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| Hier on est alle au bain publique pour la premiere fois: ca ete tres reposant et interessant. Les Coreens allaient traditionellement au bain public parce qu'il n'y avait pas de bain chez eux. Maintenant ils y vont par habitude et aussi parce que c'est bien plaisant. Les femmes et les hommes se lavent dans des sallles separees et personne ne porte de mailhot. On a prit une douche, visite deux bains chauds, un sauna sec et un autre ou "il pleut" et le bain froid. Ensuite on s'est frotte vigoureusement pendant des dizaines de minutes avant de se doucher et refaire le cycle des bains et sauna. Dennis a meme eu le luxe de se faire frotter par un gros "frotteur". On s'ahbitue a voir pas mal de peau et on apprend a etre ben a l'aise avec son corps.... On sort bien propre. |
| de retour a / return to Anyong haseyo |
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| Do not bring a bathing suit! Welcome to the Korean public bath.The man I went with couldn't stop laughing when he found out I didn't know we had to get totally nude. The public baths came about because most Koreans didn't have a bath or shower at home. So it became a meeting place and a spot to relax and get clean. Nowadays, fathers and sons go together. Little kids and teenagers are seen playing or lounging. There are many pools, Jacuzzis and different levels of saunas depending on your tolerance to heat. First, you sit down and wash yourself with soap and then head for some hot water. Then you can walk in the pebbles to get the acupressure benifits(there are several). Up and on the deck to lay down in a deck chair and hang out. Afterwards, a sauna, then scrub yourself raw and a shower-- Voila!! Clean once more. I managed to avoid scrubbing myself raw to get clean by paying for a big guy in shorts to rub me down, scrub me up and down, soap me up and then pour hot water all over me. You begin to feel a bit like a pancake as he slaps his hands to let you know when to turn over. Anyway, I 'm quite proud of getting through it and actually enjoying the experience (apparently, I was getting a lot of stares- being the only foreigner there I suppose?) |