Liebe ♨

Namaste #hibokhibok #mambajao #camiguin #Philippines #lonesometraveler #hotspring #spring #meditation #yoga #waterfalls #nature #river #water #namaste #ardenthotspring #mount

Ardent hot spring, source.

A whirlwind tour by pictures through the region, how many countries featured?

#FotoRus #ESPA #hotspring #tabanan #holiday  

The Balinese baths of ..., source. 

#Amazing#holiday ... I love the #sun and the #goodweather ... Ich liebe die #Sonne und das gute Wetter ... #outdoor#hotspring#enjoy#travel#relax 

Banjaran, Perak, Malaysia; source

Flashing

That's three, back to the Philippines:

 

 

 Di ra gyud mo masakpan mangihi sa kaiinit sa tubig diri. #vsco #nature #hotspring #travelph #adventure #vscobeau #mountain #trek #cebu

source

T minus 2 days until #bikini all day errday #flashback #nhatrang #vietnam #thermalpool #vacay #2014 #theblackfloatythingismeanttobeThere

source 

Then another from Vietnam at the Yangbay waterfall, likewise near Nha Trang. I once visited this place but couldn't find the hot spring. Since though development has resulted in the construction of this pool:

#горячиеисточники #термальныеисточники #родоновыеванны #мояжизнь #длятелаидуши #экопарк #ЯнгБей #моревпечатлений #Природа #Вьетнам #thermalbaths #mylife #ecopark #YangBay #nature #Vietnam #travel #traveler #travelphoto

source

Thaistyle?

But first to the baths of Burma:

Hot spring

To be more precise South Burma, flickr member Jumbokedama

Vi prøvede varme kilder i dag! #hotsprings #norththai #thaibali2015

Not often pictured hot spring, at Pha Daeng National Park, Chiang Dao, Chiang Mai province, .... Thailand. source  

Hot #me #talailandia #rain #amazing #place #naturalhotwater #nature #holiday #thai #thaistyle #pai

source

Don't go chasing waterfalls just stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to @laratyssel #hotsprings #rinjani

Hot spring on Rinjani volcano, Lombok island, Indonesia. source

... six.

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

Jungle soak

Spafinder has announced what they expect to be this years hot trends in the wellness industry. Number one is 

'forest bathing'.

In this they mean taking up the senses as perceived from a forest. Japanese evidence suggest that such a (dry) bath results in a great way to deal with stress of modern day life (think screen bathing, i.e. staring at the computer all day) and depression. 

Over here on Soaking in Southeast Asia we have translated this trend into jungle soaks! What better to combine mother natures best elements with a real hot bath.

To start the year off:

My second favorite spot in Camiguin (white island's the first of course) Ardent Hot Spring #vscocam #hotspring #camiguin #teamcamiguin #bestfriends #wanderlust #travel #YGNtravel

Philippines, source

Liven er hård#Thaisland#hotspring#kopkunkap#

Klongthom, Krabi, Thailand. Source

chilling out in a mildly hot spring

Pai hot springs, northern Thailand, Mae Hong Son province. From the blog Andywanderstheworld.

Panas panas panas #wisata#airpanas#guci#tegal#INDONESIA

Guci hot spring, Central Java, source

 

 #hotspring #bidayuh #bethany #annahrais 

Annah Rais, Sarawak, Malaysia, source

Adakah ini dinamakan The Rock? #سبحان #اللّه #LaHotSpring #11November2014 #Nature #Nature #Semulajadi

Kuala Teranganu, Malaysia, source

Sharing

Hot springs are hoottt #hothothot#thailand#pai#travel#hotsprings

source

Spell bound

The last post on this blog concerned the Top 10 hottest hot springs in Southeast Asia for 2014. The biggest surprise is the strength of Thailand's Pai hot spring. The Bangkok Post (Dec. 15) helps with explaining the rise:

'The hit Chinese comedy Lost in Thailand (2012) made Chiang Mai a hot destination for tourists from China, and now it is weaving its spell to revive the fortunes of Mae Hong Son province, particularly Pai district.

...

"Pai is now like a mini Chiang Mai that Chinese tourists feel they must experience. Now we see many Chinese women dressed for pre-wedding photo sessions, riding motorcycles, taking photos and sharing them on social media," Mr Sobthana [director of the Mae Hong Son office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand] says'.

Luckily not all of them are heading for the hot springs ...

Meanwhile the number 1 in the list, Poring hot spring (Sabah, Malaysia), is set for some competition from the hot spring of Rugading, so reports the Malaysia's Daily Express (Nov. 17). The article however fails to describe what competing means; Rugading's owner in the article actually believes his hot spring is better located and more natural. With hardly any facilities and a small two by two cement pool, that may be an understatement.

Hot Springs in Tambun, Malaysia. #hotsprings #traveling #malaysia

 source

Cynical
Then we get to the hot spring varia. Alas mostly from out of the region.

A missed article from earlier this year just evidences how authorities in Zhejiang (China) are using sexist policies to attract most probably the wrong kind of clientele. WantChinaTimes (Jul. 27) reports: 

'The Sea Mud Festival on Xiushan island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, has become an instant hot topic after 30 Miss China Tourism Cultural World contestants in bikinis visited the festival and got down in the mud on July 21'.

How to react? 

'In response to criticism, the organizers denied using cynical publicity tactics and reminded visitors to appreciate the benefits to health and well-being of playing in mud instead of just looking at girls in bikinis'.

Small bathing cubicles? Hot spring owners in Yilan county’s Jiaosi Town, Taiwan are thinking about denying singles a singular soak, so reports the Taipei Times (Dec. 7). 

'Some hot spring owners say they are afraid of individuals using independent pool rooms as it is possible the users might suffer cardiac arrest and drown, and the establishment would be unable to provide the emergency treatment that could save their lives'.

The solution may be all too apparent:

'While the Hefong group’s Jiaosi establishment does not refuse independent pool service to single customers, it is a rule for employees to check up on customers every 20 minutes to half an hour by knocking on the door and only leaving after receiving a response, Hsiao [Hefong Resort Hotel group’s Jiaosi branch general manager] said, adding that there are emergency buttons in the rooms as well'.

source: flanaganbrothers

'Elves' Hot Spring Hot Tub

After the rush leading up to Christmas, the elves need a place to relax. They chill out at their Hot Spring Hot Tub up at the North Pole! Not only does the warm water keep them warm, but the heat from the fireplace keeps the air nice and toasty as well!

(Unfortunately none of the elves own swimsuits, so they're stuck with their everyday clothes. Oh well, a jacket and flannel it is...)

P.S. Sorry, I don't have any alternate images, rendering took long enough as it is, darn translucent bricks. :P'.

Australia? Big country, less soaking opportunities. A belated find, but Pretraveller lists ten of Australia's best. With very good information.

A nice report on the earlier ages of Japan's onsens. As documented on Ukiyoe, woodblock prints.

'"Nanayu no Shiori," a guidebook on seven Hakone spas, maintained the no-nonsense approach when it was published in 1811. It reminds readers that hot springs are "not places to go and entertain yourself," said Yusuke Nosaka, chief curator at the Hakone Local Museum.

However, around the time "Nanayu no Shiori" came out, the hot-spring tradition was already shifting. Another book, "Hakone Onsenshi" (The History of Hakone Hot Springs), hints at how baths became mainstream tourist destinations'.

Gaming and hot springs. Japan's sees quite a lot of computer games taking place in or around hot springs, it's not that special. But now there's a new version of Pokemon ORAS a role playing game for Nintendo. The most recent version though has some scene changes: apparently the onsen with naked bathing grannies has been cleared! Kotaku (Nov. 22):

'But now on Twitter, people are reporting that the grannies are gone:
That’s a shame and makes the onsen seem so lonely. But, from the looks of it, at least you can ride your bicycle into the hot springs!
Online in Japan, some commenters are saying this happened because of the mixed bathing, that the old ladies have apparently been cut. Or perhaps the better graphics are to blame? Or maybe, as one Twitter user suggests, they’re still in Pokémon X/Y‘s Kalos region? Others say it’s because the grandmas are now bathing somewhere else: Heaven'.

Sari Ater Hot Spring  

The ladies soak in the water all covered up to protect their modesty

 Source: -Yapster-

Hot springs of Canada, 3rd edition: a review

An Australian report (Nov. 9) on a visit to the Banyan Tree's Rainforest Spa on Samui, Thailand.

Excerpts:

'How refreshing, then, to visit a spa where shrieks, roars of laughter and happy chatter are encouraged, with the focus as much on having fun as winding down.

...

The 'bathhouse' concept remains popular in Europe, where 'taking the waters' became fashionable during the Jane Austen era; while the Japanese and Koreans have long appreciated a good soak. In South-East Asia, however, water therapy is still fairly unexplored territory.

Unlike most spa treatments, The Rainforest works brilliantly as a group experience. Both male and female guests are welcome to use the facility, so it's perfect for couples, friends or even families. And unlike bathhouses in other parts of the world, swimsuits are de rigueur, eliminating those uncomfortable moments of body insecurity'.

Ha!

Elsewhere the same source reports (Nov. 21) on China's claim of the world's largest spa resort:

'I am about to find out at Mission Hills Resort, located on the island of Hainan, China, which holds the Guinness Book of World Records title of "World's Largest Mineral Springs Resort", clocking in at 88 square kilometres.

...

My room in the 18-storey main building overlooks the mineral springs, 168 pools of naturally warm water.

...

Mission Hills may be mass market relaxation but it is done with flair and an eye on traditional cultural references. This resort did not get to be a premier golfing destination just by breaking records. It wants to makes sure you come back for the experience not just to say you have been to the biggest, but also the best.

The writer stayed as a guest of Mission Hills'.

Hmmm, ....

From kickstarter, Nomasoak: 

'Weighing in at 45lbs. in total, the Nomasoak can go just about anywhere there’s water. In about an hour, you will be sitting in 100 gallons of blissfully hot water. Hopefully with an amazing view of something. And if your view isn’t that great, you can move on'. 

Still seems a bit of a lug ...

Hot Springs #thanhtan #hotsprings #vietnam #thebuffalorun #buffalogirls @katrinaluder @sophiekiddle90

source

Finally, a snippet from an experience in Indonesia. From tripadvisor (Oct. 16) an insight on one of the Dieng plateau's (Java) hot springs:

'Some locals brought us to the hot springs where everyone bathes however be warned, I got a bad fungal infection from swimming in there. Water is not clean, lots of people wash every day in there, mothers clean babies bottoms and people blow their nose. The bathes do not get emptied and it is a great breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. I would say if you have an open wound or you are a female don't go in. Otherwise very interesting experience'.

Red tape

Singapore's Business Times (Nov. 21) has an extensive article on Indonesia's geothermal potential.

'... progress has been slow due to red tape, uncompetitive power tariffs and uncertainty over asset ownership. The 25 years it has taken from the planning stage to breaking ground on its latest project show the formidable barriers the sector faces.

...

The US$1.6 billion Sarulla project in North Sumatra, the world's biggest, saw construction start this year, 25 years after it was first planned, delayed largely by a lack of finance and red tape'.

Thinkgeoenergy (Dec. 12) notes discussions are taking place in the Philippines on how to resolve locals claims on hot spring resource .

Kahit anong #lamig ang dala ng #bagyo, nananatili pa rin ang #init sa #puso ko. #hotspring #murcia #negros #nature #sulfur #spring #travel #explore

source

Insane

The Top 10 of Southeast Asia's most popular hot springs for 2014. 

In listing this top 10 I have used relative scores between soaks depending on number of references from google over the last year, instagram, youtube, twitter, pininterest, tripadvisor, flickr and tumblr. 

Counting down, hot springs just outside the top 10 are the Filipino soak of Mambukal, Singapore's Sembawang, Bali's Toya Bungkah, Java's Cipanas, Lombok's Rinjani and Sarawak's Annah Rais.

New
10 (newcomer) Fang, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

One of the few popular hot springs still in a natural setting, visitors destined for Fang are more interested in what to see rather than taking the waters themselves.

source:

'a geyser shot up on cue every so often'

9 (newcomer) Tambun (Perak, Malaysia)

A typical destination for day visitors, Tambun offers many pools with cheap catering opportunities: a hit for the many visitors.

 

'Last but not least, the bloggers at the Crystal Pool. The Crystal Pool at Lost World Hot Springs & Spa is specially designed with crystal tiles thatglimmers reflecting the sunlight by day. And by night the Crystal Pool will be bathed in colorful lights which would make a dip in this pool interesting and relaxing'.

Source 

8 Banjaran (Perak)

Another Malaysian newcomer this year, the hot spring resort of Banjaran is Southeast Asia's premier exclusive hot spring destination: one visits here for the photo-op so as to show off to the less fortunate ...

 source

需要充电! #relax #swimmingpool #pool #romantic #getaway #surprise #banjaranhotsprings #ipoh #tagsforlikes #sweet #thebanjaranhotspringsretreat #happy #retreat #vacation #ipohcityawesome #ilovemylife #instagood #instalove #chillax #mountain #cave #travel #natureporn #naturelovers #nature #freedom

The mid terms
7 (2013: 4) Sariater, Indonesia

Sariater is a rambling and popular leisure park surrounding the hot springs, close to Bandung, Java.

 

source

6 (6) Banjar (Bali, Indonesia)

Probably one of the most authentic of the developed hot springs in Southeast Asia, Banjar's delicately decorated hot springs are a magnet for locals and tourists as well.

'In hot spring with greenish - yellow sulphurous water which is supposed to be therapeutic for skin conditions. The hot water is considered sacred by the locals. Water is about 35-40 °C but it feels good even in these hot days'. 

source

5 (5) Thap Ba (Nha Trang)

Vietnam's premier beach side resort caters to ever increasing numbers of tourists, who can't fail to enjoy the local mud baths slash hot springs.

'#mudbath #nhatrang #thapbaspa'

source 

4 (2) Ardent (Philippines)

Combining enhanced spring pools in a lush jungle setting with cheap accommodation makes this an ever popular destination for locals and tourists visiting the island of Camiguin.

source

Number two's

Surprisingly ex-aequo are Maquinit (Palawan, Philippines) which has moved up a notch compared to last year and the too hot to handle hot springs of Pai (Mae Hong Son, Thailand), rising 6 places.

Maquinit is the ultimate place to end a day of beach and island activities with large soaking pools in saltwater hot springs.

source

Meanwhile Pai's hot springs are still gaining attention from many a weary traveller who are discovery this quiet and idyllic corner of northeastern Thailand.

'#hotsprings #pai #hot #burnnnn #insane #mineralwater #healthy #thailand #summer #skin #nautral #love #romance #backpackers'

source
 

And yet again Southeast Asia's most popular soak is Poring (Sabah, Malaysia). Combining a visit with an intro to the surrounding jungle is still a must when visiting Sabah and photo snapping tourist from all over the world are happy to share.

Source