Relax

'Swimming in the hot springs on the Rinjani trekking tour ! Lombok - Indonesia'

From webstagram page of gogi29

What's customary? 

A variety of recent articles / blog entries follows, all concerning customs of foreigners vis à vis local customs.

Travelling to foreign countries opens oneself to different experiences. In this piece by CNN (Apr. 10) they discuss the advent of Chinese tourists abroad. Both the expectations of those coming and those offering hospitality are challenged. However when both adapt great experiences may occur.

The same source follows it up with more comments: basically all  tourists which come in hordes irrespective of nationality are hard to handle: 

'Summing up the "just because you've got money doesn't mean I have to respect you" contingent, THEGenuineOLiTWiST wrote: "In general, most mainland Chinese who are 40 or over are suffering from this money= respect syndrome. The younger ones are much better at 'fitting in' with their travel destination's social and cultural norms"'.

So how does one re-act to outlandish social norms? With hot springs? This (young?) lady, from Singapore, while in Japan does go into the onsen. Though she has misgivings:

'Then we unpack and went to the hotspring only me and chenhong went seriously i think between friends it's also a very awkward thing looking at each others boobs and vagina and everyone (locals) were like so open about showing their body.... you know there's those door then you go in is locker room you see in anime?

But in real life the moment you enter the door you see all the naked aunties saggy boobs young kids boobs and many people not blow drying their hair but their vagina hair. FUCKING WEIRD RIGHT.. I took such a long time to undress myself and psycoing myself that this will be my only experience i should just go....'.

From the above citation it can be expected to conclude that this is a the first part of an overall poor experience. It's not, the lady in questions does enjoy the experience. 

It's odd that on the one hand when from Singapore, a society which is possibly one of the most prudish in the world, one has no qualms about at least partaking in the locals' habits however contrite. On the other when abroad, Asians (in general) are very well aware that this is not home ... and adapt ...

This attitude seems to differ from for instance North Americans (Anglo-based), where experiencing traditions not meeting the social norm known, means a no-no to the experience ....

That it is not always the case, illustrates the following experience from i heart rachabees (Mar. 27): 

'When people ask me what was the best thing I did in Japan, I usually mull over the question, my mind wandering to the weekend trip with my friends to Naoshima, the day spent celebrating a small local festival in Himeji, biking the Shimanami Kaido or the big dance festival in Kagoshima. However, when it comes down to a unique, off the beaten path experience, Kita Onsen was possibly the absolute best.

...

I came across Kita Onsen as a photo on tumblr, an atmospheric shot of a woman reclining in steaming waters under the imposing face of a giant tengu demon mask. I was so intrigued that I started researching the mysterious hot springs hotel, discovering it dated back to the 1600s, and, even better, it was relatively affordable for me (at least in comparison to other onsen hotels).

 ...

After they retired for bed, I decided to take advantage of the late hour and go in the mixed onsens without a bathing suit. I crept outside to the big outdoor pool. The wind was absolutely howling and I quickly jumped into the warm water, beautiful and surreal in the dark night. The sky had semi-cleared and there were stars visible and clouds lit white-blue by the half moon were racing across the sky. I swam and swam, as great gusts of wind whirled autumn leaves around me and chilled any inch of me not covered by warm water.

Next I went to the Tengu no Yu, where I sat in the bath and took in my strange surroundings, the enormous masks watching me with their scowls. Then the third floor baths, where I soaked for a bit, listening to the strangled gurgling of the old drains'.

What about differing soaking habits without foreign tourists? An interesting discussion on the Facebook site of the Friends of Cougar (hot spring), Oregon, U.S.A.. Administrator posts this: 

'This weekend at Cougar I interviewed several people and came up with what I think are the reasons many people don't go nude [for which this hot spring is partially known for]: 
The relative importance of each varies with each person.
Common:
1. Vibe. Presence of people in suits relative to people nude.
2. Fear of inferiority. Self conscious about their suit-covered areas.
3. Insensitivity. A disregard for suits causing discomfort for people nude or wanting to be nude.
4. Habit. Long instilled habitual behavior.
Special cases: 
5. Fear of superiority. Fear of being judged too hot and getting too much attention and scrutiny. 
6. Friends. Presence of judgment of friends / family'. 

After much response this evolves to:

'With the help of your suggestions, I've revised my list: 
Common: 
Vibe. Presence of people in suits relative to people nude. 
Body image. Being self conscious about one's suit-covered areas. 
Habit. Long-instilled social programming. 
Insensitivity. A disregard for suits causing social and aesthetic discomfort for people nude or wanting to be nude. 
Special cases: 
Shyness. Fear of getting too much attention and scrutiny. 
Friends. Presence of judgment of friends / family'.

One later response:

'It is so strange that so many clothed people go to cougar. Obviously they are ok with nudity...weird'. 

An interesting discussion on an interesting and thought provoking page. 
  
Other strange tourist habit news. Debat on Sanya, Hainan, China's (only?) nudist beach. China.org (Mar. 25): 

'Many tourists have posted nude photographs while vacationing at Sanya's nudist beach in south China's Hainan Province, giving the Chinese public a vivid imagination of what happens at Sanya, Taiwan newspaper Want Daily reported.

Sanya is a popular tourist destination in China. The so called nudist beach lies on Da Dong Hai (Great East Sea) beach, is only three kilometers from Sanya. It has become increasingly common to see groups of people chatting and playing cards in the nude at the far end of the beach.
There is no sign posted to inform tourists that the area is for nudists, and there have been reports of embarrassing encounters between clothed and nude beach goers.
An internet user called "yilunanfeng" said that the beach used to be frequented by foreigners on vacation, but gradually more and more Chinese tourists took over the nudist beach'.

Solution: 

'"Yilunanfeng" [internet user] advised that the local government should set up a notice to remind people that there is a nude beach here'.

Apparently, some habits are not so outlandish as one would suppose ....

Another example in the customary section. Is Thailand uptight? TTR weekly (Apr. 10) reports that just one third of respondents to a Thai national poll were uncomfortable with perceived relax of dress code during Thai new year celebrations (Songkran): 

'The poll of 1,253 people countrywide reported 36.79% were unhappy and opposed celebrations involving females wearing skimpy or see-through dresses or suggestive dancing'. 

Strange? Just to put this perspective, nearly half of the respondents thought the government should ban the sale of alcohol during Songkran! Priorities or common sense?

More (or less) on the same. One could be surprised (shocked even?) in Malacca, Malaysia:

'"It was a real shock to see someone in the nude like this in conservative Malacca," he said.
Security guard P. Saravanan, 39, said he reprimanded the [French?] woman but she was nonchalant about it.
"She only replied 'I am going naked to save the world. I am a naturist' and she continued walking," he said.
Saravanan said he called the police, who came and took her away'. 

It doesn't mention if she managed to save the world, at the very least it's not worse off. 
One may frown on the police action, but alas, this is very much the same action police would do all over the world: clearly an outlying free-thinking individual, have to stop this in the bud (google naked rambler).

 

Toya Bungkah, Bali, Indonesia. kailey_styles:

'Just swimming next to a volcano, the usual'.

Apping

Is there a hot springs app? hotspringsfinder.com has an app for the US: a long overview of all (commercial) hot springs and reviews. Chapters of for instance California and Idaho chapters cost $9,99; Oregon is slightly cheaper. The owner (author) Richard:

'Many of my friends tried to dissuade me from publishing a hot springs guide fearing that hordes of iPhone users would descend on their favorite soaking hideaways. Alas, this was the only application that intrigued me enough to actually see methrough allthe hard work. It was the first thing I really wanted on my iPhone, so for better or worse I was hopelessly hooked.

To mitigate the impact, I decided to price the app at $9.99, higher than the usual $0.99 or $1.99, but cheaper than the equivalent paper guide books. I know many iPhone user's won't be happy about this but I felt it was the responsible thing to do, even though it will greatly reduce the project's annual revenue.
Although I don't worry about the commercial springs being overrun, many of the primitive sites are fragile. You can help by becoming a hot spring steward, not just a hot springs consumer. Tread lightly and help pickup after the people who don't understand how precious these magical places are'.

Maybe a future project for this blog?

Geothermal news

Nuclear leaks have forced Marubeni, one of Japan's largest companies, to look at geothermal power. Japan Times (Apr. 4):

'More than 70 percent of respondents in an opinion poll by the Asahi Shimbun in February said Japan should scrap nuclear power, a stance favored by environmentalists who note geothermal energy does the same thing as nuclear with much less risk.

“To import a very complex and difficult technology to boil water in the world’s most seismically active country when there is such vast geothermal potential strikes me as madness,” David Suzuki, a Canadian author, environmentalist and board member of the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation, said in an interview.

...

The projects threaten to revive conflict with hot springs resorts, which are concerned commercial geothermal plants will siphon away the same reserves that they tap. Geothermal developments were largely off-limits before the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 because heat reserves were set aside for the resorts.

“We realize geothermal is one of our energy options,” said Hirokazu Nunoyama, secretary general of the Japan Spa Association. “But there are impacts on the environment. There are cases of hot spring resources running out or thinning, or a drop in water temperatures.”'

The article finishes as follows, not upbeat for the soakers: 

'“Geothermal plants are rapidly increasing in major geothermal countries abroad, and we are the only country that is not moving ahead,” Susumu Tanaka, chairman of the Japan Geothermal Association, said in a statement on the group’s website'.

And though some might view this as positive, the same article on Bloomberg has a less positive headline: 

'Marubeni Targets National Park in Japan for Geothermal'

So whose side are they on?

Meanwhile: 

'Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is currently considering 21 geothermal projects as part of its overall renewable energy strategy', 

so reports thinkgeoenergy.

Der Spiegel (Mar. 10) relates about Japan's search for geothermal power generation: 

'Dabei ist das eigentliche Problem ein anderes: Knapp ein Dutzend regionale Stromversorger haben das Land unter sich aufgeteilt. Diese Platzhirsche stemmen sich gegen unerwünschte Neuerungen. "Sie haben kein Interesse an Wettbewerb, und sie arbeiten auch nicht zusammen", sagt Kosuke Kurokawa, Chef des Japan Council for Renewable Energy'. 

I.e. regional power companies are not interested in new potential as this counters their current position / interests.

In Central America companies are eyeing up national parks as well: 

'The President of Costa Rica signs decree that will start a public interest investigation into potential geothermal power development in the National Park of Rincon de la Vieja'.  

Recent: 

'Various environmental organizations oppose legislation that would open the Rincon de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica to geothermal development'.

Indonesia is capitalizing on geothermal.

A new geothermal field found near Kolaka, Sulawesi, Indonesia (source). No news as to how one finds a new geothermal field ...
Japanese development aid gets used to develop geothermal power in Indonesia: 

'Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing a development loan of $53.4 million to the Tulehu [Ambon] geothermal power project of PLN in Indonesia'. 

A thing of the past:

'Hot-Spring Tulehu, Ambon Island'

From the flickr page of helenanya-simon

Turkey would like to invest in Java, Indonesia's geothermal potential. Invest heavily: 

'Turkish group Hitay is planning investment of up to $2.5 billion in three projects in Indonesia, at Mount Bromo, Mount Lamongan and Raung, East Java. The estimated potential for all three project is at about 1,100 MW'.

Around the region

• Malaysia

The aclaimed Travelfish authority has a take on Langkawi island's hot spring Ayer Hangat: 

'Malay-style buildings create a village-like environment on the lush landscaped grounds, with cool and hot water pools. A series of small canals run through the grounds and connect hot spring water collected from two wells with cooler water, offering you temperature variation options. Surprisingly, the hot springs are natural salt water, which seeps up from the shallow tide table. The springs claim to be medicinal, helping improve chronic skin conditions, detoxing and joint pain resulting from injury or gout'.

But are the springs worth a visit / soak?

• Thailand

Hot spring festivals are catching on (Pattaya Mail, Mar. 22): 

'The province is holding an eight-day festival “Mineral Hot Spring Bathing” from today through March 30 at the health park near Ranong’s municipality office to promote health tourism.

Hot spring bath services, spa treatment, Thai traditional medicines, mineral water and herbal products are available at 30-50 per cent discounts'.

In Thailand an idea has been to renew government legislation of the spa sector (the Nation, Mar. 25): 

'However, the spa scene has been unfortunately partly plagued by a sexual image. If word of mouth by tourists on this issue spreads, the industry will no doubt be hit.

This is one of the troubles for Krod Rojanastien, the new president of the Thai Spa Association. He admits the industry has faced barriers at a time when Thai spas are growing in popularity in the global market.

...

A new law is needed to help shape up and modernise the industry. The industry has been stuck with the Spa Act of 1966, as amended in 2003, to cope with the rapidly-changing industry. It has waited for a decade for the law to be approved by Parliament.

The Spa Act defines a spa like a massage service. This is way out of date.

If the law passes, law enforcement will lead to a big change in the industry. That means spas will be scrutinised in detail as a way to crack down on sex-oriented openings.

Also, those working in the industry will be upgraded professionally with a proof of licence via a training programme designed by the Public Health Ministry. A committee, chaired by the minister, will be set up to check standards regularly to ensure the industry's sustainability'.

Kantang, Trang, Thailand. From webstagram page of harrietwh.

• Vietnam

An interesting blog entry on Tien Lang hot spring, Hai Phong, Vietnam. The promise: 

'Especially, Tien Lang Hot Spring Tourist Site promises to bring the tourists to a wonderful world with feelings of enjoying, relaxing, and reinforcing health by the staff that are technically philological and major in massaging with a lot of experience'.

More cash

Big companies in hot spring development (Travel Daily, Mar 27): 

'Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts has signed a new hot spring resort close to the Chinese city of Chongqing.
... 
All rooms feature private hot spring pools. The resort will also feature a large Banyan Tree spa with seven different outdoor and indoor hot spring pools with waters at a constant temperature of 38⁰C, plus nine treatment rooms, a gymnasium and yoga room'.

jinglejayne:

'Evening hot spring session'

Palawan, Philippines

Post summer

According to google stats, this blog site has surpassed the 100,000 pageviews! And with 5,000 pageviews per month, that milestone has passed us some time ago ...
It are mostly the more thematic posts that have drawing in the crowds, most read is the post on mud, then art, then clothing. Only then do the actual postings regarding hot springs surface with the older posts getting more views.

During the past summer I had a sojourn to Portugal / Spain; managed to fit in a couple of hot spring visits. 

Quite contrasting, Portugal seems to have turned all it's hot springs over to the medical profession, let alone the wellness workers. 

In Spain though, rustic situations remain or have been enhanced but certainly well-geared to the public irrespectively of their income or social status ...

Just one of the many soaks available near the city of Ourense.

Gradually, blog entries on all those visited hot springs will appear on European Natural Soaking Society.

Debate heating up

Despite advances in Southeast Asia, Japan is yet to build it's first geothermal powerplant. Or to be more precise within a national park.

Ironically the push for geothermal energy is driven by the failures of atomic energy (see also preceding posts). And due to the Fukushima incident tourists have steered clear of Tsuchiyu onsen, thus now the locals are hoping they can cash in with geothermal energy. All as published by Yomiuri (July 16)

The Financial Times weighs in on the arguments pro / contra geothermal energy in Japan with reference to the same onsen. On the 7th of August 2012:

'The head of an association aiming to revive the quiet hot spring resort of Tsuchiyu, Mr Kato is spearheading efforts to build what would be Japan’s first geothermal power plant inside a national park. And while hot spring owners in Japan are usually the fiercest opponents of geothermal energy, in this case they are its backers. Mr Kato is the managing director of the Tsuchiyu hot spring co-operative.

That makes Tsuchiyu a possible poster child for geothermal, an energy source Japan has largely cold-shouldered in recent years but which experts say has great potential. The same geological inheritance that makes the archipelago vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanoes also grants formidable reserves of hot subterranean water that can be tapped to drive electricity-generating turbines.

...

Larger plants also remain controversial. Relaxation this year of a ban on vertical geothermal drilling in national parks has sparked excitement among would-be operators, but many in the hot spring sector say new plants threaten water flows.

Kasumi Yasukawa, an expert on geothermal resources at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, says there is no evidence of such problems and that even if they occur they should be technically resolvable.

Yoshiyasu Sato, chairman of the Fukushima hot spring association, doubts such assurances. The tsunami and nuclear crisis gave Fukushima troubles enough without making geothermal a new threat to troubled bathing businesses, Mr Sato says. “The most important thing is not to destroy the status quo,” he adds'.

In all a well-balanced article.

The same could be said for the following, again with the same subject matter above. The Guardian (09 August 2012) adds it's own take on geoenergy and Fukushima.

'If all goes to plan, the project could not only help the town [Tsuchiyu] become self-sufficient in power generation, but revive its role as a tourist destination after visitor numbers plummeted amid lingering fears over radiation. In the past, hot-spring operators have been among the fiercest opponents of geothermal energy, an obvious source of energy given Japan's huge subterranean reserves of volcanic water.

Many fear the plants would affect the flow and quality of the water, which is pumped up from the depths and then cooled for the benefit of Japan's enthusiastic bathers.

In Tsuchiyu, however, where half a dozen hotels remain closed with earthquake damage, spa owners are among the new geothermal generator's keenest backers. "The plant won't affect the water quality or the temperature," said Kazuya Ikeda, general manager of the Tsuchiyu Onsen Tourist Association. "We have surveyed opinion in the town, and no one has raised any objections."

...

Profits from the venture will be used to repair three damaged hotels and rebuild three others that were destroyed in the earthquake'.

Meanwhile on thinkgeoenergy, they are reporting on local opposition in Japan towards geothermal power generation.

'The projects are planned in the Bandai-Asahi National Park/ Fukushima and Akan National Park/ Hokkaido. The main concerns are by local hot springs that fear a drying up of their livelihood. They argue that most of the reports claiming that development won´t affect their hot springs are contract work on behalf of developers and therefore not trustable.

A meeting held for the project in the Bandai-Asahi  National Park in late July 2012 ended in disagreement between the developer, government representatives and locals and no agreement was reached to conduct a ground survey for the project advancement'.

Just an example of how Southeast Asia is ahead. This news item  contends that one Indonesian company alone (Petramina) is hoping to bring 1000 MW online by ... ummm we don't know when! 

'Geothermal is currently the only technology capable of displacing coal-based power in more balanced energy generation capacity.  It is a clean and reliable energy source that is available in areas where energy demand is significant and growing'.

It sounds like I have heard that before!

Soaking world
A winning photo of a hot spring? It's possible. According to the Daily Mail (July 18):

'The Royal Photographic Society [UK] received over 3,000 prints from nearly 800 photographers in the competition. Submitted by Yao Wei, and titled The Bathing Festival, the description with the entry which won Bronze read: 'The hot spring in Tibet contains various minerals and is believed to be therapeutic. 
'It is pure enjoyment to take a bath with the whole family in these wonderful natural hot pools; a feeling of being in Paradise!'

A Russian spa offers a massage by snakes. Link to video. Hard to believe.

In Azerbaijan, the thing to do, is to bath in crude oil! 
The Guardian (from Oct. last year) reports on an award winning photo reportage by Chloe Dewe Matthews.

No happy face:

'Slick treatment ... a woman bathes for 10 minutes in crude oil, heated to 37 degrees, in the spa town of Naftalan. Photograph: Chloe Dewe Mathews/Panos Pictures'.

More info from Panos pictures:

'Across the water, in the semi-desert of Azerbaijan, I spent time at a sanatorium town called Naftalan. Here people gather to bathe in chocolate-brown oil, purported to have therapeutic properties. It was startling to see a substance normally associated with heavy industry, as well as international politics, power and wealth, being used for health and relaxation. This ‘miracle oil’ has been bathed in since the time Marco Polo mentioned it in his diary'.

Southeast Asian News

• Philippines

Puning hot springs is getting ever so popular. Now the Brisbane Times (June 24, 2012) is also in on the secret.  

'We're led to a line of white, plastic banana lounges under a pergola and told to lay down as cold volcanic ash, combined with eucalyptus oil is smeared over our faces and bodies. It's particularly tricky work as we're still fully clothed, but the idea is to protect modesty in the outdoor, unisex treatment area.

The quick transition from hot to cold is a welcome assault on the senses. For the next 10 minutes the mud-like mixture sets, tightening and cooling the skin with the help of the natural mountain breeze.

We're relieved when our goose-pimpled bodies are directed to a shower block to wash off the sand and mud, envisaging a warm soak. But we're quickly snapped back to reality when it becomes apparent that each shower cubicle has only one tap - of the cold variety.

Don't expect your typical spa experience; this is primitive, natural and while not always comfortable, it is definitely invigorating. Any other way would feel out of step'.

Gma.com notes 3 hot spring resorts in Calamba:

'So hot it's cool'.

Another top something, the 7 most beautiful natural pools in the world. It includes 2 hot springs of which no. 6 is Mabinay:

'This is the most popular hot spring in the Philippines. In addition to the landscape which can attract tourists, Mabinay Spring is also free during the year. So it is conceivable height of this natural bath every day'.

•  Singapore

Singapore company Banyan Tree invests in a hot spring in China (source).

• Malaysia

Another blog on Bentong, previously visited and blogged on this website.  Placesandfood are surprised by the vandalism and the lack of visitors. Maybe the two phenomena are correlated ...

• Thailand

An onsen in Bangkok? Not really natural, but using imported hot water (?) to recreate the atmosphere of a Japanese hot spring to cater to the local Japanese community with possibly the odd foreigner / Thai making up the numbers. Soaking in Siam has the details concerning the opening.

Thailand's national parks are suggesting (read imposing) fee hikes up to 150%. Note that many hot springs in Thailand fall under the National Park Department administration alas ...

Seeking geothermal potential means setting up an inventory of prospective sites. The Thai Groundwater Resources Department has announced some of it's findings:

'... the department has so far located over 112 hot springs across the country in such provinces as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Ranong and Surat Thani. Exploration and development activities are expected to concentrate in 5 potential areas where prototype geothermal energy plants can be set up'.

The director of the department also knows the following: 

'Mr Praneet [GRD director] elaborated that geothermal power is a renewable energy source with little or no environmental impacts.
The department is expected to begin the drilling operation next month for the geothermal plants, he added'. 

Sankamphaeng makes a top 10,

'Ten of the best hot spring spa resorts around the world'. 

A recent tripadvisor review to Sankamphaeng concludes:

'This place - as explained by others - is not a "high end" spa area, but more a fun local picnic area for families'.

• Vietnam 

Vientnamnet has a surprise for it´s readers, a top 5 of places for having a nude bath!  Unfortunately, all are waterfalls, no hot springs (yet/still?). No 1. is a waterfall on Phu Quoc island:

'Tourists can have a nude bath under romantic waterfalls or at beaches on small and uninhabited islets. The most famous beach is on An Thoi peninsula'.

No. 2 is Son Tra peninsula (small beaches hidden by rocks ...), no. 3 Bach Ma mountains (waterfalls again), no. 4 Gia long waterfall (with lake surrounded by jungle), no. 5 Red River in the center of Hanoi!

The end?

With over 50 original postings and proving to be the premier destination for information on bathing in hot springs in Southeast Asia, it seems the posting below will possibly be the last original posting for the time-being.

Since a couple of months I have relocated to Europe and seem to have less and less time to pursue my own pursuits and passions, let's hope it won't last for that long ...

This site will remain and will constantly be updated, but let's say less regularly than before. Because as the soaking family has expanded way beyond what I had originally intended, keeping the blogs updated and interested will be very challenging. Even now avid follows are hoping I will chase down more natural soaks in Europe. Alas Europe has done it's best to tame nature such that soaking it the real sense can only take place in more remoter parts of the continent. Let's see!

Maybe it's also time to organize soakers and present to the policy makers and the development elite that hot springs are best enjoyed pristine. Considering the amounts of money poured into the geothermal advocacy, a small cash line to proponents of keeping the soaks as they were could lead to win-win situations.

Anyway that's just my thoughts, let's shift our focus to Thailand, to one of the best hot springs I have visited:

The town, néé the province of Ranong, is synonymous with hot springs. However this link is entirely focused on the existence of Raksawarin hot spring, located not far from downtown Ranong. Developed and overdeveloped, this hot spring is ....

Read more in Soaking in Siam to see whether or not Porn Rang can be rated as one of Southeast Asia's best hot springs!

Not so Samui?

Provincial bliss?

Surat Thani is a well established province for tourism, though the fact that all this tourism is concentrated on the boutique island resort of Samui and the full-moon party island of Phangan means that the mainland part of the province is often by-passed, neglected even.

Surat Thani town itself is ....

See Soaking in Siam for more.