SPAVIS.

The I-Chung weather report has been calling for rain for the past week and it has been nothing less than sunny and hot- maybe a few hours of overcast, but still... no rain. I guess that even on the other side of the world the Meteorologists still don't really have to know what they are talking about.

So this past weekend, our first with no work really, we were bummed by the prospect of rain so upon waking on Saturday morning, with our first ever Soju hangover (I am told these can last up to two days) we were really excited to see clear skies. We decide to go on an adventure and explore the area around us.

Task#1- Figure out the public transportation system. We decide to go to Asan, famous for it's hot springs, spas, botanical garden, large lake and raw fish restaurants; and only a 25min train ride away. When we get to the station, with an abnormal amount of stairs, we are told to take the subway, it's comes more frequently then the train. A man helps us purchase tickets at the machine and points to the track we need to wait on. We board the very nice, very clean, very spacious subway. Then the one other American in sight comes over to us to make sure we know what we're doing... because I guess from the looks of it we don't at all. He tells us we need to transfer. Thank you, nice man. Anyway, we make it to Asan.

Task#2- Where do we go and how do we get there? There is a rather large map with beautiful pictures of all the different tourist destinations; Buddhist temples, hot springs, waterfalls, spas!! I am so excited I want to go to every place on the map. We are bombarded by taxis everywhere we turn. We jump in one with no real plan. We manage to tell the guy, through excessive miming, that we want to swim, I think. He seems to get it and seems to know where we want to go... so, we are on our way. A lake? A hot spring? A spa? We're not quiet sure. But... we did bring our bathing suits! ^^ 20 mins and 20,000 won later we are dropped off, seemingly, in the middle of nowhere. When we look up, we see we are at ... SPAVIS spa paradise.

Let me just tell you a little bit about this experience: it is... interesting. pretty cool. definitely different. Once we pay our admission fee we are given a bracelet to wear with a number on it. The number will correspond to our locker numbers. A separate locker for our shoes of course, and then the main locker- in the giant locker room. The bracelet is used to scan, to unlock the lockers and we find out later, to charge things. Genius. So... the locker room and attached amenities; indoor spa with a steam room, a hot coal sauna, an even hotter coal sauna, and at least 5 or 6 hot baths filled with different aromatic things, jets or no jets. Of course we don't know exactly what these things are or what they do to you because we can't read what is says on each sign next to the baths. There are showers everywhere, and a massage room. It is very nice, and big, like a very expensive country club.... an expensive, nudist, country club. I always wanted to see what it would be like to experience a nudist colony. Now I know. Except, men and women are separated here, of course. Lynn and I feel modest with our bathing suits on. But outside... you can't have enough clothing on. I don't know if it is because of the sun or because outside men and women roam together. But jees... fully dressed, in the pool. I'm talking long sleeves and all. Not everyone of course, but most women are well covered. Now I need a shirt.

Outside there is a wave pool, water slides, more hot baths with minerals in them, a water park for kids, food stands, a lazy river, a bade pool and a fish therapy pool... we don't try this yet, but we definitely will at some point. Everyone MUST wear a life-vest also. We find this out by getting chased by a scantily clad lifeguard into the 4 foot deep wave pool. Common. But, we go with it, we're already here right. We obtain a life-vest and a bathing cap and go play. We looked awesome, sorry no pics- no cams.

Task#3- Getting home. We decide to try and catch a bus thinking it will be cheaper than the taxi, plus, we're not really sure how to get a taxi out here. The woman at the front desk kindly writes down the bus times for us and directs us to the nearest stop. After waiting 30mins for the bus to arrive we are promptly told 'no' by the driver. I don't know if there was just a miscommunication, something lost in translation, or if we needed a special card, but we didn't get on the bus. We have a good two hours of sunlight left, so.... we truck it. It was a nice scenic walk

in the country and at times I really felt like I was upstate New York- mountains in the distance, random shacks off the road, piles of tires and roaming chickens... and random roadside chopper/bar establishments. Eventually we hail a cab and get dropped off at the station. We make it back around 10pm missing the 'meet-up' dinner we were planning on attending. I'm pretty much shot anyway and plus, we have a year to meet people, right? Sunday consists of basking on the roof, reading and of course... Jack. xo