Best Practice

Personal
With the gradual expansion concerning my personal experience on hot springs and the ever growing know-how of hot springs themselves, I have been thinking about how can we add additional original content to the experience concerning natural hot springs soaking, the (bathing) culture involved and the increasing need for conserving the few natural hot springs remaining?

One idea is to make conservation, natural bathing and cultural awareness a recurring theme in these posts. Witness past updates on this blog. 
Another idea is to expand to other internet media; with tumblr this is a resolute success, whereas Facebook somehow has missed the bus altogether ...

Another idea I want to give a try, is to seek alliance's between persons who have similar views or are at least passionate about bathing in natural hot water(s). 
Through the years I have noticed quite a few persons who present their love for soaking either through business associations, through tourism promotion, through consumer consumption or through internet presentation. 
This alliance could take place through actively seeking out these persons by presenting interviews where they can put their views forward or try to understand their thoughts / experiences on soaking in hot spring.

To launch this series of interviews, I have approached the public face of Peninsula Hot Springs (Victoria, Australia), Charles Davidson. Besides being an inspiration and the driving force of Peninsula HS, he has gone out of his way to highlight cultural aspects and conservation of natural hot springs. More recently he put himself forward at the 2013 Global Spa and Wellness Summit where a special forum on global hot springs was held as a means of upgrading our knowledge on soaking in general.

Great way to start the day #peninsulahotsprings

source

Introducing Charles

Despite it's size, Australia seems not to be well-endowed with reference to the occurrence of natural hot springs. Certainly if compared to many Asian countries. With the exception of a few scattered hot springs, Australia is far from a soakers haven. 

Well, at least until recently. 

Dedicated hot spring followers will have noticed that the internet savvy crowd are mass photo-opting the Peninsula HS (website), located roughly 100 km south of Australia’s second largest city Melbourne. 

The increasing popularity is due in part to the vision and perseverance of Charles Davidson. 
While working and living in Japan during the early nineties of last century, Charles became accustomed with the Japanese love of hot springs with it’s specific bathing culture. 

Some years later, by coincidence he came into knowledge about the existence of hot springs buried in shallow rock not so far from his home town of Melbourne. Forming a partnership with his brother Richard and Norm Cleland, it took five years before a bore-hole revealed 54 degrees hot water found at more than 600m below the current site.

With development starting slowly, it has only been in recent years that visitor numbers to Peninsula HS have swelled. 

Rather than focusing bathing activities on a sole water basin, Peninsula HS is a testament to many of our globes styles of hot water bathing practices, which are combined with many well- and lesser-known wellness practices. 
With annual growth of 30% during the last year, one can see that the vision has paid back. Peninsula HS is now not only a leader in Australia’s wellness sector, it is also one of Victoria's prominent tourism destinations. But more will be in the offering as plans are under way for their stage three of the Peninsula HS blueprint for development.

Charles, you have experienced many a hot spring in the world, but what would have been your most favorite experience? 

"There are many incredible hot springs around the world and selecting one to be my favourite would be like trying to select one of my four children as my favourite - really impossible. So I'll provide three, and provide a brief explanation and a photo of each". 

'Sai-no-Kawara hot springs in the town of Kusatau in Japan. This was the first place I enjoyed natural hot springs in March 1992 and was the experience which started my lifelong passion for hot springs bathing. It was in early spring and the open air hot springs looked out over snow covered trees and the surrounding mountains. I has an epiphany in that pool realising that this was the most gentle and relaxing experience. At that moment I decided I wanted to help people relax in the environment and with each other through the connection of thermal waters. I had been seeking a way to bring together global cultural understanding in a harmonious and sustainable way and thermal waters was a natural connector. Photo taken in December 2013'.

D.I.Y.
When one reads the development story of Peninsula HS, it is evidence of persistence and dedication to fulfil in part your dream.
Concerning the development of Peninsula HS how have you been able to pay the development costs without any certainty about the outcome of both the exploration as well as the development? 

"I feel very fortunate to have been able to lead the life I have had. Passion, perseverance and determination are a few of the traits that have made Peninsula HS possible.

We started with very little money and a dream to bring the wonderful sensation of hot springs to Australia. We have grown slowly over the past eight years, one bath at a time. The money we receive from each visitor to Peninsula HS is spent on staff, maintenance of the facility, community projects and the continual development of the facility. More than 90% of the profit is re-invested into the business and the evolution of the master plan for the site. It all takes time, so patience is also an important trait".

Many of your visits have been to natural occurring hot springs. Can hot springs emanating from bore holes (such as Peninsula HS) be categorized as natural? And irrespective of this, do you believe the future ahead for experiencing hot water bathing is by expanding the number of boreholes?

"Certainly the water that comes from bores is natural and the heat source is also natural so in that sense they are natural. There is, however, a very clear distinction between a free flowing natural hot springs and a bore fed hot springs. I prefer the idea of free flowing hot springs but very often these are only available in remote locations and are very inaccessible.
I think there is a future for both free flowing and bore fed hot springs. Bore fed hot springs enable the relaxation of hot springs to be available to more people. Making sure that our interaction with the environment, and specifically in this instance water resources, is sustainable is essential."

Understood
You have been successful in introducing many of the world's bathing experiences to Peninsula HS, but without the traditions associated. Is this against your philosophy, is it driven by commercialism or do you believe that Australians will be put off by f.i. nudity?

"There are many bathing practices all over the world. Depending on the country and the culture of the country the way of enjoying the hot springs varies. There are actually very few countries where bathing naked is practiced. In Germany male and female bathers all bathe naked together, in Japan male and female bathers have segregated naked bathing areas (that is since the Meiji Restoration in 1868 - before then there was no segregation), and apart from that there are a few rare naked bathing venues in U.S.A., China and Europe. 
The remainder of the world (Middle East, North and South America, Africa, China, Russia, all around Southeast Asia, etc) wear bathers in hot springs. I believe cultural factors are behind this and not commercial factors.
It is also cultural factors and not commercial factors that were behind the choice to require bathing costumes to be worn in the main bathing experiences at Peninsula HS. We have always wanted to provide bathing experiences in which people of all nations and all ages can enjoy together. One of our company visions is achieving 'International understanding through hot springs'. If we only offered naked bathing we would be alienating most of the cultures of the world. 
That being said I personally believe that naked bathing is a much better experience - it feels better. At Peninsula HS we do also offer the opportunity for guests to bathe naked in private indoor and outdoor baths and pools. Guests hire these pools for 30-60 minutes and can choose to bathe with or without a bathing costume. In the future I would also like to offer a Japanese bath house experience in which people can choose to enjoy the traditional Japanese style of bathing. We have many more bathing styles that are planned to be introduced at Peninsula HS. These have been, and continue to be, learned from travels to hot springs all over the globe. Our business is in a constant state of evolution and change".

 

'Bitter Springs at Mataranka in the Northern Territory in Australia. The Bitter Springs are literally a river of crystal clear hot springs that flow over limestone and are surrounded by palm trees and a tropical oasis in the centre of arid semi-dessert country. Visitors can swim and dive (with snorkels and goggles) in the thermal waters together with fish and turtles. Many birds fly overhead in the tall trees. My children swam in the waters and said, 'this is better than the Great Barrier Reef'! A very big statement indeed. We visited Bitter Springs on a family driving holiday in September 2011 when we drove across Australia from North to South (Darwin to Melbourne)'.

To what degree would you support conservation of the very few natural hot springs left in this world?

"Sustainability is a key prerequisite for any business and hot springs are definitely no exception. To evolve hot springs into a global industry that offers natural relaxation and wellbeing to many people can only happen if it is done with the highest level of integrity and concern for the environment. 
I am currently involved in a 2-3 year research project called 'Global best practice in the hot springs industry'. The original goal of the research was to create a blueprint for the creation of the hot springs industry in Victoria, Australia. The study involves learning from hot springs cultures all over the world how they use hot springs for the health and wellbeing of their customers and communities. Central to the research is the question of sustainability and resource management. Without learning there will be no understanding and without understanding there can be no systems around the conservation of and respect for the natural gift of hot springs. The study is looking at both commercial operations and also at traditional indigenous cultural connections to hot springs. You will also see in the details of the Global Hot Springs Forum [below] that I was suggesting that the global hot springs industry could come together to build hot springs facilities as community projects in developing countries. These would have to be built sustainably using the natural resource and with the highest level of cultural respect and understanding".

Can you report on your active participation with the Global Spa and Wellness 2013 Summit (GSWS '13)? Is this the right venue for putting hot springs on the agenda? 

"If the hot springs business is to provide a service to the communities they need to be able to operate at a profit. The GSWS is a gathering of people active and interested in health and wellbeing and coming together to help shape the future. The knowledge gained at the conference is shared with the world free of charge.

In the case of the Global Hot Springs Forum held for the first time at the GSWS in Delhi, India in October 2013, it brought together people from the hot springs industry in many countries. There was a panel of hot springs representatives who lead the discussion. Panel members came from Germany, Japan, China, New Zealand and Australia. The individual presentations from the Hot Springs Forum are available on the GSWS'13 website on Day 3 Monday 7th October.
From the minutes of the forum you will see in this document some ideas for the future evolution of the business and how global hot springs are able to work together".

'Khirganga hot springs, Himachalpradesh, India. A days hike along goat and sheep trails from the town of Manikaran in the Indian Himalayan mountains this is a natural hot springs paradise. It is only open in the summer months and in winter is deep under snow. There is a shanty backpackers tourism village built below the springs'.

Home & Away
Many hot springs worldwide are falling victim to development. Companies are taking over community run resources and changing these into bland, run of the mill, catering to the rich and famous hot spring facilities where the original community is barred and bathing traditions are based on individual-based mainstream therapies. None more so than in China. 

Do you believe mainstreaming hot spring development such as for instance your participation in the aforementioned GSWS '13 will hasten the disappearance of community, natural and often rustic hot springs? Or will it highlight the need to maintain a certain naturality?

"I think it is better to create forums and have discussion on all topics rather than not to have them. There are many issues that need to be addressed and your concern and respect for the maintenance of traditional cultural values and practices is certainly one of them. If discussion does not occur, and particularly at the level of the participants of the GSWS, then there will not be any opportunity to create frameworks around which the industry evolves. Global best practice in the hot springs industry can only be understood if it embraces and involves people from all over the globe".

You describe that there are similarities between Peninsula and the aborigine belief being one with the land. Do Aborigines have connotations with (hot) water?

"There is a long and established tradition of Aboriginal connection to the land and water. Hot springs are found in various parts of Australia and Aborigines have had a connection to them for many thousands of years. Probably the best article I have read that explains the relationships of Aborigines with hot springs is by Dean Ah Chee [1].
I will be travelling in April to the desert country of northern South Australia to meet and learn from Dean Ah Chee the author of this article and a park ranger".

I have heard the bathing world as follows: Asia-natural, Europe-medical, America's-relaxing. Do you really believe this is so clear cut? 

"At the broadest level I think this observation is correct. However the division I use is: 

• Japan / Asia - natural bathing,
• Europe - medical / health bathing,
• U.S.A. - spa industry (retail product driven commercial motivation)

In my presentation at the GSWS Global Hot Springs Forum I changed this by taking out U.S.A. (which offers a combination of Asian and European plus public thermal pools) and adding in 'India - Spiritual'. 

I recently completed another hot springs research tour in U.S.A. and Canada (in September / October) and can say that the majority of hot springs in U.S.A. are natural bathing style. 
There was a strong thermal bathing tradition in U.S.A. a hundred years ago and that largely came from Europe with major influences from the medical / health bathing tradition. The emphasis on medical and health cure caused its downfall as it came head-to-head with the rise of allopathic medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. It became much easier for consumers to take drugs to find answers to their illnesses than travel, often great distances, to spend weeks at hot springs wellness centres. 
The reality is that there is a huge divergence in all aspects of global cultures and hot springs is no exception. It is impossible to be clearcut about any categorisation as in most countries one can find all these styles of bathing. These divisions are just generalisations to help develop understanding".

Charles, thank you for your participation in this interview. I wish you all the best and hope you continue to highlight the ideas and philosophies put forward above. And of course all the best for the future of Peninsula Hot Spring! 

Notes
The photo's of Sai-no-Kawara, Mataranka and Khirganga are used courtesy of Charles Davidson. 
For more information on Sai-no-Kawara, visit one of the many English language websites f.i. this one. For Mataranka Bitter Springs visit this website. And for Khirganga see a posting on Hot soaks of the Himalaya on Himachal Pradesh.

More recent info on Charles Davidson and Peninsula Hot Springs. Mind you this is just a small selection ... : 

• Peninsula Hot Springs: Our story so far  
• Business Times (Dec. 18, 2013): A life in hot water can be a good thing
• Love the Peninsula: Peninsula Hot Springs
• The Age (June 24, 2005): Brothers keep dream afloat 
• Interview with Charles Davidson on Landtalk episode 4 (August 23, 2012)
• Fun Travel TV Show (February 8, 2013): Peninsula Hot Springs: A must do experience
• Peninsula Weekly (August 27, 2012): Brothers spring into education project

References:
[1] Ah Chee, D. (n.d.) Indigenous people's connection with kwatye (water) in the Great Artesian Basin
(Save and exchange .aspx file extension with .pdf)

Fixing the hangover

Just a couple of pics to celebrate the new year ...:

Angseri, Bali, Indonesia. Source

'Perfect hangover fix #hotsprings'

Klongthom, Krabi, Thailand. Source

'The sulfuric hot spring of Malpog, Buenavista! #marinduque #friends #adventure #hotsprings #getaway'

The Philippines sourced from vncntarns

'Ardent hot spring Being Cute #hotsprings #volcano #camiguin #philippines'

Source

'not exactly the hot springs spa day I pictured but so totally amazing! was bribed by the Balinese police for not having my license on me and had to hand over all my money, so I didn't have any cash by the time I got to Lake Batur. was sitting roadside thinking of what to do and a nice guy stopped to help. he ended up offering to lead me to the #local hot springs. wow! I got to hang out with 2 daddies and 3 babies in a tiny bathing pool surrounded by #trash. the #authentic experience, indeed! :) #hotsprings #fun #bali #adventure'

Yet again Bali, Indonesia source

Wish all soakers a happy 2014 !!!!

Soaring skyward

'#throwback #sunday #hotspring #emeraldpool #aonang #bff'

Taken in Klongthom, Krabi, Thailand. Source

The northern hemisphere is slowly becoming colder; the time of year to seek the heat of mother earth herself.

It's also time to recap the year. 
Little original content has been added to this site itself; such is life. But the regular updates besides capturing some pan-Asian soaking highlights seems gradually evolving into a number of themes:
- geothermal power development versus local soaking rights
- excessive development of hot springs
- (traditional) bathing traditions
- innovative ways of using earth heat

On other related sites, this year have seen their own developments. The Himalaya site has seen a number of original posts reworked and kept up-to-date. In this and the Thailand site have seen a number of photo posts.

Most of the effort though, has been directed to the Europe site, with a good number of original posts culminating in an overview of supposedly Europe's most natural soaks. Possibly the European Natural Soaking Society may well become the flag-bearing site. My own time for long-distance travel is very limited and the few remaining really natural soaking sites remaining in Europe may well need my fullest attention ...

Fiesta
But back on subject. The hot spring season in North (and Southeast?) Asia is under way. 

With a couple photo's of models (or sexy girls as this website believes) chinatraveltips notes:

'The 6th China Huangshan Mountain international hot spring culture festival kicked off on November 18, 2013'.

Hot spring culture = couple of female models splashing? 

Another hot spring festival, this time in Fuzhou - Lianjiang, China. Originally from China Daily (Oct. 30). What does a festival look like: 

'The guests enjoyed dance and singing performances from Russia, Spain, Taiwan and Fuzhou, and also had the opportunity to relax at the hot springs at Gui’an Xishan resort hotel after the show'.

Southeast Asia lagging in this party (thankfully?)?

Follow the leader

The Jakarta Post (Nov. 6) describes the Philippines as an example to follow in the field of geothermal power:

'Indonesia does not have to look very far to find the best way to tap geothermal energy, which potentially is located in protected, remote forests.

As Indonesia struggles to find a balance between the development of geothermal resources, forest conservation, and development, the Philippines has shown how that can be achieved.

...

Agnes de Jesus, senior vice president for environment and external relations at the Energy Development Corporation — the Philippines’ largest geothermal power producer — recalled similar challenges in 1988 when the Philippine government decided to build geothermal power plants in the middle of Mount Apo Natural Park following the El Nino weather phenomenon that reduced hydropower generation.

The plan was highly controversial at that time, de Jesus said, citing the lack of legal basis to establish plants in a conservation area, which is also an ancestral domain for indigenous people.

“We conducted scientific surveys on the site to asses the environmental impact and held many consultations with stakeholders to explain about the project,” she said. It took four years for the project to start after securing approval from indigenous people and a presidential decree that granted exploitation permits in the forested area'.

The example is thus an example in the way government appeases investors. But with energy dependency as the winner.

More news (Indonesia-investments.com, Oct 22) for potential investors in Indonesia's geothermal power. A law is actually being drawn up concerning development of geothermal energy. This would be an improvement as currently geothermal power falls under mining laws.

Harking on this is an earlier article in the Jakarta Globe (Oct. 27). It explains the intricacies of a geothermal project in Lampung, Sumatra:

'Locals should be consulted on the development of the geothermal power plant being planned near Mount Rajabasa in South Lampung regency so that it will not spark controversy and be rejected by indigenous people living in the surrounding areas, a minister has said'.

A Turkish company has shown interest in geothermal power nearby (Republika, Oct. 26). And then the Jakarta Globe also reports (Oct. 7) on Japanese investment in Indonesia's geothermal power.
So it looks like geothermal power generation in Indonesia is gathering steam.

  

Meanwhile, the typhoon which struck so devastatingly central  Philippines, also affected the Leyte geothermal  power generation. This article (interaksyon, Nov. 19) mentions 4 power stations affected with capacity potential of over 600 MW. though since, some have been reactivated.
Coincident or not CNN's money has 3 minute highlight on exactly Leyte.

Culture II 

Over the past months Thailand has seen it's great public debate: are the many Chinese tourists a bane or boon?

It starts with this little knowledge. That the Chinese authorities are aware of their abroad citizens. And how they behave (as they are at home). The Bangkok Post (Oct. 3) :

'The National Tourism Administration publicised its 64-page Guidebook for Civilised Tourism - with illustrations to accompany its list of dos and don'ts - on its website ahead of a "Golden Week" public holiday that started on Tuesday. ...
It also urged them not to occupy public toilets for long periods of time or leave footprints on the toilet seat. Nor should they urinate in swimming pools'.

!!!! Nice.

The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai sees the brunt of of the Chinese influx; it forms the backdrop to a popular tv comedy in China. But the Lanna citizens are not all happy (Bangkok Post, Oct. 13):

'But despite the large sums of money these tourists bring, many local business owners complain about the travellers' uncouth behaviour _ spitting on the street, failing to flush the toilet, pushing in and any number of messy dining habits'. 

The article rolls out a complete gambit of every possible problem the Chinese are the source of. This involves the above but also low spending culture, BYO, poor driving, extensive haggling, etc. Thankfully no reports from local hot springs ... As of yet.

Than the Bangkok Post reports on October 25 on the nearly 100% increase in tourists from China. The arguments contra are for instance that the Chinese guests hardly spend any money as most of the souvenirs available in Thailand are made in China! Inappropriate behaviour is another argument. Example provided:

'I have some first-hand experience of Chinese manners. During a stay in a Pattaya hotel, I saw a group of Chinese tourists, who were walking back from the beach, stop by the hotel's swimming pool to wash  their feet. Needless to say, this upset the swimmers'.

Well, next year will probably see another flavour: Indians? Americans? Rwandi? What will the complaints be then?

And totally different. Japan thinks that soaking is passè. The answer (Reuters, Nov. 23) to keeping towns dependent on their hot springs is to open casinos!

'In contrast to the massive resorts of Las Vegas and Singapore, aspiring hosts outside the big cities are looking to the more compact facilities of Europe as a guide.
The German spa town of Baden-Baden, which also has casinos, is serving as a model for casino proponents in two traditional hot springs towns - Atami, in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Naruto, in southwestern Japan's Tokushima Prefecture'.

Asian affairs 

• Indonesia

A blog features a beautiful look at the highlands of Bali. 
This includes a walk to Angseri hot spring. 
Source: heyitsksh.

Another find? Tinggi Raja, North Sumatra was visited by the Green family (Nov 7). Is it soakable? Possibly too hot!

Jeff Low has a photographic feature on Manggaruda, hot spring, Flores, Indonesia (Oct. 24). Here's just one of the photo's:

A good report (bygetupandleave, Sep. 11) on climbing Rinjani volcano, Lombok, Indonesia. Note the ability to take a soak after the climb near the crater rim. And the photo's:

The amazing hot spring!

• Malaysia

An extensive report (The Star, Nov. 16) to the little disturbed forests of Ulu Meda in Kedah, Malaysia:

'How can a vacation ever be complete without a trip to the hotsprings? Indeed, after a five minute boat ride upstream, Hymeir led us into a place called Sira Ayer Hangat, which literally meant Hot Water Salt Lick. He guided us into a shallow stream, pointing out safe spots to step as certain spots had hot scalding water! Downstream, the hot spring water mixed with the cooler river to created a perfectly warm swimming area.

On a sandbar in the middle of the stream, steam rose from the ground. A wispy white substance coated the areas where hot water from a hidden spring wept straight from the sands into the surrounding stream'. 

Sira Ayer Hangat literally means ‘Hot Water Salt Lick’. It’s frequented by wildlife.

It continues:

'... once, a visiting government official saw the area and thought of turning it into a commercialised spa. Fortunately, this didn’t come to pass as it would not only have damaged the environment, but also would have driven the animals away. Besides, there were hot springs nearer towns outside the Ulu Muda conservation area'.

Hurrah!

Lest some forget, the Borneo Post (Nov. 17) mentions the existence of a hot spring in it's own backyard, Panchor Dayak:

'There is one in our own backyard – Panchor Hot Spring, nestled in lush secondary jungle at Kampung Panchor Dayak, Mile 27, along the old Kuching-Serian Road.
Here, one can enjoy the invigorating effects of a natural hot spring without having to travel thousands of miles or paying a huge sum for it.
...

In terms of facilities, Panchor Hot Spring offers quite the minimaL. There is a main wooden structure housing a canteen, a sitting place, shower rooms as well as toilets. From here, a wooden plank walk leads to the pools with a natural ambiance.

What can be easily overlooked is perhaps is the totally green jungle backdrop where tropical animals and birds may sometimes be spotted.

During a recent visit, I spotted two different types of birds — a green-whitish one which winged down a tree but soared skyward almost instantly in one swift motion, and a blue-greyish pair which fluttered among some fallen branches towards the bushes, lingering long enough for their pictures to be taken'.

And then stated matter of factly:

'Fully aware of Panchor Hot Spring’s immense tourism potential, the government already has plans to develop the place into something bigger and better — with piped water and electricity, villas, hostels and barbecue facilities.

According to Jeffrey (Layut), work has already begun.

“You can see the trees have been felled to give way for the villas and other facilities. We hope the upgrading can be completed as soon as possible so that this place will be better equipped to draw more visitors,” he said'.

Government thinking: sod nature, bigger = better!

• Philippines

Maquinit may sit high in Southeast Asia's popularity polls, but this visitor laments:

'The lack of shower is what prompted out friend Rupert that it is expensive, especially because no maintenance effort is needed for the water to fill thr pools. "Ni di sila nagbabayad ng NAWASA" added Rupert'.

• Singapore

In Singapore off the beaten track? Ourbigexpatadventure reports on Singapores only hot spring source:

'It was an interesting and quirky adventure!'

Sembawang hot spring, Singapore. Enjoy? From instagram jeromekg

• Vietnam

Vietnamplus lists the big 7 hot springs of northern Vietnam. In no particular following: Kim Boi, Than Thuy, My Lam, Ban Moong, Kenh Ga, Quang Hanh and Tien Lang.

Further afield

Bhutan. The hot springs of Dunmang are deteriorating, so reports BBS (Oct. 25). The report comes complete with a video of this beautiful hot spring. One problem: there is only 1 toilet. It apparently sees more and more visitors without any facilities available.

An upscale opening, the Angsana spa Tengchong in western Yunnan, China (Sep. 27).

A report from the end of last year. Chinese officials in the region of Inner Mongolia tired of the ever increasing amount of officials coming. So reports wantchinadaily:

'The end of the year is a peak time for officials to make inspection tours. A deputy head of a county in Inner Mongolia famous for its hot springs said he received 10 groups of guests in a single day. As a visit to the baths is considered a sine qua non, a local official paid eight visits to the baths with different groups. He was so exhausted that he decided to wait in the bath without getting up and putting on his clothes as he received the last groups for the day day'.

Slightly dated, even Lonely Planet is picking up the vibe from natural soaks. It has an article named Hot spring hunting in the Southwest USA. Most mentioned though are more upmarket soaks, though apparently Verde hot springs is known for it's remoteness and alfresco bathing! Yeah.

#bali #kintamani #batur #hotspring #lake #mountain

Enjoying Bali, source.

Still the same?

 Poring hot spring, Sabah, Malaysia. Instagrammed by krrsabah:

#poringhotspring #ranau #sabah

Change

A few years have passed since the last listing of popular Southeast Asian hot springs. So maybe a new overview is required.

During the past years, some soaks have gained in popularity as tourism in the region booms and shifts. Others soaks have seen a wane in popularity.

But trends in publicizing soaks and putting them on the net have also changed.

So making a list will result in changes and surprises.

Sharing

I have tried to include more current data than in the past, limiting for instance google searches to the past year. Including instagram helps.

But despite all the changes, as you can see below the hot springs of Poring remains top as was the case in 2 and 4 years back. Ergo, it must be very popular. Or so bad that everybody wants to share it!

1.   Poring           (Sabah, Malaysia) 98 pt (positions in 2011-2009: 1st-1st)

2.   Ardent           (Philippines) 80 pt (3-3)

3.   Maquinit        (Philippines) 78 pt (x-6)

4.   Sari Ater        (Java, Indonesia) 64 pt (x-x)

5.   Thap Ba         (Vietnam) 61 pt (7-x)

6.   Banjar           (Bali, Indonesia) 55 pt (4-5)

7.   Sungai Klah   (Malaysia) 50 pt (6-2)

8.   Pai                (Thailand) 43 pt (-)

9.   Puning           (Philippines) 36 (-)

      Binh Chau      (Vietnam) 36 (10-x)

Other noteworthy changes: Fang (Thailand) has disappeared all together despite a high ranking in previous lists, while Asin (Philippines) has also dropped away (from 5th) and would now be 11th. 

Odd is also that while using the same method Sankampaeng was recently ranked no. 1 in Thailand, the no. 2 in that list now ends higher, which is due to comparative ranking.

Pop

Which brings us to bias. The above of course is not free of bias.

For instance, shorter names are favoured over longer names. 

As previously stated in the previous  polls, language plays a large role as nearly all but Filipino citizens publish in their own language (English) so it´s quite natural to see hot springs from the Philippines doing well. Compare with Thap Ba which sees probably more tourists but less references as most of the tourists are Russians. 
There is a better overview of possible bias from the 2009 listing.

But despite this I do believe it is a fair representation. Of internet popularity.

Note though that it only is a list of popular places. Poring for instance despite it´s mentions is not well reviewed. I looked up all the reviews of the above soaks and note that based on quality, Thap Ba and Sankampaeng are ranked with 4.5* in Tripadvisor, while Poring and Puning have 3,5*. Maquinit, Ardent, Sari Ater, Banjar, Pai and Asin all have 4*.

So it´s more a potential list of hot spring areas to visit. Not necessarily a list of hot springs to visit.

Campagnal hot spring, Leyte island, Philippines. Leyte was in the eye on the super typhoon.

Odd caption to the photo (source)with buildings:

'The rugged and exotic beauty of sitio Campagal hot spring in Brgy Robas remains undefiled'.

Sources of comparison:

instagram, google search (past 12 months), google blog search (past 12 moths), bing, flickr, tripadvisor & youtube

Publications: Cathedrals of the Flesh

Alexia Brue's 2003 first touch at a fully fledged book takes us by the hand and explores her own introduction to Europe's public bathing culture. Public, intimate (or not) she gives us a good insight into why we (used to?) value collective bathing.

Initially, Alexia sets out on an adventure to literally soak up what the makings are of a perfect setting for a bathhouse which may be located in New York city. Starting off in a Parisian steam bath, she becomes accustomed to and acquainted with the Istanbuli hammam, the Russian banya (both traditional and upmarket) and the Finnish love of everything sauna. The insights into their bathing folklore are complimented by a thoroughly readable journey into each countries culture and an increasingly in-depth revelation into the author herself as she jots down what would make her search for the holy grail perfect.

Interspersed by a personal historical account into Greek and Roman bathing, the journey ends in the soakers heaven of Japan, where she visits the tradional sento as well as what she hoped for: the most paradise-like onsen. 

On a hopeful note we take notice of her talk with one of New York's bathhouse owners. Will she have accomplished the mission she set out on?

It comes as no surprise that the author's journey has evolved and Alexia Brue is now regarded as an expert on wellness issues. Together with a colleague journalist she has been running the Well+Good NYC website ("Your healthiest relationship"), a premier source of info (million hits per month!) on wellness for New Yorkers.

A must read for soakers? This would be a giving a bit too much importance to this book, but all-in-all it's very easy to read, enjoyable and certainly entices readers to jump in and enjoy a thorough public bath. Forget the everyday worries and just immerse oneself. 

The book includes a resource guide which acts as an intro to entice followers of the flesh cathedrals, be they seekers of man-(or better said woman-)made public baths or naturally occurring hot springs.

Readers reviews have sought to tend to award five stars, as I would. Amazon readers give it 4.4 stars, Goodreads comes to 3.72 stars, while Google's books comes to just a shade short of 4 stars.

Hotsprung has her own review in which she emphasizes the insight she gets as well as the sense of adventure Cathedrals of the Flesh evokes.

Soakers worldwide should note that this book does not look into hot springs exclusively, but more into heat, water and bathing. 

And as would be expected there are no Southeast Asian connections ...

Reference:

Brue, A. (2003) Cathedrals of the Flesh - My search for the perfect bath. Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom.