one of the musts when visiting korea is going to a spa. they are incredibly popular among the natives and very affordable. one of my friends, who is a native, invited me and two other ladies to go to a spa in chungdo. it's a well-known facility and i understand why. it was beautiful, nestled among the mountains, in the middle of the gorgeous korean countryside. the facility itself is sleek, clean, and luxurious. the spa has tons of saunas, natural spring water pools infused with precious rocks that are said to give your body all kinds of strength to fend off any diseases and give your skin a glow. there are pools of hot water, cold water, warm water, waterfalls, etc. it's amazing.
i was very excited about going to the spa, but i was nervous about one thing: what you wear or rather what you don't wear. in order to go into the spa you don't wear anything. just the birthday suit. (!) this is quite difficult for a westerner, but koreans are quite used to it. once you get over the initial shock of being naked in front of strangers, the experience is exhilarating. the water feels phenomenal. some of the pools were on the rooftop so you could rest with a view of the mountains, orchards, and farm land. my girlfriends and i got a facial and body massage and scrub. ladies work hard to scrub you of any possible dead skin so you leave with an amazing glow and feel baby soft. i'd have to say the amazing relaxation and benefits far outweighed the awkwardness.
afterward we had a delicious lunch of bbq and lettuce wraps, and took a short tour of a wine tunnel. mingki, our tour guide, was wonderful. she laid on her charm and got the four of us great deals, free extra stuff, and she even talked someone into giving us a ride to the train station. (don't worry, hitchhiking in the country is pretty common and very safe : )
all in all, this is definitely a day I wouldn't mind repeating.
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