100 Things I Love About Korea # 24: Bath Houses

Last night, our family went to the local bathhouse (aka sauna) and soaked in hot-tubs and generally relaxed.  Korean bath houses usually have a variety of tubs.  There are different temperatures (from almost ice to scalding) and different flavors.  I've seen green tea baths, a plethora of herbal baths, wooden edged, and even a soju bath, which is the most popular Korean alcohol.  There are also often a variety of saunas or hot rooms - wet, dry, and Sahara desert- melt your face off - hot.
Some of the nicer bathhouses even have out door hot-tubs.  One of my favorite Korean memories is of sitting with Michael Palmer in the outdoor hot-tub at Paradise Spa with thick snow flakes falling on our heads and feet.
For the small price of about four dollars, you can pamper yourself and ease your tensions for a few hours.  We all love it, but John David's favorite part is always the movable shower head without any limitations about getting water all over the place.
Oh, and by the way, everyone's naked - men and women in totally separate rooms.