Aqua Palace

Today I went with Jasmin to a different spa called Aqua Palace. It’s also very close to my house and is well known to be a great spa. Well it definitely was!! And I brought my camera this time!!! (not for the naked pictures though… sorry!!)

The picture of the orange and black striped igloo structure is a sauna you can go into in the Jingiban (both men and women are together in this area because clothes are worn). Inside there’s blankets on the floor and people sleep or watch TV.

The main area of the Jingiban is open and people go there to chat, watch TV or sleep. The one wall is entirely windows and you can look out at the beach below. It’s especially beautiful at night time because the bridge is lit up and the water glimmers.

Aqua Spa has a water park but it’s a bit extra and more aimed towards the kids.

These cubbies are for sleeping. There’s a sign that says that only one person is permitted. I guess they had some issues with couples taking advantage of the ‘privacy’.

This sauna had hot pebbles that you would lie on… it was really interesting. They were hot to walk on but when I lied down it was really comfortable. It’s amazing how much you sweat though in the dry heat. Some Koreans will fall asleep and stay there for an hour or so but after about 20 minutes I was ready to leave.

This was a cold sauna. It was so cold there were icicles forming on the piping. It was really refreshing after coming out of the hot pebble sauna though. Don’t you love the outfit!?!?

This area is filled with little brown balls. There were a lot of kids playing in them but the Koreans will lay down here and allow the balls to massage their muscles. I decided to give it a try and it was very comfortable except for the fact that the balls get trapped in your clothes and then fall out when you walk… ahaha.

After our time in the Jingiban, we decided to make our way to the segregated area of the spa and check out the baths.

This spa was slightly different from the previous one in that there were different types of water. I tried a couple of different baths. One was bright pink and it was infused with lotus flower powder, another had a bunch of minerals in it and the last one was made out of this special kind of Japanese wood that is supposed to have great healing properties.

There were also these baths that had jets that massaged you (very much like a Jacuzzi, except you would sit side by side in a straight line of about 5-6 women) it was very comfortable. In Aqua palace, you can go to a warm bath out on the balcony and overlook the beach below. Apparently people outside can’t see in because the glass is tinted but it’s very freeing to be butt naked, in a warm bath and look out at a beautiful skyline and people everywhere below… you have to try it!

Today Jasmin convinced me to try something new… total body exfoliation. It’s a service they offer at the spa (called BASICS) and it’s basically an exfoliating body treatment. I know they offer this at home for like $100 but here it’s only about $20 total. I haven’t had it done at home before but I’d imagine it’s quite different from here. Here’s how it went…

I was in the naked area of the spa with all of the other women (where you can go into the different baths etc) and there’s a corner where they offer the body treatments. They are performed by two ladies who are wearing bra and underwear. I hopped onto this table and laid on my back. She began by cleansing my face and then putting mashed up cucumber all over my face (it felt very soothing). Then she put on these abrasive mits and used a scrub lotion and began working on my body. She scrubbed for probably 25 minutes… she scrubbed EVERYWHERE. It would be shocking to have that done at home, but I expected it here because luckily my friend Jasmin prepped me. The actual scrub was really relaxing and nice. After she was done scrubbing she rinsed me off with warm water and then put oil all over me and a moisture mask on my face. She gave me a body massage and I was pretty much ready to just fall asleep. Apart from the fact that there’s not the same privacy measures as North America (ie: clothing, blankets and enclosed treatment rooms) it was such a nice experience and my skin is SOOO soft and smooth right now. I think it’ll definitely become part of my regular schedule.