last prescriptions were four years ago.) I ordered a new pair with red frames and partially rose colored lenses. Maitri ordered a pair with blue-purple frames and also got a pair just for computer work.

In these last few days, we were able to eat at several other vegetarian restaurants, including in Chinatown and Makati.

We also finally visited the world's only bamboo organ, located in Las Piñas, another Manila suburb. Because it was the opening day of the annual Bamboo Festival with its evening gala performance, we were not able to have the usual full tour during the mass, where one can listen to the organ playing.

Maitri wanted to visit the local Ananda Marga yoga house. When we last visited it years ago it was located downtown in the Paco Market area. Now it has moved to the suburbs of Quezon City. There we met Dada Ratmananda, a Filipino yoga teacher who is temporarily posted in Manila while he awaits renewal of his US visa.