News on Southeast Asian hot springs is sparse. One possible exception is a report in the travel section of the Bangkok Post. Despite all the travel writings currently focusing on home tourism, one of the Posts reporters has had a probably all-expenses paid trip to Japan and reports on the attractions.
On the 5th of March a photo report on Sendai was published. A caption to an innocent picture reads: ‘There are numerous areas boasting onsen (hot springs) in the Tohoku region. Many onsen bathhouses have both indoor and outdoor pools. In the latter, you can also relish the beautiful scenery as well as fresh cool air while relaxing in the warm mineral rich water. One inhibition for most Thai and even some Westerners, is the going naked part. But once you overcome it, the rest is easy and enjoyable. Keep in mind that you can use a little tower to cover your private part when out of the water. Sure enough the Japanese themselves do so too’.
Well, if this inhibition was so easy to conquer, why isn’t it practiced in Thailand proper? More southeast Asia focused, an article from Vietnam. On so-called health tourism. Though in reality there's no news, just a report that if one wants to wallow around in mud, Thap Ba, near Nga Trang, South Vietnam is the place to go.And what is a first hand experience like? From Kate's blog: 'We spent the afternoon at a hot springs resort about 10 minutes outside of town. There was a 7 step regiment for optimal health benefits from this mud bath/mineral soak wonderland. We were ushered into a tub with a Vietnamese couple which was full of cool liquid mud the consistency of a chocolate shake. A somewhat awkward 15 minute soak in this small muddy bathtub with another couple involved all of us pouring pails of mud over our arms, chests, and backs. Most local people were in shorts and tank tops and we quickly figured out why. The mud got well trapped in our suits, especially between the layers of the lining and the outside, and made us both a muddy, saggy, bloated mess! In this goopy state, we were instructed to sit in the sun for 10 minutes before rinsing. The ground and rocks were so hot from the super-charged sun we were forced to hop from foot to foot to not burn our feet. Quite a sight. After a thorough mineral shower rinse, we were hustled into a 3 foot wide channel of rocks which sprayed water at you from all sides - imagine car wash meets leaky dam. After the pressure wash, we were pointed towards larger mineral hot tubs to soak with more strangers. After that, on to the big, but still hot, soaking pool. Keep in mind that it's a good 85-90 degrees out so at this point, we were not only pretty pruney but quite thoroughly cooked. We cut short our 7 steps to mineral-induced health and headed home feeling silky smooth with just a few pockets of mud in our ears.'
More blog reports: MalaysiaYet again quite a few postings, but somehow most seem disappointed .... - Poring:
‘It was a good thing that the pool of springs closed at a much later time, 7.30PM. The hot springs were set up like a huge public bathing area, Japanese style. Some pools fit more than 6 people, while some were built for just one person to submerge into. The smell of sulfur was strong, and the water was extremely hot, but it was so inviting after hiking unexpectedly in the jungle. After the first dip, you could just laze in the water forever'.
- Sungai Klah. Huge amount of photo's here. And here. And here.
- Some shots of Bentong hot springs by Budleee Rants. His rant: '
... it was a hot spring pool. An abandoned and unkempt one that is. The facilities are nice, but there was no one to maintain it. As a result, the place was unkempt and the pool was full of algae and other free living parasites'.
- Kerling hot springs. eXtreMesh has visited these springs:
'Place was well maintained and the river was clean and cool to dip into. Well when it comes to the hot spring, there is nothing much to be expressed about. The hot spring is a pool with not very hot water, i managed to get in the water and even dance, but did not feel the heat that much. I also noticed that the pool was not that clean and rather slippery to stand in it'.
Recommendable? Author comments: 'Even i was disappointed with the place as i reached there'.
Philippines
- Camaguin, ardent or not?
'After the falls, we went to one of the island's hot springs. And man, that truly was a heavenly experience. As I settled my ass and the rest of my body in the lovely 40°C water (that's 104°F to you Americans) I swear it felt almost like having an orgasm. Sweeet! I could hardly keep from moaning because it felt so damn good. I credit the hot springs for the lack of muscle soreness the next day. Sitting there, watching the mist rising from the water and being immersed in wet warmth was simply spectacular'.
Would anyone be surprised that this was posted by I Am Woman, See Me blog?
Thailand
- A short impression by Phil and Julia of Pai hot springs:
'Stepping in the water meant feet and ankles turned instantly lobster red.I couldn’t get more than my bum in the water and even that was a bit of a mission.'
- Thaisticky rice has another short impression of the nearby Pong Duet hot spring:
'At the bathing area they had a couple of nice looking hot spring swimming pools as well as private cabins or if you preferred you could just dangle your feet in the natural hot spring stream. As it was just after mid day and the day was already a scorcher the last thing I felt like doing was jumping in an even hotter bath of water so I gave the bathing a miss ...'.
The soak season in Indochina has passed apparently. So much for health reasons for soaking!
- Andy is still at it, this time from south Thailand, Ranong:
'They [the hot springs] were really nice, and free because they are government owned. It was all paved and tile but the pools were good temperatures (controlled by valves) and there were a lot of locals there. Some locals told me stories of how the spring water had saved peoples lives. I don't know if I believe the stories but I do believe hot springs in general have good health benefits. The girl at my guest house said I shouldn't walk at night to the springs because its a little out of town and its dangerous, but I did stay until past dark. So I figured I'd test my luck, but I met some nice thai people before I left and they gave me a ride back to the guest house. It didn't seem dangerous but I guess in a boarder town there is more danger than in other parts of thailand'.
Indonesia
- Blogs are an easy way of getting information out there without all the hassles of signing up, etc., etc. So easy, that commercial companies in Indonesia use them to plug their tour programmes. But sometimes they are not as appealing as the author may well think! On Banyuwedang hot springs, Bali:
'Flights Banyuwedang from the hot springs that appear on the beach.... Because the uterus sulfur high enough, hot water is widely held even up to the island this summer because the water can cure some diseases, especially skin disease. ... here is hot water that contains sulfur which is located along the coastal region is supported with a rare population so quiet atmosphere can be created.'
(?)
- Tangkahan in northern Sumatra (Aceh) is an area of wilderness and is managed as an ecotourism site. Some of the attractions are hot springs. This extensive report of the area mentions 2 hot springs.
Others On Thaivisa forum: Umphang (or as this site refers to Mae Klong) ‘The hot spring itself is amazingly not ruined. Thais have a nasty habit of concreting, paving, and tiling over hot springs, removing all sense of any natural aesthetic and completely defeating the purpose of the hot spring (they call it "progress" and "development;" you might as well soak in a tub with a hot water heater). This hot spring is just a natural pool with a rock/dirt floor located a few meters from the river. So you can soak hot and then go jump in the cold! There is even a small tributary hot spring just at the river's edge where you can lay in both hot and cold simultaneously!’
Well, that's an exceptional topic I hear you say. It's not really a topic at all, there's not much linkage between the two, certainly not here in Southeast Asia. Some hot springs though are adorned with temple structures and / or carvings, but it's much more culture rather than art.
I started thinking of this subject when I came across a number of beautiful photo's by Hillary Atiyeh which she made at Breitenbush hot springs, Oregon, U.S.A.. She describes herself as
"Photographer of nature, wildlife, travel, adventure, aerial, underwater, photojournalism, environmental and social advocacy and fine art prints".
The various combo's of photo's ("Work in progress **Hot Springs**") probably fall in the underwater bracket, but nature, adventure, travel could also apply.
I personally think they are very attractive and original, though then again water and people are quite common themes in art. So I thought that this must be recurring theme. However the subject seems quite unresearched.
Some of the examples found:
- Frommers explains to us that soaking in hot springs there is an art in it self!
'Nowhere is the experience of taking a bath so celebrated, ritualized and revered as in the cities and regional areas of Japan'.
Especially when it comes to etiquette, a fact that us most westerners take for granted in everyday life. Even for Southeast Asians the rules may prove challenging, witness (or not yet as is the case!) the Bangkok Post advice dispensed in a blog entry end of this month. Then again some parts of the art are self-evident:
'clean yourself before soaking!'
- More on the same art:
'Bathing in Japan really is something of an art, or has at least been elevated to the status of it. This brings us to the first and most important rule of bathing in Japan: no suds in the tub — ever'.
Again not really art, but the blog (antipixel.com) does contain some nice black and white photo's.
- Another art form is the Japanese art of manga, alas here it's mostly female oriented, the hot springs providing an opportunity to undress the subject.
'Obligatory Onsen (hot springs) Story': I usually call this the 'Obligitory Onsen Episode' because in anime there is almost ALWAYS an episode where the main characters head for a hot springs. But now I am noticing that this happens in shoujo manga a whole lot too. It usually happens in the form of a school trip, and involves the main hero and heroine of the story encountering each other unexpectedly in the bath, and having a few nice minutes of romantic/sexual tension ^_^;
At least, they're sort of decent [
1]
- Again Japan, but not so hot springs, but nonetheless with some fringe connections. Paintings on sento (public bathing places) walls:
'A vivid blue paint fills the huge wall of the Sento, the public bath house, and in no time, bold brush strokes with great momentum create an image of Mount Fuji and crashing waves… As a long-standing tradition, Japanese Sento users have enjoyed many of these panoramic views on the walls of their beloved hazy bath houses which are an integral part of Japanese life'.
There are quite a few artists impressions of hot springs:
- Beitou hot springs (Taiwan) has a museum, no less. Though this is more culture than art.
'This museum is housed in public hot spring bath built during the Japanese colonial era. his is a good spot to learn about Beitou's rich hot spring culture and history'.
- More culture? Huaqing, China:
'Ranked among the Hundred Famous Gardens in China, it also has the status as a National Cultural Relic Protection Unit and a National Key Scenic Area.'
Again more history. With some architecture.
- Radium hot springs, U.S.A., has an art show, but little connection between art and hot springs other than the physical location.
- What about cinema? Easy Rider from 40 years ago contained scenes from a hot spring. Can't seem to come up with photo's from the scene's though. More suggestions? Well, a year later a list has been created on soakers forum. Easy Rider, Dante's Peak, Into the Wild, Legends of the Fall, Nevada Smith, North to Alaska, Old Joy, A River Runs Through It, Celebration at Big Sur, Lunch with Charles, Black Dawn, Every Second Counts and the River Wild. More? From Japan? Departures does have a traditional bathing house.
Probably the most intriguing is the inovel by Steve Zio aptly titled
Hot springs.
'Hot springs are about indulging the senses and living in the moment. They’re about finding a deeper connection through warmth and relaxation. This connection differs from person to person, of course, and the Hot Springs website aspires to be whatever you want it to be. Whether you’re a reader of the book, have an interest in the Hot Springs art, music, and multimedia experience, or if you’re more inclined to pool your talents (by sending your own art, music, photos, links) with other online contributors on the Hot Spring theme, then please just dive right in.
We’re made mostly of water, our lives our fluid, and we came from the seas. Through Hot Springs and hot springs, we can explore this liquid matrix and delve as deep as we want to go. And the best thing about plunging into.'
Keep soaking!:
This piece, detailing conversation from a recent trip to Cougar, has just been completed for the great French anthology, Stereoscomic. By Kalah Allen.
Update [June 2012]
'Where the the hot water comes from and where the water gets hot'.
Henry Yuen:
'"Hot tub all to ourselves"
11 x 14 inch Silkscreened Print
If you can get to Bagby Hot springs early, you may get the tub all to yourself.
Then you can stretch out and catch up on a good book'.
One of the most talked about issues in soaking and taking to the hot springs is when to decide whether the soak is full and how to respect each others private sphere.Having lived in Nepal and keeping abreast of what's (or better said not) happening I came across this recent photo from Kantipur publications, I'd like to share with you. It shows a hot spring near the town of Beni in Central Nepal, though not the Tatopani located on the round the Annapurna trail. 
People submerge themselves into the Tatopani Pokhari (hot water pond) in Myagdi district. There is a belief that taking dip into the pond help one to get rid of several diseases. Photo taken by G. Khadka, 2009-02-13
However it was great water, not too hot, nor cold and located directly next to the river. The village around had a couple of simple guesthouses to stay. As you can see, there a number of bathing fashions, from fully clothed to near nothing (in the back). What I remember was that most bathed in their underwear, which might not be so hygienic. Funny thing was that many people carried a slate rock around, twice / three times as large as their hand and when standing up to retreat from the soak the rock was held to cover possible butt cracks and /or more showing up. Quite weird I thought.Nepal has got quite a few hot springs and is well worth a trip to discover. Besides this one I've been to the more Tatopani north of Beni, Tatopani on boarder at the main road to China and one directly north of Kathmandu, west of Langtang valley (Chilime). There are more, from what I know in Darchula, Surkhet, near above photo's hot springs but another days walk to the west, Manang and probably more to the east.In relation to the above, I found this blog entry on hot springs in Taiwan: Rules of Chinese traditional hot spring baths. It's quite interesting, especially if you note the lack of rules in Southeast Asia. Now where does the line lie between rules and none at all? - Don't wear clothes
'Requiring every person to soak only in their birthday suits seems to be a sanitary issue'.
- Clean up
'Every person must wash before hitting the bath'.
- Don't confuse the buckets
- Don't move
'Once in the bath, patrons are not to move at all. I ran my hands over my legs to try and alleviate the feeling of conflagration. Surprise: I got yelled at'.
- End it after 20 minutes.
Juliane then ends the post on a upbeat:'Soaking privately in a modern hotel room will never compare to my first experience with the ahmas. Although I have to admit, it is nice not to get yelled at while naked'.
!!!!!!
Copyright 2009 © Soaking in Southeast Asia. All rights reserved.
No reproduction or republication without written permission.
