Tricksters...

So we went on a hike to a volcano a few weeks ago. Actually, we drove to the top of the mountain, got out of the car and looked at the crater and said, "It stinks here!" Because indeed, the whole area smelled like rotten eggs. Then we hiked further up the hill in an effort to see the "magical water" that was advertised on so many signs during our drive up to the crater. Sounds nice, right? I pictured a little pool where people were soaking in this so-called healing water, bubbles and steam, since I imagined that it was a hot spring heated by the volcano. So you can understand my disappointment when we got to the top of the very large hill, carrying two kids, and saw this:



Yes, that's the magic water. Turns out a Westerner's version of magical is quite different than the Southeast Asian's version of magical. I can't quite tell what gives it its powers, but the guy charging money at the spicket said that it heals all kinds of problems. I might add that there's a pipe going from the cistern of magical water, all the way down the mountain to the restrooms where that same water is used to flush toilets. I guess it loses its power as it moves downhill. Needless to say, we were disappointed. Matt's face pretty much sums it up: