last days in russia

12 Oct 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Lodging, Observations, Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is about Lake Baikal and Listvyanka. The lake had so many faces, it changed every time we looked at it. Here it is at dusk.

The next three posts will follow each other quite quickly because they’ve already been written.  I am home already, safe, sound, and (now) healthy.  The end of the trip was a whirlwind of laughs, adventures, and limited internet.  So I picked up a notebook along the way, and wrote these final posts on pen and paper like a real nomad.  Or like something really cool that doesn’t have internet or a computer.  A vintage journalist.  A royal scribe.  Anyway…I hope you enjoy my stories- epic, embarrassing, and foolhardy as they are.

This first entry is from September 25, 2012

“I know I am getting behind on these posts, with infrequent internet and little down time.  I have been too busy making stories, to write them down!  Right now I am sitting on a bus on the way to сансар (Sansar), Mongolia to begin a nomadic cultural immersion experience.  I am writing in a notebook I picked up yesterday to do just this- write and document my experiences and maybe help communicate with the locals over the next four days.  but on the way I’ll try to catch you back up to speed as well.

So.  When I last posted we were still on The Train.  We arrived in Irkutsk at 3:00 am local time, and paid a cabbie $10 to take us where we could have gone for 50 cents each had we arrived at a decent time of day (as in, when the trams were still running).  We slept for a few hours, showered (horray!), and then went exploring in Irkutsk.  I don’t have much to say about that.  The only reason I would recommend stopping in Irkutsk is so you can take a marshrutka (a Russian minibus) to Listvyanka.  Which is exactly what we did that afternoon after enjoying a cup of coffee at the Lenin St. Coffeeshop- a delightful rip off of another well loved coffee brand.

Wherever did they get the inspiration for their logo? I love that a disrespect for intellectual property so often goes hand in hand with a communist philosophy.

For 100 Rub (about $3.30) the marshrutka will take you on the one hour journey to the village on the shores of Lake Baikal.  They depart several times a day from this farmers market style shopping area. Basically whenever the marshrutka is full, it leaves.

Lake Baikal was seriously amazing.  I wish we could have spent more time there.  The lake’s waters are beautiful, cold, and crystal clear.  They say it is clean enough to drink, and if you swim out too far you’ll get vertigo from staring through the clear waters into the depths, with visibility over 40 meters down.  There are hiking trails winding around the lake, including the Great Baikal Trail, which is still under construction, but will one day allow hikers to walk completely around the lake.   Our day hike meandered through a birch tree forest, allowing us to see, smell, and feel the trees we had watch whiz by for days on the train.  On our hike we met a four-footed travel angel in the form of Vicktor the Amazing Puppy- a young Great Pyrenees we found, or rather were found by, on the trail.  He joined us for our walk, alternately scouting ahead and herding us from behind.

The Great Baikal Trail, a delightful jaunt through birch and cedar forests through which you can catch glimpses of the shining lake below.

We lodged in the Baikal Eco Hostel, a beautiful place that smelled of wood and crist autumn days.  The beds were comfortable, handmade singles (no bunks!), and the fellow travelers were friendly and genuine- other serious travelers lured to this out of the way spot by its promise of beauty and tranquility.

After a lunch of smoked Omul, a fish found only in Lake Baikal, we wandered through an open air market.  There I learned how mineral rich the Baikal region is.  The stalls were filled with amazing pieces of stone jewlery of every color and size.  Especially interesting were the vibrant purple and green agates and blue lapis lazuli mined around the lake itself.

Listvyanka is the third place I found on this trip to which I would gladly return for a longer stay to think, write, and soak up the nature’s energy.  It was the only place where I felt I truly got to experience Russia; not just the Russians, with their complex history and brusque disinterest in helping a traveler, but Russia the place that takes up 1/5 of the world’s landmass, and is so mysterious and unknown to so many.

All too soon, we had to rush back to Irkutsk to catch the train that would begin our journey to Mongolia.  But that adventure is certainly a story unto itself, and must wait for another day.  It is a good one though- so check back soon!

We made it this far! At Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia

Cheers!

~Aeri

choo-choo!!

22 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Advice, Transportation, Trips Tags: , , , , , , ,

Waiting for the train at one of Moscow’s many stations, with two Finish sisters making the same trek.

“Are you girls sporty?” Asked an old Russian Grandma at the Moscow train station, looking at our bulging backpacks.  Or rather, that is what Sandra later told me she asked.  “Yes, I guess so” replied Sandra.

“Well, then you shouldn’t be smoking.” the Grandma joked, referring to one of the two Finish girls we had recently met.  They too were going to be taking our train to Irkutsk, though they had opted  to ride in the cheapest class, Plackscarta whereas we had decided to splurge on 2nd/Kupe class.  “Have a good trip, and be safe, girls.” concluded the Grandma.  Then she went one way and we went the other, to platform number 1 where our train would be arriving shortly.

And so began the ACTUAL Great Railway Adventure.  The reason for this trip, or rather, the excuse.  The train ride itself would take only three days out of the thirty-two I had allotted for the trip.  The cities before and the Mongolian camping trips after would make up the bulk of the journey, but this promise, to ride the train across Siberia was the impetus behind it all.

So board the train we did, wagon 12, room 6, bunks 22 and 24 (both top bunks, which I came to find would be a blessing).  We would be spending 80+ hours on the train, sharing this room with our two lower bunk mates: an older music professor on his way to a music conference in Ulan-Ude, where he would give a talk on a paper he had written on Russian Folk Music; and a younger man on his way to work, prospecting oil in the vast uninhabited expanse of Siberia.  He would ride this train most of it’s length, then take a small plane to a river where he would board a boat to carry him an hour or so up stream to his final destination.

Home Sweet Home

To be honest, I am really enjoying this forced relaxation, this mobile captivity.  We are over half way into our journey by now and what I thought would be cabin fever is actually contentment.  There has  been a lot of sleeping.  Long nights of quiet, dark, rocking sleep; and short naps after meals and between sessions of reading, writing, daydreaming, and talking to our roommates.  Oh and long views of the passing countryside! And I have to say, I am very glad we decided to go with Kupe Class.  The reports from the Finnish girls confirmed our suspicions: people packed 6 to a room with no privacy, space, or fresh air.  Our moods would be quite different by this time had we opted on 3rd class.  Some things are worth the extra dough.

There is a grandpa a few cars down who has taken a liking to us. We met him walking on a platform during a longer stop.  He is on vacation, returning home now after having watched his daughter’s apartment in the city while she traveled in Europe.  Today he bought tomatoes, piroshkis, and a strange smoked fish from the grandmas on the platform, a lunch feast full of “things to try” while traveling the railway.  The fish was a bit much, but like always the potato and cabbage filled piroshkis were amazing.  There is something about deep fried dough wrapped stuff that is good in every culture.  Dumplings, pirogue, piroshkis, boutza, ravioli…call it what you will, they’re yummy and you know it!

I’m just about ready to settle down into another nap actually, after said lunch.  Sandra is down below chattering happily in Russian with our “roomates”.  She is certainly getting the practice and language refresher she was hoping for.

Hopefully the second half of our trek will pass as pleasantly as the first has.
______________________________________________________

I’ve relocated! I took a walk through the train to find the food car, and discovered it wasn’t a far walk at all. It was one car down, and so having passed through several sets of doors and an extremely shaky car joint, I now find myself at a little table with a red table cloth and an extremely overpriced cup of black coffee.

The rest of my cabin is napping after an exciting class in electrical engineering earlier today.  The musical professor’s extension cord stopped working, so the oil prospector said he could fix it.  Which he did.  After taking the thing nearly completely apart and re-wiring it.  Luckily ever ready Swiss Sandra just happened to have a Swiss Army Knife and black electrical tape on hand. My favorite comment so far came from the prospector, after going farther and farther up the line looking for the problem with the cord.  He told the professor that “he shouldn’t have gotten this cheap Chinese plug.  He should have gotten an old Soviet one.  They are big and ugly and old but they are robust and work forever.” Now, I don’t know if that is opinion or fact, but it was funny enough to hear while he slowly hacked away at the plastic plug.  Whatever his opinion, I really can’t complain- I wouldn’t have charged the laptop and been able to type right now if not for his ingenuity and Sandra’s over-prepared packing!

It’s not too much longer now, before this train journey is at an end.  Before it does, I’ll leave you with something a little more practical than my silly anecdotes: a packing list for your own Ttrans-Siberian train trip.

You’ll certainly want to bring:

1. comfortable, soft, loose fitting clothes
2. small change for buying things from the grandma’s at the platform stops
3. fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and other relatively non-perishable foods
4. cup of noodles soups (there is unlimited hot water in each car. You’ll use this to drink, cook, and wash fruit and flatware.  Don’t use the water in the bathrooms for anything!!)
5. a cup or bowl, spoon, knife
6. napkins/tissues
7. babywipes
8. slippers or sandals/flip-flops
9. hand sanitizer/hand lotion
10. a good book and a pack of cards
11. a light (the lights in your rooms are turned on only after dusk, and it can get quite dim in there in the afternoon, especially on a cloudy day)
12. snacks to share with your cabin mates
13. tea (rather than try to stock up on enough bottled water to last the journey, just bring along a box of teas and enjoy the hot water on board)

Coming ’round the bend! A view of the train and countryside through my dirty window pane.

Choo-Choo-CHEERS!

 

~Aeri

moscWOW

19 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I am sitting in the top bunk of room six on wagon 12 in a train hurtling 5,000 miles across Siberia. We left Moscow 26 hours ago, after a brief three night/two day stay. And I do mean brief. It was not nearly enough time to see everything that there is to be seen in Moscow. We tackled the Kremlin and Cathedrals, hit a few of the more beautiful and opulent metro stops, and browsed an open air market. But we barely got to see Bolshoi Theatre, let alone watch a ballet with Russia’s infamous dancers, and though we made it out on a Friday night with a quartet of German boys from our hostel, we didn’t quite find the Russian night life we were looking for.

Here’s how it went down. After arriving by train from St. Petersburg we did the usual- find our hostel and go out to get something to eat and get a lay of the land. The next morning we took a free walking tour with said German boys, and tackled all those touristic spots: the candy cathedrals, Lenin’s Mausoleum, GUM- the state department store. After the tour we had some lunch at another soviet cafeteria style restaurant. I really liked that style because you could see everything, and pick what you want. You can try lots of new things and keep it in whatever budget you want. My favorite dish was recommended to me by Sandra, a fish and beat salad which sounds awful but is actually pretty delicious. After lunch we wandered through a souvenirs and crafts market and I picked up two vintage Russian shawls which I’m pretty happy about. Don’t forget to haggle at these kinds of places! On the way out we passed stalls with fresh honey and sweets and I couldn’t resist getting some rose flavored Turkish Delight. Much cheaper than what I found in Turkey, by the way, and made fresh with honey. I guess in Turkey it’s infamy drives up the price. By the time we were done shopping we were ready for a rest so we headed back to the hostel to nap before gong out that night.

Midnight at The Candy Cathedral, or whatever you call it

The German guys wanted to go to some bars and check out the Russian social scene since it was their last night in Russia. Sandra and I agreed that we couldn’t go without one vodka filled evening in the city, so we decided to go out with them. The night-life was a bit of a joke though. First we found ourselves in the posh Red October district. Though Porsches, BMW’s, Ferraris, and the like filled the streets; and their designer bedecked owners filled the bars, I just couldn’t take it seriously. I think the fact that the posh overpriced bar we went into had Adventure Time (a silly show for stoners that airs on Cartoon Network) playing silently on the walls while futuristic techno music filled the air, really ruined the illusion for me. This, I explained to the Germans, is a show my friends and I watch in my living room while we drink cheap beer and eat delivery pizza. This is not a show to drink $7 vodka shots to (for perspective- a fifth of decent glass bottle vodka costs about $5 here).

After asking the bartender for directions to a different bar district- Kitai Gorod- we made our way there. Along the way we walked past many of the sights from the morning’s tour: the Kremlin, whose stars now glowed a bright red, and the candy cathedrals. The next bar we went into sounded promising from the street, with music pouring out the front door. But when we got inside I was again only amused. The bar was having a “Rock of Ages” night and the DJ was playing old American rock. Russian kids danced to the YMCA without knowing when to do the cheerleader letters, and shimmied to Green Day’s old school government bashing lyrics without batting an eye.

Prost!

Well, we’re here now, we said. So we had some beers and had some fun. The next morning we valiantly tried to wash away our hangovers with a heavy breakfast of piroshkis and coffee so that we could fit as much into our last day as we could. We went inside the Kremlin, visited the old Soviet buildings (ironically, the grounds are now an amusement park and flea market), toured some of the grand metro stops, and tagged along on one more tour- this time with a communist era theme.

I’ve mentioned the metro stops twice now, and they really deserve it. Though they were built as a means of showcasing soviet architectural grandeur, I really like the thought of putting that much effort into something that people can use and see every day. Some were just as full of marble, chandeliers, and mosaics as a royal palace. And just like the palaces- photography was strictly forbidden! I managed to snipe one or two photos, but the real  grandeur you’ll just have to go see for yourself!  I think it is worth adding to my list of 1001 things you really should see.

“Industry”, one of Moscow’s many Metro Mosaics

There are still 55 hours or so of train travel ahead of us before we reach Irkutsk, the Capital of the Siberia. Only time will tell how this adventure will turn out. Will it be a welcome rest in the middle of an intense month long trip, or will Sandra and I go stir crazy after staring at nothing but open taiga, trees and each other for three days straight?

 

See you on the other side of the world,

 

~Aeri

 

now you helsinki me

07 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Advice, Food, Transportation, Trips Tags: , , , , , ,

I have spent the last two days exploring Helsinki. It’s been a bit slower than some of my trips, but it was exactly the speed it seems I needed to travel right now. Recognizing when you need a slow trip and when you need an active action packed trip is an important skill for a serial traveler to have. Otherwise you’ll just burn yourself out.

Though it was leisurely, it certainly wasn’t boring. I started off yesterday with a brisk walk to the historic center of town. Passing my first “tourist shop” I stopped in to have a look around and was delightfully surprised by what I saw. Finland has had a great idea! They put hand made crafts in their tourist shops. All those little hand made bags, jewelery, and funky clothes that tourists and hippies love to buy are now what tourists are forced to buy if they want to get “chintzy” souvenirs. Ok, so I did see a “magnet, bottle opener, flags and socks” kiosk a little later, but at least the majority of the shops were filled with these hand made goodies.

I spent the rest of the day taking in the main sights and getting a feel for the town, which really is beautiful. I wasn’t mislead when I claimed it was clean and green. It is! And you can even drink the water! Their tap water is more delicious than many bottled brands I’ve tried over the years, which made me all the gladder to have my reusable water bottle with me.

I lunched on smoked salmon and a reindeer sausage at a dock-side tent market, tried some linden berries, and picked up a cinnamon pastry from the Old Market House. Market Houses are great, they are usually long buildings filled with little specialty vendors selling specific things like breads, pastries, cheeses, meats, fishes, etc. You get the picture.

After lunch I bought a round trip ferry ticket to Suomenlinna Island and Sea Fortress. There was a hostel I wanted to check out there, as an option for an extra night in Helsinki, and I heard the island was pretty too.

Pretty is an understatement.  It was EXTREMELY PRETTY. But it wasn’t beautiful. Beautiful landscapes are natural and wild and chaotic. This was a naval fortress so no blade of grass wasn’t consciously planted, but where the landscapers did decide to plant was well done. The buildings were adorable and quaint. The trails were well kept, and the rocky beaches and bluffs (at least, those not adjacent to a rocky wall) were just secluded enough to let a traveler think they stumbled upon a real find. Sadly the hostel was booked full for the next night, so I couldn’t stay, but I spent most of the four hours I had left hatching plans and schemes of how and when I would get back too the island and how long I could stay. I’ve decided that I’m giving myself two years to write a full length novel, and if I haven’t done it by then than I’m moving to this beautiful peaceful manicured little homestead and staying until the book is written. I am definitely adding this place to my list of 1001 places I think you should visit. I recommend planning a ghost hunters tour.  Between the hidden glens, and dark military tunnels, this island was seething with unseen energies.

Anyway, after this very pleasant day full of walking I realized another very important thing on the boat ride back to Helsinki. Pack what you know. What I mean is this. On my Mediterranean trip last winter I packed things I thought would be a good example for other travelers: comfortable flats (chucks) and a good day bag full of zippers, pockets, and clips, newly bought from Sears for the trip. The Chucks were alright…until I lost toe nails after a long day hike in Goreme, Turkey. The bag was terrible! It split a side seam less than three days into my trip. This time I knew better. I packed things I use daily, things that have seen hard use and held up just fine, things that I was comfortable in and knew I could rely on. I packed my Medieval Moccasin shoes, closed toe high tops to be exact, and my Moresca satchel.

On my walk back to the hostel I was at loose ends. I was still pretty full from my Finnish Feast, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet. Luckily, I happened to pass by a bar I remembered being mentioned in a visitors guide provided by the hostel. The bar was called Storyville, and was the “best jazz bar in town.” And it was really pretty great. I enjoyed an amazing cider called Crowmoor that isn’t in the States yet and really should be because it was amazing. Did I mention it was great? I don’t want to be cliché and say it actually tasted like fresh sweet apples but, aw hell. It tasted like fresh sweet apples! It didn’t have that sugary tartness that promises hangovers to come the way most other ciders do. The band, yes there was a live band, wasn’t too bad either. Though I arrived to an instrumental version of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prision.  “Its a small world after all.”

Dinner that night was a travel favorite of mine: warm soup, hard bread, and strong cheese from the market. This time it was carrot soup, a dark rye bread, and Prima Donna cheese. And a few more ciders. Aparently they love cider in Finland, because there were at least a half a dozen different brands. I might have picked up one of each to conduct a serious taste review. All in the name of travel research of course. I’ve been having a couple each night. There have been some wins and some misses. I’ll let you know the final results when I’m done.

A few minutes (well, the internet was slow so it was more like an hour and a half) spent planning the next few days, and I was ready for bed. And that was all yesterday.

Today I had plans to visit the open-air museum on another island nearby, but it was grey, cold, and raining intermittently; so I decided to check out the Finland National Museum instead. I’ll be honest, I’m pretty partial to a good history museum every once in a while. I always find something to inspire me creatively, and I learn a few cool new facts. This time my design idea was inspired by cave man wall paintings. I really like the thick white strokes and simple animal shapes. I think I’d like to experiment with painting white shapes and patterns on leather fairy clothes. My favorite fact? In the 1390′s there was a band of pirates who roved the Baltics called The Vitalians, or “The Victual Brotherhood.” I like that. I think it is a great name for a traveling foodie’s website, or a secret group of extremely severe food critics.

Anyway, by the time I was done with the museum it had cleared up outside, so I took a stroll back down to the docks, this time to buy a ferry ticket for tomorrow. I’ll be leaving Helsinki to spend a couple of days in Tallinn, Estonia. From there I’ll take the bus to St. Petersburg. In addition to adding another country to the trip, planning this little excursion in has saved me tons of money. Rather than a 150 Euro train ticket from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, and 46 Euro for two more nights at the hostel; I’ll be paying 33 Euro for a ferry ride, 17 Euro for two nights in a hostel, and 25 Euro for a bus ride. That’s almost 200 Euro plus food to stay in expensive Helsinki vs. less than 80 Euro plus food to stay in inexpensive Estonia. Yay!!

Ticket in hand, I felt that my brief yet wonderful time in Helsinki was coming to an end. I knew there was only one more thing I had to do…SAUNA!! I try to sample a country’s spa and relaxation customs whenever possible. In addition to keeping me stress free while traveling, it is a really fun way to get to know a new country. So far I’ve tried Turkish Baths, Swedish Saunas, Korean Spas, Chinese Massage, and now Finnish Saunas. I think that soon I should dedicate an entire post to spa days, but since this post is entirely too long already, I’ll just keep you in suspense.

Kippis!

 

~Aeri

PS- I’m sorry there are no pictures yet.  The internet is very slow here.

 

 

 

 

lifting reality’s veil

29 Aug 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Faeries Tags: ,

This week Cloe, a good friend from Paris, has been in town visiting.  Today we took a trip up to Philadelphia for some good ol’ tourism.  But that good ol’ tourism just wasn’t working for us today.  We tried to see The Carpenter House, but it was closed; we saw the Liberty Bell and were underwhelmed; and we just couldn’t bring ourselves to bother with the Constitution Center.

What we did do was fantastic, or at least full of fantasy.  We started the day at Philadelphia’s Magic Garden, on South Street.  The Magic Garden is an amazing art in progress begun by artist Isaiah Zagar in 1994. It is mosaic, sculpture, poetry, and painting like you’ve never seen it before.  And it is most certainly high on my list of 1001 things to see before you die.

Here’s a little taste of the magic that is Philadelphia’s Magic Garden.

There are so many details that it is impossible to look at everything in one go.  This time around, I decided to read the Garden.  To find all the hidden messages built with painted tiles and lettered squares.  I am so smitten with some of the worded imagery I found.  Here were some of my favorites:

“Delicately poised between excessive vitality and destruction.”

“A masterpiece of chaos.”

“Remember walking around inside this piece of fiction.”

“Luminous consciousness”

“Convulsive beauty”

and

“Imagery which refuses to stabilize” 

With these poetic fantasies dancing in my mind, we continued our tour with a yummy lunch at the Fourth Street Delicatessen, and a quick trip down fabric row.

After spending entirely too much at the Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet we attempted our historically accurate tour of Philadelphia’s National Historic Park, which includes the major sights: Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, Independence Square, the Constitution Center, and the Massive Wells Fargo building. Wait, what?

Liberty, Independence, and Low Interest Rates.

Perhaps it was the looming shadow of high finance, perhaps it was merely the food coma induced by a hearty lunch at a Jewish delicatessen, but we couldn’t muster the interest in classy brick buildings and well phrased praises of liberty and independence.  Instead we found ourselves on a meandering walk past Love Park, around City Hall, and down Broad Street.

Once walking, like flashes of light in the corners of our vision, Wonderland kept catching our attention.

Historic reflected in the Modern.

We found it on the sides of buildings- in murals painted and buildings reflected.

Do passionate musicians become their work?

It twittered mischievously with us over cake slices cut bigger than bricks and cookies with magically gooey chocolate chips.  It delighted in board game pieces bigger than we were.

We all but followed the rabbit through the crack in the bell before we decided to wink back at Wonderland for the present and hit the road home instead.  It was a successful, unconventional, and extremely unforgettable day in the city. We started with a little magic, and found it’s glimmer all day.

I hope you can keep your minds and eyes open for the glimmers around you, too!
~Aeri

 

 

 

 

gamsahabnida texas

30 May 2012 Leave a Comment

by Aeri Rose in 1001 things to do before you die, Food

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Not any more! Not until next year at least. Because it’s DONE!

Scarborough Faire was another whirlwind of friends, festivities, and Texas heat.  But now it is time to move on down the road again. But before I leave the DFW area, there is one more stop to make. If I had a list of 1000 things to do before you die, this would totally be on it.  In fact, maybe I should start that list.  OK #1 on the list: King’s Spa and Sauna. King’s Spa is a Korean style relaxation center; a “family oriented well-being sauna and spa.”

Walk up a set of marble stairs, past massive lion statues guarding the door, and for $27 for twenty-four hours (yes it is open 24 hours a day), past the front desk and into a world of well-being.  First you go into the gender segregated locker rooms.  Stash your things (clothes and all) in your designated locker and walk your way to the wet room.  Part Turkish Bath part Roman Bath, the wet room has rows of shower stations, three hot mineral pools and a cold pool, a steam room and a massage station.

When you’re done in there, or when you manage to tear yourself away, don a soft cotton uniform and head back out to the main room.  On the right is a cafe` serving fresh and delicious Korean food.  They even have Duckboke, a rice cake slathered with Korean hot sauce. You might not care about Duckboke, but I have fond memories of chowing down on street cart Duckboke after a night of heavy drinking in Seoul while visiting my friend Amy, then teaching English in Korea.  All entrees are served Korean style, with lots of little sides in tiny little bowls.  And the chopsticks are metal! How’s that for authenticity?

But you aren’t there for the food, at least not yet.  You’re there for the nine different sauna rooms. Hot dry rooms filled with interesting details designed to help you sweat out toxins and absorbe some stellar energy.  There are salt rooms, and gold pyramid rooms, and pine rooms, and rooms filled with amethyst stones.  There is even a room heated once daily by a roaring fire (think Italian brick oven) that is so hot they can cook eggs in it. I’ve had them.  The cholesterol cooks out and leaves a black spotty residue on the shell.  They taste kind of like chicken, and are great with salt.  You have to take an extra burlap sack to sit on when you go in there, and there is a constant guardian at the door, ready to pull it open with a string when she sees you at the window, so you don’t have to touch anything.

This place is amazing, and for the price you can’t beat it.

But why 24 hours, you may say. I can only put my body through that kind of detox for a couple hours max.  Well that is fine.  Here’s what you do.  You go in the evening and have a sweaty session.  Then you get some great food for dinner and take a nap in one of the many disgustingly comfortable chairs they have lying around.  Or maybe you go watch a movie in their full sized theater.  You nap and graze for the night, and then when you wake up in the morning you have another complete sauna session, take one final shower, and then carry on your merry way.  I know it sounds crazy, but in Korea it is totally normal.  In a place where space is limited, taking the family to a trip to the spa was sort of like a mini-vacation.

If you can’t make it down to Dallas to visit THIS King’s Spa, there is another one in Chicago.  Or look for a similar spa near you.  Apparently they’re all over the place.  And if you’re suffering from a serious case of travel itch, perhaps a trip into another world for a day will satiate that wanderlust for a bit. Worth a shot right?

Geonbae!!

~Aeri