Bath House
Tonight I went to the bath house with Aaron and Ivy. Let me first say that the place was HUGE! It was 6 stories and each story was gigantic.
When we walked in, we traded our shoes for locker keys. Aaron and I went to the men’s locker room to shower before going up stairs where we were supposed to meet Ivy. A group of 3 attendants watched Aaron and I as we stripped down and got in the shower. Once the Chinese patrons realized that there were two white guys taking showers, a crowd quickly began to form and by the time I had rinsed off the shampoo, there was a group of 15 to 20 Chinese guys blatantly watching us as we showered. Ummmm…..weird!!!
After the shower, an attendant wanted to dry me off. Now I am open to new things….but I am not used to having some guy towel off my personal areas. I managed to tell him that I wanted to dry myself, but as I looked around, all the Chinese guys were getting dried by attendants. I guess that is just the norm here. We were given pajamas and paper underwear before taking the elevator up to the 5th floor to meet Ivy.
We were lead to a big, dimly lit T.V. room where we each got a bed in a nook with two beds. They brought us tea, blankets, and pillows. All throughout the room there were Chinese guys sleeping, getting massaged, and just talking to one another.
As soon as Ivy got there, we went down to the 3rd floor to eat dinner at the restaurant. We had broccoli, tofu, and beans. All the food was really good.
After dinner we went up to the 4th floor for massages. We each got a private hotel room that would have rivaled the fanciest hotel rooms in the US. There was a huge bed, LCD T.V., phone, furniture, etc. We could have slept there overnight had we wanted. Ivy picked out a really cute girl who came in to give me my massage. The hour long massage ran 80 Yuan ($10 US) and the 45 minute foot massage was another 30 Yuan ($3.75 US). Aaron and Ivy both told me that this was REALLY expensive for China, mainly because the place was so fancy.
The girl gave me a very hard massage and really worked some areas that I never get worked in the states. She even walked on top of me. She didn’t use any oil and I was fully clothed. This caused there to be too much friction at times and I didn’t like that.
After the massages, we went up to the 6th floor and hung out a bit. They had a full gym, tennis courts, pool tables, boxing, and, of course, ping pong.
After we’d had enough, Aaron and I went back to the men’s locker room to steam and sauna. We dressed and met Ivy. The price of using the facilities turned out to be 12 Yuan ($1.50 US). I don’t think I am ever going to use the shower at my place again. It is far too nice at the bath house (even if I do get stared at a bit).
November 30th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
I dont think you are ever coming back now. Gotta love the paper underwear.
November 30th, 2005 at 9:35 pm
The bath house sure sounds like an awesome place. I’m surprised that they didn’t have shops inside. How’s the language barrier working out? I’m assumming that you are 3/4 to becomming fluent already.
November 30th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
Rachel…..WOW! That was quick. I definitely feel no love for the paper underwear but have gotten used to it. You can really live lavishly here for next to nothing by US standards
November 30th, 2005 at 9:41 pm
Elijah….the bath house ROCKS! I love it
They sell some stuff (T-Shirts, pajamas, etc.), but don’t have shops. RE The language barrier….I can actually say a bunch of stuff already. I have no problem communicating with the massage girls for a whole hour.
November 30th, 2005 at 9:42 pm
“She didn’t use any oil and I was fully clothed….I didn’t like that.”
November 30th, 2005 at 10:23 pm
Have you tried playing ping pong? Are they all killers at it? I’d love to have that bath house here, at those prices! How did it feel to have her walk on your back?
Mom
November 30th, 2005 at 10:38 pm
Andres, tu eres muy afortunado. ‘Vaya, que cosa muchacho’… yo creo que como dice Rachel, no te volveremos a ver aca. Me gusto mucho la parte de la chinita bonita que te escogieron.
December 1st, 2005 at 1:28 am
Andy, sounds like so much fun! At least you are getting to have new experiences with the different culture. Amazing. I bet being toweled off is going to be a hard one to get used to! I was with Rachel and the paper underwear. Not very comfortable I assume! Much love!
December 1st, 2005 at 7:39 am
Glad you finally found a home. You sure are a good sport to put up with all that torture..
December 1st, 2005 at 9:12 am
AJ, I’m never going to order Chinese in again and I’m firing my masseuse at once! Just think, you’re changing my life from such a distance! Love you muchly.
December 1st, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Sara……I haven’t played ping here yet. The prices actually were quite expensive. I have found one that is just as nice for half as much
Viejo…..si…..es muy bonita aqui
Summer……Thanks…..I am sure that I will get used to it
Jerome…..yeah…I know…..it is really rough
Grammy……HAHAHA
December 3rd, 2005 at 8:22 am
AJ – loved the bath house story. I guess the Palazzo Spa won’t seem like much anymore! Krista wants to know how big are the towels. Since you usually only have 6-8 guys staring at you at home after you take a shower, I’m sure it must have come as a surprise to have 15-20 !!!
December 3rd, 2005 at 2:53 pm
AJ
Have you learned how to say “Happy Ending” in Mandarin yet?
December 3rd, 2005 at 9:04 pm
Glen & Krista….the towels actually are small
Alan…..even you would be shocked at some things here
December 7th, 2005 at 10:54 pm
A this is so amazing ive got the bath house blues T
December 8th, 2005 at 7:17 pm
Terry….haha…..me too….better go there