MAINIT Hotspring is a private resort nestled at the belly of
The presence of a caretaker, always armed with a two-way VHF radio, is critical. The 1-kilometer dirt road to and from the resort, which treacherously snakes through natural gullies carved by the passage of time, and by water flowing from the mountaintop, allows only one-way traffic. After payment of entrance fees, plate numbers of incoming vehicles are meticulously listed down and communicated at the resort reception, which is more of a twin outpost at its entrance. Travel is cleared with the main roadside outpost before any outgoing vehicle is allowed to leave.
Our descent into the resort, which is roughly 100 meters below the road surface to Panicuason, was largely uneventful. I had been there a countless times, but my first visit is firmly and clearly etched in my mind.
“You know guys, you can call it serendipity but I’ve always thought Mainit would be ideal for the weary IT geeks who want to be recharged,” I told Tere and company as Jim’s Ford Escape was starting to hit the access road, followed by an L-300 crewcab filled with trusted Bayantel hands.
“When I first saw the place, I immediately thought of separate log cabins for each IT company that the Investment Board will be able to entice. Microsoft here, HP there, Intel of course, Dell...you know, the works.”
“Well, Mr. Prilles, your dream is about to come true,” Richard chuckled.
“But you guys beat everyone to it,” I countered with a smile, savoring my own Mastercard moment in the making. At the corner of my eye, I saw my son hunkered down and vigorously fiddling with the control keys of his Playstation PSP. True to his word, he stayed as invisible as he can, save for the brief introductions 45 minutes ago when we met at City Hall as previously agreed. Tere from time to time would ask him perfunctory questions about the game he is playing -- Kingdom Hearts 2, I am sure -- and Ezekiel would reply in equal measure without ever lifting his head.
Upon reaching Mainit, the group quickly split into two: Jimmy and his Bayantel people went directly to check the steel superstructure that had previously been erected on top of one of the 30 meter-high walls of solid rock that shield off the resort. Reminiscent of the Wailing Walls of Jerusalem, this rock formation never fails to grab attention, particularly of first-timers like Tere and company, as it dwarfs even the three pools that Mainit has become noted for, as well as the row of huts and cottages that the owners have built for visitors. Richard, Joe and Erwin, on the other hand, found a clearing just beside the parked vehicles where they unloaded, unpacked and started assembling the Wimax equipment that will be hoisted on top of the tower. Tere and I joined them, while Ezekiel disappeared into one of the showers with his wornout Hawk Gear backpack. Minutes later, he reappeared in khaki shorts and his favorite orange Grizzly shirt, with the black backpack still slung on one shoulder while the other hand still holding his precious PSP, quietly moving into the direction of the Mainit pools.
“SO THIS is how a Wimax setup looks like,” I exclaimed after seeing Joe Baligad breeze through his task of assembling the antenna.
“Actually, this one is a little bit different from the others we have installed at the Ateneo and at the centro,” Richard explained. “It has both omni-directional and sectoral capabilities, considering the rugged terrain of your upper barangays.”
“You mean to say this one is better that those two in the lowlands?”
“Not better. Just more appropriate. Well, your mayor wanted ‘impeccable service quality’. So this is just what the doctor ordered,” he replied, with one eye winking at Tere, who merely laughed dryly.
“Our ass is also at stake here,” Joe butted in. “Remember we have invested a lot in this project, especially in trying to convince those assholes at Innove to make Wimax happen. It’s already a matter of pride, di ba Tere?”
“Just tell me where we ready for a test run, guys,” Tere snapped before walking away towards the direction of the steam pools.
Erwin, who had been silent all throughout, whispered: “It’s just too bad Innove backed out at the last minute. We really hate it when these things happen, bay. So let’s see who’ll end up sorry.”
Sorry is indeed a distinct possibility if Wimax indeed lives up to expectation. A website dedicated to Wimax claims “it has the potential to replace a number of existing telecommunications infrastructures. In a fixed wireless configuration it can replace the telephone company's copper wire networks, the cable TV's coaxial cable infrastructure while offering Internet Service Provider (ISP) services. In its mobile variant, Wimax has the potential to replace cellular networks.”
This technology has been popularly described as “WiFi on steroids,” and grudgingly, that description is quite accurate. Current WiFi variants -- imagine the wireless broadband internet access that has become standard come-ons for the yuppie set in popular coffee shops like Starbucks (that have mushroomed in Metro Manila) or Coffee Beanery at Avenue Square in Naga -- can only cover around 150 yards max per access point, at an unsecured throughput of 11 megabits per second (Mbps), and only one floor at that. On the other hand, one Wimax base station, comprising of a radio and antenna, can cover a small city like Naga from end to end, with throughput -- encrypted at multiple levels, thereby ensuring greater security -- capable of reaching 72 Mbps.
And just imagine if your cellphone or PDA is Wimax-ready: the blazing speed all but guarantees a truly exquisite and exceptional internet experience, not to mention dazzling, paradigm-shifting applications -- think of a truly portable, crystal clear voice and video over IP (VOIP) service, for instance -- that will put Globe’s and Smart’s 3G phones to shame, even if reinforced with the so-called HSDPA technology. And mind you, these handsets are a few years away from being commercially mass-produced.
WHILE Jimmy and his crew are completing final checks on the tower’s structural integrity, and our unit with our work on the antenna, Tere caught up with Ezekiel at the bigger steam pool of the resort.
“So how far have you gone through in that Kingdom Hearts 2 game of yours?” she asked.
Surprised that he has company, Ezekiel turned around and saw Tere standing at the foot of the concrete bridge leading to the steam pools. The bridge conveniently spanned
“Why do you want to know?”
“Well, because I’ve finished that game already, in our Playstation 2 unit at home.”
“You’re kidding me. Only boys play PS2 games. And not all of them do,” Ezekiel said, casting a glance at his father’s direction.
“Try me.”
“Nah, you’re just pulling my leg.”
“Well, it was actually my niece. And she’s a girl!”
“Of course she is! Well, Sofie also plays my PS2 from time to time: whenever she comes home earlier than Budi and I do. Only that Papa will have us save the game it if he thinks we’re already overplaying. Or if he wants to use the TV himself.”
“Why, don’t you have a TV set in your own room?”
Ezekiel fell silent. “I would have wanted to, but Papa doesn’t like the idea of having separate TVs. Would have spent some of my savings to have the CRT of our old TV repaired, but he said no. He always says too much TV is harmful.”
“But how come you own a PSP, aside from the PS2 you said you have at home?”
“Well, this is where most of my savings went,” Ezekiel replied, chuckling. “He was so mad at me when he found out. We didn’t speak for a week.”
Tere nodded and fell silent. Reversing course, she asked: “So how is the water?”
“A bit warm. This is how Papa always likes his bath at home.”
“Would you mind if I join you?”
The question took Ezekiel aback. Quite early on, he has felt a kind of liking -- an attraction -- to the sophisticated, confident, mature woman who holds her ground with uncharacteristic ease in the company of men, some of whom are even older than she is. It was quite different from the crushes that from time to time he has had on more attractive younger classmates since high school.
“No,” was all he muttered, groping for words that when strung together will serve as good enough excuse for that refusal.
After taking a deep breath he said: “I promised my father I will stay invisible so you will not feel I am around. That’s why he allowed me to tag along. I don’t want any trouble.”
“Now if you’ll excuse me.” With the quickness of a young cat, Ezekiel jumped out of the pool, grabbed his backpack and headed towards the smaller, more private steam pool upstream.
Tere found himself smiling at the quick turn of events. For a moment, she remembered how it was to be young, to be impulsive, and to be shy in one fell swoop. Then Richard’s booming voice broke those reminiscences: It was time to finally test-drive Wimax, and see if it can deliver the goods, just as the doctor ordered.
A BAYANTEL technician stands on one side of the tower top, facing Erwin who is checking if the nuts and bolts holding the Wimax antenna in place are secure and strong enough to resist category 4 typhoon winds that might come Mainit’s way. Below, Jimmy, Richard, and I have milled around the concrete base on top of the solid rock wall. From our vantage point, we can see the whole resort and admire the serenity that blankets this particular spot: the steam pools to the left, the bridge spanning
Below, Tere is hunched on a bench inside one of the cottages, with his IBM Thinkpad sitting on his lap, powered by a six-cell Li-Ion extra battery pack capable of lasting 9 more hours than a conventional laptop battery. Beside her sits a cylindrical customer premise equipment (CPE), also known as a subscriber’s base, which will allow linkup to the Wimax base station. Around her, some of the more curious Bayantel technicians have gathered around, eager to bear witness to a historic moment: the trial-run of a technology that can potentially turn their distressed company around.
When Richard gave the go-signal, Erwin turned the 110-volt UPS on, putting the test on stream. On cue, Tere opened her Microsoft Outlook Express email client and pushed the “Send and Receive” button in the toolbar. Instantly, the 10 messages she purposely left in her Outbox disappeared, changing its typeface from Bold to
As all of these were happening, Ezekiel, red-faced because of Tere’s unexpected offer, has regained his composure and started testing the water in the pool upstream. Finding it to his liking, he stood up and placed his backpack near the edge, took off his shirt and laid it across a nearby bush, fully covering the shrub. Absent minded, he failed to realize that the little unremarkable bush is a pili tree that has already bore a fruit.
After making sure that everything is all right, he slowly descended into the pool and tried to wade on its waters. To his extreme shock, there was nothing underneath! The concrete base supporting the steamy water -- which the other pool had -- has simply vanished under his feet. With his body weight pulling him down, and his feet frozen by surprise, he instinctively flailed his left arm with one final thrust towards the pool edge, hoping against hope to grab into a ledge, into something, anything that will arrest his freefall. Alas, all he felt was the familiar strap of his backpack, sending it hurtling towards him, joining his body as they dropped stonelike into what seemed to be a bottomless abyss.
5 comments:
Willy, i am no expert, but by the looks of it, you are just doing fine...
I know how you feel, inspired by dean alfar's blog, i took the NANO run myself last year, here in Bikol...
clarification, i mean, YOU ARE DOING JUST FINE...you are on the right track, good start, too...
Thanks Rizaldy. Actually, there are more possibilities emerging, so much to write about, but so little time.:)
Haha I know this place.. and yes, I had my own experience of an accident here. Hmm.. I might blog about that one some day.
WiMax vs. 3G, eh? They say Wimax is broadband trying to be mobile while 3G is mobile trying to be broadband. I should know ;)
Hey nice blog.
I was surfing the net, the other day, for a cheap and reliable internet phone service (Voip) and came across one that is cheaper than Vonage and just as good.
Anyone interested can check them out at Via Talk .
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