Jjimjilbang

So its about time I write some of the goings on in Korea down on virtual paper. I wanted to let everyone know about the amazingness that is the jjimjilbang, or public bath/sauna. So every Wednesday, we get off from work early... 9:05pm at the latest and recently Peter and I, a fellow co-worker, have made it our weekly ritual to enjoy the early evening and relax at Home Spa World, this monstrosity of a bathhouse. For those who don't know what a bathhouse entails... you walk in and get a locker. Take off all your clothes, put the key (on a little bracelet) on your wrist or ankle and wander off to enjoy the myriad of pools and saunas. The men and boys have separate floors from the women and girls. Many families come here together and it is a sort of a male/female bonding experience. The pools range from 42 deg C to 18 deg C (or 108-64 deg F for all you westerners). Some pools have herb infusions, green tea, or Japanese cedar pool called Hanori, the majority of them though are just normal water. There are also waterfall showers and cold water jacuzzis. And just to temper it all, you have a Finnish sauna, an herb sauna and various other heated rooms. And that is just the main floor where the lockers are located. They have a gym, a swimming pool and masseuses (unfortunately only during normal daytime hours). Jjimjilbangs do not ever close, people sleep there, they have little cubbies you can tuck yourself into and sleep and wake up and do it all over again if you so choose! Now my favorite part of Home Spa World is something called Korean Bulgama. To get to the bulgama you have to travel to a different floor. Down in the basement, you have a variety of rooms, all heated or cooled to different temperatures and varying themes, but the two of most importance are the bulgama and the ice room. After spending an hour or two up in the pools and saunas, you make your way into the bulgama, this beehive shaped oven basically. It reminds me alot of a Native American sweat lodge because they have this thing heated up to 90 deg C or 194 deg F. The floor is covered with mats which are mostly covered in turn with blankets. And what we do is go sit in the bulgama for about 15-20 minutes with a nice liter of iced green tea or ice water and then when you've had all you can take, go into the ice room at a brisk 6 deg C or 42 deg F and watch the steam rise off your body! Rinse and repeat as many times as you like and even throw a massage into the mix to really cleanse your body. It is a great time had by all and I can't wait to take dad when he comes for a visit... right up his alley! Talk to you all again soon!