SPA experience - China style
Trip Start
Feb 12, 2007
1
6
10
Trip End
Ongoing
Anshan, China
Saturday, February 24, 2007
When we walk through the doors we're greeted by two young ladies calling out in unison "kwei lin gong nee"...which is "Welcome" in Mandarin. Sarah's dad and I are ushered into the men's side and Sarah and her mom are ushered into the women's side. First thing they do is take your shoes and make you put on a pair of slippers. Then it's off to the locker room. On our way there, I get a glimpse of the place and see that it's like a mini resort...like nothing I've ever seen before! My future father-in-law (from now on referred to as F-F-I-L) starts to strip so I guess that's my cue to do the same...all the way down to your birthday suit. Great....I'm face to face with my future father-in-law...naked...and all they give you is a little face towel...not nearly enough to cover up what God has gifted me with. But I'm cool...it's not like I haven't seen a naked guy before. (I won't get into that right now.) I just didn't think I'd be seeing so much them at one time!!!
It's off to the showers and then into the sauna where we soak up the steam for a good 15 minutes. There's a plunge pool in the sauna but the water looks a little nasty and there's spit floating on top of the water...GROSS! I don't intend to take a dip in there no matter how dehydrated I get! As we're sitting there, I look out the window and realize that this place is HUGE! There is a small pool with TVs mounted so you can relax and watch TV, a whirlpool tub if you want to just soak, another outdoor pool, and rooms all around the facility for massages. And all around, you have naked guys walking about.
We're done with the sauna and head to one of the rooms off to the side. We get there and there's a couple of guys waiting to give us a massage. I don't know what I agree to but my F-F-I-L gets me a body scrub and a milk massage. Apparently, Sarah was getting the same treatment so he thought I might want the same thing. So I popped myself onto the table and lie face down hoping they'll cover up my heiny with a towel or something...no such luck! Oh well...close my eyes and just hope for the best. It's amazing how much dead skin they get off of you with the loofah! Kinda nasty if you think about it. I mean there was just piles of grey skin everywhere. Well...enough said. Then came the milk massage. Let me tell you....it was a VERY uncomfortable experience getting a massage from a male masseuse...while you're NAKED! There was no towel to cover your bits, you were laid out on the table and fully exposed. I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible so I could return to some form of decency. I really couldn't enjoy the massage too much being so self-conscious. I just had about 98% of my body massaged by a guy...but I kept reminding myself...these guys were professionals. After the massage, it's back in the sauna for a bit and then to the showers again. Finally, we get a full bath towel to dry off with. We then stroll over to an area where you can borrow or buy a set of pajamas. My F-F-I-L opts to buy us a set and when I put them on, I swear we look like some prisoners in a 1980's HK film...the cotton pajamas with the short sleeves and the pant legs up to the knees. All I needed was a number embroidered to my chest and that would have completed the outfit. As ridiculous as we looked, everyone else was dressed this way too...even the women.
We headed to the 2nd floor where they had lounge chairs...each equipped with a personal tv and blankets...just like first class on some airlines. It was very comfortable. The women didn't join us until about an hour later...they were still held up in the massage department...apparently, there's a longer wait with the women and they get facials with their package! When Sarah finally came to the lounge area we decided to get a foot massage. I noticed that the young women who were giving the foot massages were inappropriately dressed in schoolgirl outfits...at least that's what it looked like to me. Very odd indeed. When my masseuse started with my massage, she had to talk to Sarah who was sitting next to me in her lounge chair. She laughed when she heard I was a Chinese-American who couldn't speak Chinese. I guess it's pretty sad to not be able to speak the language. Anyway, that didn't stop her from giving me a great foot massage! When she was done with the foot, she started massaging my legs...and then my thigh. Right about then was when I started to get a little uncomfortable. Don't forget, I'm still going commando in these cotton pjs with the short pant legs. Sarah's sitting right next to me watching her TV and I'm over here trying to stare at my tv screen and not get overly excited while she's rubbing my thigh through my pant leg. Well, just as it's about to get Rated R, she finishes the leg and starts on the other foot. Thank God! I didn't want to embarrass myself there. I guess maybe that's why the guy a couple of seats away from me had the blankets over himself. Good thing I know something about self-control. =P So the same with the other side...
We're in the lounge area for a good 2-3 hours just relaxing, watching tv and eating our complimentary fruit cups. It's about 10:30pm and Sarah says there's a midnight snack buffet at 11pm. So when it's around that time, only me and Sarah's mom heads to the buffet area and find a seat. When it hits 11pm sharp, the buffet table lights up and the crowd makes a mad dash for the food. It's nothing outstanding but it's free food...who can resist that. We have a couple of plates of food and all the while I'm just observing everyone else in their pajamas walking around and enjoying themselves. There are moms with their daughters, entire families, guys with other guys, who knows what other combinations...but it seems to be a very normal experience to everyone else.
The facility has 4 floors, we only explored 2 of them. From the floor plan, there looked to be karaoke bars, a bowling alley?!, card rooms and other leisurely activities. This place is open 24 hours so I guess you can stay there overnight and partake in the breakfast buffet as well. There were still plenty of people there when we decided to leave around 12am. It's a nice way to spend a weekend...everything except for the excessive nudity.
Sorry no pictures included in this posting. =)
Comments
please pardon my reach
great story ray. cant wait to hear what's next. :D
What
No Happy ending! LOL ! Be safe...We are a phone call away! -the guys