Spaland
Friday, February 1st, 2013 – Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
On Friday night I went to Korean BBQ for the third
time. I met with a friend I made
in Jujitsu class. We met in
another popular nightlife area that was a convenient location because it was
between where we both live. This
place is called Seomyeon and it is a popular place for Koreans to eat dinner or
go out. It was my first time
seeing it at night, which is always exciting! Some foreigners go out there but mostly foreigners who have
Korean friends.
Every time I have been to Korean BBQ it has always involved
pork but in a slightly different form.
We ordered a ton of meat and then we took all of the sides (kimchi,
garlic, bean sprouts, sauce) and made it into a stir-fry concoction and wrapped
it in lettuce with rice, it was delicious! I definitely ate too much!!
This is an example of the different forms of pork you can order. Thinly sliced, thick, smaller pieces, marinated pork (not in the picture), etc.
Saturday I met Aimee and we went to The Busan Museum. It is a history museum and has the full
history of how Busan has come to the city it is today. The museum was very impressive. The admission was free; we were there
for almost two hours and only covered half of the museum. They also give you an audio set to
explain all of the exhibits in English.
It was really Interesting hearing about the history between Busan and
Japan. Some of the exhibits were
also very life-like and helped with the visual stimulation and improved my
overall experience.
Proof they did plastic surgery thousands of years ago. It was considered better to have a flat forehead.
After the museum, on our way out we noticed a little naturesque
area. We decided to explore it a
little. It was so rare to see any
nature that you need to take advantage of it when you can. We continued exploring and found an
entire park area! The park did not
have an open concept like most parks I am familiar with but it had different
sections and it was really nice. A
little stream, a green house, trees, sculptures and paths, it was a really nice
surprise. I hope to return when
all of the flowers are in bloom!
That night I met with Casey and crew for more Korean BBQ!
Sunday, we had a 9:30am Jujitsu practice. Everyone else in the class was like,
Sunday 9:30am, no problem! And I
was like, we will see, since I am not a morning person and had the dinner plans
the night before. Of course I was
the first person to show up.
The class lasted until around 12:20pm because our teacher is
really passionate and normally the class runs late. After, as a group we went out for brunch/lunch by the beach.
Aimee and I had plans to go hiking, but the time pasted too
quickly. The girl I went for
Korean BBQ with Friday night was going to Spaland so we tagged along for our
first Jjimjilbang experience! It
worked out really well because we went with someone who knew what she was doing
and was familiar with the giant facility.
An idea of what the bathhouse looks like with no people (really nice, but not as nice as this picture)
What the main area looks like (it wasn't so dark, the normal lights were on)
Jjimjilbang’s are huge Korean bathhouses, which are very
popular in Korean. We went to the
newest and fanciest one we know of which is a part of Shinsegae department
store (the biggest department store in the world). It costs around $14 for 4 hours. It was very modern and chic. There are about 10 sauna rooms, all a different theme and
slightly different temperatures, there is a restaurant, a spa, footbaths,
lounge areas, TV and DVD areas, massage chairs, the actual bathhouse and the
list goes on. In the bathhouse,
there are 6 huge hot tubs you can sit in, all slightly different temperatures
and showers all along the edges of the room (including sit down showers). There are also a couple of really
luxurious looking hot tubs outdoors. The bathhouse section of Spaland is not
co-ed, the rest of the areas are.
The reason is because all of the women are nude. Aimee and I were also a bit hesitant on
that part of the experience, which is another reason it was good to have
someone with experience to push us outside of our comfort zone. You know what they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. For the co-ed sections, they give you a little outfit to wear. You can also pay to have someone scrub you from head to toe
and get rid of all your dead skin cells. People spend the night in some Jjimjibang's in Korean and use them for accommodation.
People watching TV
Lounge area
One of the themed sauna rooms
Another reason I consider Spaland to be modern is because of
the locker key. You have a key to
your locker, and that key is a bracelet to wear the entire time you are
there. You can charge things to
your bracelet and pay on your way out for any additional charges. We spent the entire four hours sitting
in the saunas and then going in the baths, and we were showered and clean by
the time we left, feeling extra relaxed and rejuvenated. It was a great way to spend a Sunday!
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