First Jjimjilbang (찜질방) Experience

I was fortunate enough to have four days off of teaching and decided to have an extended stay in Seoul. I got in on Wednesday night and stayed with my friend Dustin. On Thursday, I met up with two of my former students and had lunch at Buddha's Belly in Itaewon. They have a pretty good lunch menu and tasty Thai food. Minah and Jinsoo had never had Thai food before and they both enjoyed their selections. I had a massage appointment at Healing Hands and while I was being pampered (fully body, hot stone and paraffin foot treatment for only 70,000W!) they explored Itaewon. After my massage they took me to Samcheong-dong, it is near the largest palace in Seoul (Gyeongbokgung) and it is an artsy area with a lot of really neat art galleries and quaint coffee shops. Definitely a place I'd like to explore again.

Once we finished checking out a few of the galleries, we headed to my old neighborhood to go to Lotte Jjimjilbang. A jjimjilbang is a Korean public bathhouse. It is gender segregated in some parts and communal in others. When you get into the jjimjilbang you pay the attendant about 7,000W and they hand you a slip of paper with your locker number, a few towels and the jjimjilbang uniform. Once inside, you place your shoes in a small cabinet and then head to the locker room. It's best to shower before heading into the pools and/or the sauna areas. So, you strip down, head to the shower area which is also where the pools are. They are filled with all different temperatures of water and you can move from pool to pool or stay in one. If you decide to head to the resting area/saunas you put your uniform on (shorts and a t-shirt) and grab one of your towels and head out. The saunas vary in temperature too. We started in one that was 174 degrees Fahrenheit! Immediately after, we headed to the ice room at a cool 23 degrees. We didn't have a whole lot of time as I was meeting a friend for dinner, but it was a nice first experience and I can't wait to go back!

On Saturday night, Dustin and I saw Eclipse and it was pretty good. I can't wait to finish the Twilight books now though because I can't wait for the next movie to find out what happens!