Full disclosure…no pictures to accompany this post as a foreigner taking pictures of nude women bathing would NOT go over well. Bill is not a fan for reasons which may become apparent below and so now I go solo whenever I gather up the courage! STILL…hard to strip down as a 53 yr. Fortunately, I guessed that the first stop should be to bathe under one of the shower heads around the perimeter of the room before getting into a soaking tub…this would have been a GRAVE mistake as Koreans are absolutely fastidious about cleanliness.
The one next to this is 47 C F and there are always women hanging in that one. I stuck my hand in it today and there is absolutely NO WAY I could get in that water and yet I saw several women soak there for 10 minutes or so at a time. This is problematic since it is somewhat comforting to be submerged, albeit still naked, than it is to just sit naked on the edge.
I spend time soaking in this pool as well as another cooler one that has a slanted back and lots of jets so I can lean back and have my back, neck and feet peppered by the jets.
Of course, when I entered the room full of naked Korean women, I was so shocked that it took me awhile to figure out how to get this service. I finally noticed the 3 ajummas middle aged women who were wearing net panties and bras ONLY and were scrubbing women on plastic beds in the corner. After a lot of gesturing and smiling I was able to get this service and have been back 4 more times.
On average, I soak, often with my eyes closed to minimize the awkwardness, for an hour before it is my turn. The fist step is to lie on your back and be thoroughly scrubbed with some sort of textured soap by the ajumma who wears coarse hand scrubbing mits. These ajummas are STRONG and really work every single milimeter or your body…with the exception of your crotch thankfully! Your neck, ears, armpits, boobs and butt crack are fair game however!
