I took a risk with that subject line. We’ll see what kind of traffic it brings to the blog. And it’s pretty much what I did today.
Some of you will remember my New Year’s Resolution is to try new things and choose happiness. Today fell into the “new things” category. For her birthday, I offered my BFF her choice of anything she felt like doing.
Me and my big mouth. Turns out she wanted to go to Olympus Spa, an all-female, all-naked, traditional Korean spa. We signed up for the “Shining Package” which includes a salt scrub, massage and pedicure.
Naked means naked. They give you a pink cotton shower cap and a thin cotton robe. The pockets of the robe are sewn shot, so you can’t stash your cell phone in there to sneak pictures, not that the thought would ever cross my mind.
And then, of course, they take the robe away. I wore nothing. NO-thing. Actually, I cheated and wore one contact lens so I could seen what was going on. What was going on was a whole lotta nakedness. You don’t really know where to look. At people’s feet? Their little pink caps? At the full-back tattoo of a willow tree with a rainbow? (It could be the cover art for my next book.) Anywhere, but at…well, you know. After a while, you realize all women’s bodies are beautiful–big, small, young, old…everyone partakes of soaking pools with temperatures from 60 degrees (brrr) to a toasty 104. There are rooms filled with minerals and heat (one is an oven of 170 degrees), an herbal sauna and a dry one, and buckets of hot water infused with mugwort.
The salt scrub: Picture a brutishly strong Asian woman with mitts made of seaweed and tons of grainy salt. You’re like a slab of meat on the table, and trust me, she leaves no stone unturned. And by stone, I mean a unit of weight. I swear, I lost a pound of dead skin, easy. 45 minutes of scrubbing, and I figured out why the package is called “shining.”
Afterward, there’s a restaurant with delicious Korean food–soup with tofu and spices, barbecued shrimp, dumplings, noodles. We had to gorge ourselves slowly while the paint dried on our tootsies. I picked a pink called “short story” while Darlene opted for St. Paddy’s green.
Menu
12 Responses
Sounds like fun. Good for you, doing something out of your comfort level. It would be out of mine too.
Happy Rainy Day!
Sounds like fun. Good for you, doing something out of your comfort level. It would be out of mine too.
Happy Rainy Day!
Oh Susan !
You get my vote for being brave ! What an interesting day you had.
Good for you. Enjoy being so “shined” !!!
Pam
Oh Susan !
You get my vote for being brave ! What an interesting day you had.
Good for you. Enjoy being so “shined” !!!
Pam
You go grrrrrl!
You go grrrrrl!
I love a spa day, although, never have I been to one where everyone was naked. Yes, we are all beautiful in our nakedness.
I had a massage by a big German massage therapist in Peru, years ago. Oh, I was MA-ssaged to within an inch of my skin.
Susan, you must be so shiny, bet it was so much fun too. A naked spa day or a naked under the sheet spa day is still a spa day just for you and your BFF.
I love a spa day, although, never have I been to one where everyone was naked. Yes, we are all beautiful in our nakedness.
I had a massage by a big German massage therapist in Peru, years ago. Oh, I was MA-ssaged to within an inch of my skin.
Susan, you must be so shiny, bet it was so much fun too. A naked spa day or a naked under the sheet spa day is still a spa day just for you and your BFF.
Susan, I just love your blog ;0 You are a very good best friend indeed. Cheers, Chantal
Susan, I just love your blog ;0 You are a very good best friend indeed. Cheers, Chantal
My mother went there for her birthday this year and loved it. My birthday is Thursday and now I am considering it myself. I could use some pampering.
My mother went there for her birthday this year and loved it. My birthday is Thursday and now I am considering it myself. I could use some pampering.