May 2009 Updates

I would have liked to give you all the news on hot springs in Southeast Asia but there is none! So I'll once more guide the reader to ithe more nteresting blog entries. And to some other issues.

One of these issues was the most recent posting on spa's. Interesting is that I defined a spa as

'any place having a natural water source that is believed to possess special health-giving properties'.

One of the world's most authoritative voices of the spa industry, Intelligent Spas refers to spa as

'a business offering water-based treatments practiced by qualified personnel in a professional, relaxing and healing environment' This definition was developed to support the original meaning of spa being "healing through water". Water-based treatments may include body wraps, body scrubs, baths, etc.'

End of definition. One aspect which I seemed to have omitted is the professionality whereas I concentrate soaking on in natural waters, preferably without somebody telling me what to do. Then again I suppose a spa might just be cleaner than a soak.

On the art and hot springs theme of a couple of months back, the soakersforum actually now has a thread on hot springs in movies which actually answers which hot spring was featured in the Easy Rider film. Concerning Easy Rider ,Taos the town near the mentioned hot spring, actually will celebrate 40 years after the film came out. There have been other films with hot springs featured but whether these are viewable or not is entirely different question. Have any Southeast Asian hot springs been in films?

But before I get into the specifics of each nations blog entries on hot springsthe folowing: a common phenomena becoming ever so popular in the spa industry are fish tanks where you can let the fish tickle your feet while at the same time letting them eat your dead skin cells.
Life's Happenings describes this in some detail how it not only is healthy:

'After a spa session with the 'fish doctors', they eventually need to see a real medical doctor as their legs had turned reddish, itchy and blotchy'.

He also provides a link to no less than the Wall Street Journal which has a story on banning these fish spas (in 14 states they've been outlawed! Poor fish).

More weird 'spa business': Onsen hot spring powder?

'this powder changes hot water at your home into Japanese onsen hot spring. instant onsen at home!'

Your own foul smelling hot 'spring' @ home! Well, it's forest scent.ed Is this odd or not?

So now on to the blogs:

Malaysia

• More on Ulu Legoing by Frankness to you. Includes photo's.

• Revealed the hot spring of Changkat Jering near Taiping, Perak. Zest-zipper:

  'One might ask, “Is it worthwhile doing so?” For me I did not notice any significant changes in me after dipping in the hot spring for a couple of times. I was told that frequent submersion in the hot water would render me impotent to father a child. How far this is true is yet to be proven, either by me or by the scientists.
  As for my wife, in her own testimony, she claimed that soaking in the hot spring was very effective in reducing her weight from 72 kilograms to 65 kilograms over a number of weeks. Reduction in her body weight has lessened the burden on her knees considerably. The other benefit that she has reaped was a sound sleep in the evening after a dip in the hot-spring water during the day.

• Poring. Jenni on the run reports:

  'By the sound of “Poring Hot Spring” might seemed like a spa, but at first sight, the thought of my mind was “like that only ah?”. It’s like any local waterfall with picnics around & kids running about. U can opt to soak ur body or only legs. Since we weren’t “equipped”, we went legs only instead. U could see steam from the water surface.I had my doubts about the water being “spring”. It might actually just be water being boiled somewhere. Anyway, It took me sometime to get accustomed to the hot water. Make that 20mins. By the time I got out of the water, my legs was lobster red, ready to be eaten'.

This is what Poring spring looks like. Cosy!?

• Sungai Klah revisited. Lots of photo's by jelajah xplorer. And by just sharing.

• Fuzzydandelion reports on Selayang:

  'The place and its facilities is quite good. Spacious parking space, the bathrooms/toilets are well kept, abundance of food stalls with some other shops that offer traditional treatment services like reflexology and leech therapy which I did not really paid much attention to it. The place even offered pails for rent for the ones who did not bring their own buckets. So don't forget to bring your own'.

  Bucket? Or leeches?
  

Vietnam

• Phu Ninh is a lake in the central Vietnamese province of Quanh Nam:

  'In the afternoon, you can visit a hot spring where water of more than 70 degrees Celsius whooshes up from the depths of Phu Ninh, then look for a “wild island” to pitch a tent and cook your fish'.

  Which fish?
  

Philippines

• A mention is made (by mistressblogger) of one resort in Laguna, Agua Caliente where

  'they charge only 70 pesos for night swimming, and you can already enjoy their big pool with real hot flowing spring water. Where the hot spring water is coming out, I allowed to massage my back and my scalp, but at first I thought I got scalded because of the water's very high temperature'.

• Balat Island has a (big) hot spring added to the list. It's ancient uses:

  'it was used by local folks to dress chicken and pigs before being cooked. The smaller spring on the other hand was utilized as a natural facial spa before but nobody from our group was daring enough to try putting the hot mud on the face'.

Thailand

Vavijo has a couple of photo's on photobucket. Don't use shampoo!
Obviously in Thailand, but where? Krabi?

Arrh, there too many blog posts coming out. Next month I'm only going to just highlight a few special ones!