Since our hotel room only has a shower, we went in search for a bath house. It was a little harder than I thought considering everyone saying they’re all over the place. I was afraid we’d find ourselves in a shady one. Luckily, my cousin knew just what we wanted and he took us to this huge bath house close to the Hong Qiao subway stop.
The bath house was in five story building. The first floor was the women’s bathing area and the second floor was the men’s. I heard the men’s bathing area has a really nice warm pool under an open sky, but there wasn’t one like that in the women’s area.
The women’s bathing area had one big warm pool in the middle and three smaller pools in the back. Of the three smaller pools, there was a warm one, a cold one, and a warm tea soak one. The warm tea soak one was the pool I spent most of my time in because it felt so good and relaxing.
All the other women using the services were naked, so I didn’t feel too weird being naked either, but it was still a bit awkward because the attendants in each room still were fully clothed. I spent a long time in the dry heat room and it felt good to sweat out all the toxins but it was so hot in there my glasses were started to burn my face.
I liked how there were stand-up showers as well as sit down showers. I took a shower in both and I think I prefer the sit down one better because it was more relaxing. But it was weird showering in front of a vanity mirror.
They also had private bath tubs called “barrel baths” according to the English sign, but I couldn’t figure out how to work the water plug and I didn’t know how long it would take to fill. It’s basically a really deep bath tub. Imagine a regular bath tub, but standing on its end. I could stand in there and if I filled up the tub, the water would probably go up to my neck.
After I was done with the bathing floors, an attendant gave me some clean pajamas and disposable underwear and helped me towel off. The toweling off part was a bit weird.
I then met the BF and my cousin on the 4th floor, which was a restaurant. It’s definitely an odd feeling to be sitting in a fancy restaurant where everyone is wearing pajamas and had wet hair. It made me feel like I was in a mental institution.
After dinner, we went to the 5th floor, which was the resting area. There were large, darkened rooms with huge lazy boy type chairs that you could rest in, or even spend the night. My cousin said that a lot of traveling businessmen just spend the night in the bath house since it’s cheaper than a hotel and you get a fancy bathing experience. For those who want more privacy, I think the third floor has private rooms you can rent out for the night like a hotel.
It’s only 39RMB to use the basic facilities like the bathing floors and the rest areas. Then it’s about 40RMB if you want a scrub-down/massage. Then 29RMB for a private room. During quiet seasons, the private room isn’t even necessary since the resting lounges get pretty empty overnight and the lazy boys are so comfy. I think if I were traveling by myself, I’d definitely make use of the bathhouse instead of the hotel.
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