Monday, August 20, 2007

In a Korean Bath House

I tried the Korean bath houses when I went to South Korea. I had to strip & bathe with the Koreans..... ladies only although you can choose to go to the pool where men and women bathed together. I also had my body scrubbed by an acuma (Korean language for aunt).

It wasn't easy going stark naked in front of others, especially your students and their mothers. Once in the bath house, we each had a locker to keep our clothes & valuables and was given a small towel. You either cover your breasts or the pelvic area with it, there's not enough cloth to wrap around your butt. It was quite awkward for me at first, but when you step into the women's bath area, you would not bother covering yourself anymore.

You guys must be thinking, "Whoa! So lucky to see a whole roomful of naked women!" To tell you the truth, I was the most attractive naked woman there. It being working hours when I was there, most of the women were elderly housewives & their young grandchildren, young toddler boys too.

I tell you it was the most depressing sight I have ever seen. The saggy, wrinkly, droopy skin....... arrrgh.... Knowing I'm gonna look like that one day, I'm going to show more of my still youthful naked body to hubby whenever I have the chance. ^-^

It is very natural for the Korean ladies to walk around naked in the bath house. They would bathe right there, washing their private parts for all to see. And they would scrub one another's backs. Korean ladies have great complexions.

There was a cafe & they would sit there in their birthday suits eating or drinking. Nobody would stare, except us foreigners. I didn't dare to stare but I couldn't keep my jaws closed. hahaha.....

A scrub-back costs 25,000 won each (S$42.50).

I had to first lie face-up on a bench, the acuma poured 2 pails of warm water on my whole body, and rubbed bath lotion on my whole body with a sponge. Then she took a bath scrub and started scrubbing away. She doesn't understand English but she was chanting, " Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!". She made me touch the dead skin she had removed from my body. Oh my God! I'm so dirty! kekeke.....

I do scrub myself when I bathe but yet there is so much grime & dirt! Gosh! It's embarrassing! She told my friend,"Singapore dirty!"

Oh my, what has this got to do with my country? But I had my revenge when my friend's turn came. She had as much grime as me, so I screamed back,"Korea dirty, dirty! Very dirty!" And Koreans are supposed to have a good scrub every week! hehehe..... embarrassed eh, Sook Hui?

I felt good after that scrub. My skin felt so smooth & clean! The acuma didn't scrub very hard, it was very enjoyable actually. She washed my face with a seaweed cleanser & specially put on a yoghurt mask for me. I was told to rest in the Steam Room after that. I was so pleased with the acuma that I wanted to hug her, but she was taken aback & started screaming. hahaha....

55 comments:

  1. Hahahaha!!! So farnies!!

    I suppose I also should show off when still 'young' hor? I'll remember to do this bathing if/when I go to Korea hehehe...

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  2. My angel,
    Yup, you should flaunt your body while young. No need to wait until you go to Korea, can do it in the spa. hehe...

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  3. eeee why so dirty?

    how much dead skin was accumulated ah?

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  4. weeeeeiii.... keropok man,
    sssshhhhh...... not so dirty lah!

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  5. errr, I don't think I'll be used to it either lor. I went to Bali once, and had this traditional spa in Ubud. also strip bare wan. yeeeee, I felt so exposed, especially when the woman scrubbed me down... LOL!

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  6. May,
    so shy ah! But you only show to one woman, I show to a whole hall of women!!! I doubt they look at me also. cheh.

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  7. ehon,
    notti boy. Why you laff so loud at Aunty ah!?

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  8. wah.. so syiok
    psss.. how much death skin u have ah?
    hahahaha

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  9. chen,
    Yup, very syiok.
    Not a lot of dead skin lah. That was in winter mah, din dare to spend too much time bathing, er... so liddat lor. kekeke....

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  10. weeeiiiii Bernard!!!!
    I'll bash you the next time I see you!

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  11. maybe get those back scrub brushes.
    maybe all the 'zhang zhang dong xi' can come out...


    p/s yes, all the way from west to east..

    went to eat in your 'ti pan'. went to east coast rod and hung out with friends sat nite too. LOL....

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  12. lol... I tot it's Azuma instead of Acuma? Or Ah zhu's ma! lol...

    Anyway, there is this spa/bath in our itenary when my dear and I went over to South Korea as well... ended up we pai seh and didn't go to the bath. lol...

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  13. keropok man,
    What zhang zhang dongxi? Dun have lah! I very clean wan. ish.

    You come to my territory, never play respect to me. Sum more come twice. Exciting and very happening in the east, right!? hehe....

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  14. Kev,
    azuma or acuma - still is terms for Aunty. hehe....

    aiyaaaa.... why didn't you both try it? Both of you can ask for a couple room. Then you see mine, I see yours. No one else can see lor. hahaha....

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  15. I suppose we all grow young. But beauty lies in our hearts and mind. We can all be beautiful even when we are 80 years old.
    SEB at http://wonkymonk.blogspot.com

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  16. Hi SEB,
    Thanks for stopping by.

    I do want to look beautiful even when I'm 80. :)

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  17. hahah once i was in the club (sports club) and suddenly this Japanese lady asked me to go into her shower and help her with the water heater thinggy. I was so so shy. Cos she was Stark naked and so close to me. Aiyoh pai seh..but then during my confinement the malay lady came and massaged me and i was naked also. Samo she laughed and helped me with wipe away the milk which is coming out from my breast! Haiyoh super malu!

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  18. sasha,
    aiyooo... you are such a pretty young lady, why feel so shy leh!? Flaunt it! hehe....

    Oh, you have a massage lady for your confinement ah. So shiok. Lose weight faster, right? :)

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  19. In some ways, the Koreans are like the Japaneses eh? In terms of the openness to be naked in "public"?

    The situation you describe is very tantalizing ... lol ... wish I was there! *Cough*

    I think if I am to be with a sea of naked men rubbing each other's back, that is gross ... just gross.

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  20. Ok..you are due for another scrubbing liao. Come over to JB. I only charge RM40. *wink wink*

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  21. eastcoastlife,
    Wheewittt! The sexiest lady in the bath house leh. You sure no men peep at you?:P

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  22. We are all naked underneath, so people shouldn't try and cover themselves in such places.

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  23. Do you believe I have never gone to a spa, not to say openly have a common bath with so-called "strangers"...??
    I so sua ku, right?

    But you do business wan, you should be comfortable with such bath houses in Japan or Korean, right? When you stripped yourself naked, it's like telling your business partners " I have nothing to hide"....that's a culture to gain trust if you do business with Jap/Koreans.

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  24. it is the same at the Japanese onsens. Only a small little towel. I only went at midnite - so I was the only one there!!

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  25. I was in Japan.. tokyo.. for work.. for 6 months..! but die die .. i wouldn't go to those public baths.. hahahah!! too shy lah..!! afterall not as sexy as you . ;)

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  26. wilfrid,
    If you visit a bath house often, you will get used to it. It's not that gross, nobody bothers looking at you anyway.

    It's a heart-warming scene to see long rows of men or women, scrubbing each other's backs though.

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  27. Cocka,
    aiyoooo... still wanna charge me ah!? Pay a bit more, I get a duck better! kekeke....

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  28. Kok,
    Nope. It's a strictly for ladies section, but there were a few young boys lah! They would probably have seen hottter female bodies! kekeke...

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  29. Captain Picard,
    Yup, we should have an International Naked Day every year! kekeke...

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  30. tigerfish,
    You have never been to a spa!? oi... when you come back, we can go together. We have some good and cheap spas in Singapore. A good massage does wonders for a tired body. :)

    ai... please don't put this type of ideas into the businessmen's minds. If a person wants to show that he/she has nothing to hide, he doesn't have to strip naked to prove that!!!

    For the Japs and Korean businessmen, even the Chinese.... they do patronise bath houses together, but as a woman, I don't do that. ish.

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  31. ur 'pork knuckle' fully recovered liao thats why can go korean bath oredi?

    i went to tokyo hot spring bath once....u can see the jap aunties , tho old oredi, their skin still fair n smooth!!!! pai say !!

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  32. stay-at-home Mom,
    Oh, you so shy! Actually nobody will look at you. Maybe a glance when you enter the bath houses, after that they leave you alone.

    Taking a bath at midnight? If it's a hot bath, it probably helps you to sleep better. :)

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  33. aiyooo... mamabok!
    So sayang! 6 months and not even once to the bath houses!? Should have just get an experience. :)

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  34. Eastcoast, I'll scrub your back anytime...I happen to like "dirty girls" (-:

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  35. winn,
    My porky leg is in a cast now.

    The Korean bath trip was taken some time ago. That is something we have to learn from the Japanese and Korean ladies, take good care of our bodies. They have fabulous complexions! A treat for their men.

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  36. One of my good friends is half-Korean, half-Filipina. Indeed, her complexion is soooooo perfect! Flawless even! I guess we will all go through that phase of sagging skins and all. [sigh]

    By the way, my friend, I have just entered a local writing competition about the Filipino national language. Hope you can see it and possibly vote for it (well, that is if you like the piece and all). One must take time out to register after voting on the voting icon (for the vote to be valid - it will take about 1 minute). Yah, it's a pain. :)

    The URL is at http://anitokid.blogspot.com/2007/08/filipino-bonding-nation-and-its-people.html

    Hoping for your support!

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  37. Anito Kid,
    Hope I will not sag too much when my time comes. kekeke...

    I'll give you my support, friend!

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  38. I just met a Korean lady a couple of days back. And you're right... really really smooth skin.

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  39. okie...the coffeehouse sounds interesting, so one need to be starked naked when sipping coffee? wait a min, the coffee house is inside the bath house?

    i went to shenzhen huge spa, there's male and female water treatment pools, mixture must wear swim wear. while in the male side, every male was ding dong bell, only me and my friends wearing swimming trunks! other areas need to wear though!!

    back scrub, think i need it manz!

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  40. I'm sure it was quite wired at first being naked while bathing - I tried it in Japan, twice in fact. I got used to it in the end.

    Hmm... I would need to try the scrub if I have a chance, as you recommend it. I guess they could get a lot of dead skin from me... hehe

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  41. leonard,
    Yup, the coffee house is in the ladies' section, I think there is one in the men's section too. There's a restaurant in the lobby.

    I have been to bath houses in China and Taiwan too. Men or women, everybody is ding dong bell wor. kekeke....

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  42. windy,
    Yes, you must try the scrub back. It's enjoyable and really removes your dead skin. So smooth after that.

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  43. ROFL.... I've heard this before from a friend of mine who visited China. Its kinda awkward isn't? :O

    I went for a full body massage, but that's as far as it'll go... :P

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  44. a guy fren of mine told me abt the same scenario too when he was in china. he received only a small towel and being first time in such bath house, he was somehow shocked. what can u do with a small towel out there??? hehehe

    by the time he walked, he saw an african man has grabbed the chinese attendants or other customers' attention (my fren assumed that the african guy's little brother seems to be big). noticing that, my fren quickly dashed to his corner and into the water.

    after sometime, he noticed the african was leaving too and he quickly dashed back into the changing area.....haha

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  45. as for me and if i was there, i wld be used to it as since young, we swimmers do change in front of everyone (in guys' toilet of course). as time passes by, i'm the only one in my grp of frens who changes without any embarassment. some wld find the corner of corners to do it.

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  46. HOI ECL, you stark naked and you start to hug people, no wonder the poor woman screamed. Ha ha ha..

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  47. dizzydee,
    Oh yeah, it's kinda awkward at first but you would get used to it.

    Try the scrub back next time, it's good for your complexion. :)

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  48. Johnny,
    I bet the African man would have put most Asian men to shame. kekeke....

    I dunno why men still feel so shy in front of their own kind. :) They should have more confident in themselves.

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  49. immomsdaughter,
    er.... for that moment, I forgot I was stark naked. kekeke.....

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  50. Wah, must be damned shiok got scrubbed all over .. I need one, too! Haha ..

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  51. lilMrsT,
    Yup, shiok. Get scrubbed and washed by a professional leh! kekeke....

    You try it. ^-^

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