Purposeful Traveler

A traveler does not seek luxury of a facility, but how it facilitates our quality time with people. My travel treasure lies ahead during family trip; to another country, with another family. It was with my host family in Incheon, South Korea during my youth exchange program.

We went to Jjimjilbang Spa and Sauna, a famous Korean public bath experience. It’s open for 24 hours where it’s even prohibited for people to sleep! It's like another option for you who wants to spend an overnight in a place other than a hotel. Entering the spa, we were exposed to a gender-segregated public bathing. I paused for a minute or two, experiencing culture shock because I have never been in a public bath before!

The water temperature in the public bathing varies from hot till cold cold ones, up to 0 till 100 celsius degrees. The place was furnished with hot tubs, shower, sauna for therapeutic health, fitness rooms, karaoke room and even gaming room for kids. It is believed by bathing here can clean yourself from dirt sticking on your body. So be sure to prepare your itinerary by bringing a small nap and bathing kit. But the were also a grocery shop to bought the kit you will be needing there.

After the public bath, I joined the other family members in the unisex area, some kind of an indoor picnic. Since I came from Indonesia, I introduced them a traditional dance called “Saman” that requires a lot of clapping from our hands with other body parts. This dance is usually played together with a lot of people in a fast pace. That's why strong focus is really required. At the same time, my Korean family played the Korean clapping dance. It turns out that our moves was one of a kind, so we did a "Dance Battle" and I record a video of it! I feel engaged, as if I were a part of the Korean family.

There were diverse people starting from teens, families until elderly people. It would be suggested to join with your loved ones, because the place was really convenient for such quality conversations after relaxing yourself in the public bath. But it is also a great option for those who’re searching for a private alone time since the visitors here respects privacy. If you want to enter in a less crowded time, it would be recommended to come at noon instead since most people came to Jjimjilbang at midnight.

I wrapped the experience learning that you can feel alive in any kind of place encountered in your travel. I would come back to spend a quality time with my loved ones again!