Perfection

  #smile #pool #hotsprings #tabacon #sun 

The Philippines, source

Is it just me? 

More and more the internet is evolving from a place where idea's are dispensed and experiences shared into a dumping site for pictures, photo's or short video's, evidence of one's existence on this planet. From active to passive. 

Keeping up with all the soaking pictures is becoming a full day's task, whereas if you want to look at stories coming out of the net: tough luck, there's hardly anything available. 

Even in these bi-monthly updates, I'm becoming stuck. There's no dearth of groovy pictures (mostly though of the same ever popular soaks) but little of substance: fill up the update with photo's?

Enjoying the hot springs nearby the Kawah Ijen. #yoga #meditation #reiki #spiritual #kawahijen #ijen #bromo #outdoor #outdoors #bangsringbreeze #banyuwangi #bali #java #jatim #hotsprings #nature #sauna #wellness #health #spa #weekend #trekking #hiking #climbing

On your way to Ijen volcano, Eastern most tip of Java, Indonesia, source

Enjoy
A topic which might be worthwhile a mention is soaking and socialising. In Southeast Asia going alone is a big no-no: often one come with friends and more friends and the extensive family, just in case. In the US meetup.com has special groups for meeting with new found friends all with the same passion for hot springs. For instance California Hot Spring Adventures:

'Group focused on hot springs, public and commercial, secret and not-so-secret, day trips, overnights, road trips, backpacking, spa retreats, anything to do with enjoying hot water..:-)  We will also be doing swimming hikes in the summer, backpacking trips in the warmer months, and snow-oriented trips in the winter.    So anything to do with water whether it's hot, cold, or frozen..;-'.

Examples of other groups are Idaho natural hot spring group, Natural Hot Spring 温泉 Soakers, Hot Spring Soakers and Hikers, Hot Spring Enthusiasts of the Bay Area (more than 1,000 members!) or the TOKYO ONSEN GROUP(HOT SPRING).

Irosin, Sorsogon, the Philippines, source:

Hot Spring for a cold morning.

Too hot

Over on crazyguyonabike a photo reportage by Hiroshi Aizawa on Samnuea's (Laos) Viengthong hot spring (Dec. 3). As it was a week day, it was near deserted:

Pool in tourist area

A few days later he's in Xieng Khouans Noi hot spring (while heading for the Njai hot springs). It seems there have been some improvements made here since I visited here in 2011. 

Gone are the rustic building, in come the fancy concrete building. Entrance fee is now 10,000 kip (US$1,20). And the source itself is now a cement / concrete encapsular. Pity. The water still remains very hot though as Hiroshi notes: 

'The pool is too hot to bathe. Need to blend with the water from river'.

Sesi merendam kaki di air yang 'suam suam kuku' #ADgetaway #bpkrabi #krabi #hotspring

Krabi, southern Thailand, source

Relief

On balidiscovery (Dec. 29) some background on the Batur (Bali, Indonesia) hot spring: 

'Quoted by Beritadewata.com, the director of the Batur Village Industry, Wayan Absir, said, “mostly those who bathe at the Batur Natural Hot Spring are people seeking medical relief.”
The traditional village of Batur owns the Hot Springs. Originally a very small spring with a single outlet, professional management by the village has now established a simple pool area on the shores of the lake with accompanying changing and bathroom facilities.
Efforts to improve the site have been rewarded with a steady increase in visitor numbers, prompting the installation of an additional pool in 2014.

...

Absir said that in high season the Hot Springs can attract as many as 5,000 visitors in a single month'.

A trip report to the hot spring at Ban Samothong, Uthai Thani province, Thailand: 

'The hot spring itself exists of 3 springs if I understood the man how voluntarily gave some background information. You can see it steem and when you get closer you can feel that it’s hot. To be honest the hot spring did not impress me that much'.

Enjoying the hot spring in the nature of #umphang ! #thailand ##hotspring #wonderful #crazypeople #ilovethailand #ilovemylife

Tak province, source

Honor

What to expect for the future? A posting from January 2015 concerning Bang hot springs, Quang Bing province (we're now in Vietnam):

'Quang Binh Province and the Bang Cosevco Tourism and spa water Company are investing, exploiting this area, making  attractive and useful services for tourists. The problem that the building is the first step, and how to don’t break the natural landscape, ecological environment here. These projects, works that are created to perfect, improving services must conect closly and dissolve  with nature, honor the true values of this spa area'.

On the eighth of January there's an extensive article on Phuoc Nhon hot spring, Da Nang province. It now offers mud baths as well. This is slowly becoming a quintessential Vietnamese hot spring experience, no hot spring heaven can be a commercial success without a couple of mud tubs ...

Annah rais #hotspring #holiday

Sarawak, Malaysia, source