Day of Living Dangerously

Travel expands horizons and introduces new concepts, unexpected people and opportunities you've never had. Sometimes, not often, those things can happen right at home. Last week Karen and I drove twenty minutes from our homes here in Dallas to the remarkable world of the Jjim-jil-bang or Korean bathhouse. We walked into King Spa and Sauna with no clue of what we were doing. It didn't matter-everyone was very kind and we got tips from fellow bathers as we went through the day.

For less than the price of a mani/pedi, you can spend 24 hours enjoying the facility's 34,000 feet of pure relaxation. And what a facility: nine sauna rooms and an ice room for chilling out between fire and brimstone rooms, a theater playing movies in Korean and English, a lounge area with TVs, a café, a children's play area, five whirlpools of various temperatures, a meditation room, and areas for spa services.

 

The first rule we broke was a big one. We moseyed in to the women only spa area with our street shoes on.  That's a no-no. You'll be given a bracelet that has a key tucked into the band. You'll use the key for a shoe locker and a larger locker for your purse and clothes. They'll use the number on your bracelet to charge food or services through the day.

We were handed short sets in flattering Pepto-Bismol pink and told to put our shoes in the locker, 'get nekkie and take shower.' The woman's instruction to get nekkie made sense when we looked the direction she was pointing. There were naked women showering and moving from hot tub to hot tub. A word about modesty: I'm not particularly inhibited, but I have all the body hang ups of any normal woman of sixty. My body sags where it didn't used to, I have lumpy places that need to go away, and perky is not a relevant word. Not an issue. Women of all ages, sizes, and fitness levels were going about the business of relaxation, and I did too.

 

The rule you will not break is to shower well before you enjoy the wet zone. Signs hanging around the place instruct other customers to turn you in for not using soap when you shower. We duly lathered up and made our way to the coolest of the hot tubs. The germaphobe impulses that keep me out of public water parks didn't have a chance in this place. The facilities are as clean as the patrons-workers are cleaning everywhere and there's a fresh smell about the entire place that can't be faked.

 

It's possible to stay all day for the entry fee. We met one woman, there for her eighth time, who has never bought an extra service. We, on the other hand, signed up immediately for a body scrub and massage. For eighty heavenly minutes we were scrubbed like potatoes going in to be baked, covered with hot towels and massaged until the kinks all disappeared, sluiced with water at the perfect temperature, oiled up and massaged some more, covered with an icy cucumber facial mask, shampooed and covered with a tingly, milky lotion. It was fabulous and, at $85, the best deal in town.

After the hot tubs and steam room, we donned our pink outfits and entered the dry, co-ed zone. There we found men in grey short sets just like ours and, although there were none around that day, children wear the same thing in yellow. As we moved from sauna to sauna we learned to close the door upon entry, be quiet if there are others in the rooms, make good use of the ice room to cool down, and to enjoy the relaxation areas.

Some people come directly from bars at closing time to detox before going to the office the next day-hangover free. Others come and stay their entire 24 hours, sleeping in the oxygen room or recliners in the main area, eating at the café and having conversations with friends. However you use the place, it's pretty amazing. We're already planning our next trip back.

Oh, and wait until you're out of the spa area to put your shoes back on....