A mosquito-net must be fitted to every bed, but may not always be required. In the sleeping-room there should be no curtains, and the least possible amount of furniture, and, during the hot season, the bed should stand in the middle of the room. It is advisable to have no light in the bedroom, but good lights are a necessity in the dressing-rooms.
By being careful about this you will keep your bedroom free from mosquitoes. Petroleum is commonly used in the Philippines for lighting, and unless the lamps are of the best quality, and carefully trimmed, there is considerable danger of accident. I used to keep some plants in pots in each room so as to throw the earth over any oil that might get alight. Whenever there was a shock of earthquake, I extinguished the petroleum lamps, and lighted candles instead. And whenever we went out to a dinner or dance, every petroleum lamp was extinguished, and cocoanut-oil lights or candles substituted in case of an earthquake whilst we were out.
Frequent baths are indispensable to good health in Manila. Enormous earthenware tubs, made in China, can be procured. These are placed in the bath-room, and filled in the evening, so that the water gets refreshingly cool during the night. It is not at all advisable to get into the water, as the effect is not so good as dashing the water over the head with a small bucket called a tabo. By using the water thus, and rubbing the skin briskly with a towel, a reaction soon sets in, and the bather feels quite invigorated.
A bath of this kind when rising, and another before dressing for dinner, will do much to mitigate the rigour of the climate.
From several stories told me by friends recently returned from Manila, it would seem that the Americans there, or some of them, at least, are not sufficiently alive to the necessity of daily baths, but I refrain from giving particulars.
This seems strange when one remembers the profusion with which baths are provided in all the modern hotels in the great cities of America.
Now I must tell you about gogo. This is the dried bark of a creeper that grows wild in the woods, and it is the finest thing possible to keep your hair in order.
There are several kinds of this plant, the three most commonly used are gogo bayugo (Entada scandens Benth.); gogong casay (Peltophorum ferrugineum Benth.); gogong paltaning (Albizzia saponaria Blum.).
As washing the hair with gogo is one of the luxuries of the Philippines, I shall describe how it is done.
A servant pounds a piece of the stem and bark, and steeps it in a basin, twisting and wringing it occasionally until the soluble part has been extracted. He then adds to the liquor two or three limes, squeezing the juice out, and soaking the peel. He also throws in a handful of crushed citron-leaves, and strains the liquor through muslin.