Relaxation X Travel: Soaking and SPA Around the World

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, Li Xinyi, compiled and reported  Source / Monochrome Editing Department  Photos provided / Finnish Tourist Board

 

Besides the common hot spring soaking in Taiwan life, do you know how people around the world enjoy the pleasure of bathing? And what exactly are the practices behind saunas, SPAs, massages, Turkish baths...? With so many names, what do they actually involve? Aside from using bathing to relax the body and mind, SPAs and massages are also essential ways. Let’s take a look at how people around the world enjoy this great pleasure in life!

1. Turkish Bath

Taking a Turkish bath (Hamam) is a big deal for Turks. Before going to the mosque to pray on Fridays, before enlisting in the army, or before getting married, one must cleanse the body. The bathhouse space, which uses marble to conduct heat, is also a great place for socializing and recovering from fatigue. Therefore, from sultans to commoners, everyone in Turkey loves taking Turkish baths.

 

A Turkish bathhouse has a distinctive feature: a large marble platform in the center, which is also a domed building. The dome usually has many holes drilled into it, allowing natural light to shine through, adding to the atmosphere in the steam and providing a slight cool comfort to the body surrounded by high humidity and heat.

2. Russian Bath

Russians’ love for the Russian bath (Banya) has remained unchanged for centuries. Regularly visiting public bathhouses each week and openly meeting with the same group of friends is one of the most anticipated pleasures. Going through the Russian bath not only helps eliminate toxins from the body but also promotes blood circulation, leaving one feeling completely refreshed and energized.

 

When entering the steam-filled bathhouse, do not wet your hair or use soap on your body, as this will close your pores. The correct procedure is to first soak birch twigs and leaves, then gently pat your entire body. Once you get used to it, you can pat more forcefully. Russians often make loud noises until their whole body turns red. Locals believe that birch branches release beneficial elements for the human body when heated. After your body heats up, you can go out and rinse off. In modern bathhouses, there are separate warm and cold water pools. For the first round, you can rinse with warm water, and for the second or third rounds, use cold water. After showering, you can sit outside the bathhouse to rest before going back in for another round. To enjoy the Russian bath, you need to gradually let your body adapt to the high temperature. Nowadays, most Russian baths, besides public pools, offer facilities of different levels, from traditional saunas to massage services, luxurious swimming pools, and private rooms, providing a variety of options based on price and preference.

3. Finnish Sauna

The sauna (Sauna) can be said to originate from Finland, also known as the Finnish bath. The Finnish sauna is a very important part of Finnish life. Most Finns have a sauna facility in their summer cottages, including a steam room, bathroom, and changing room. The steam room contains heated stones, and pouring water on them creates steam, with the room temperature maintained at 50–60°C. While enjoying the steam, Finns like to pat their bodies with birch branches to enhance blood circulation. When the heat becomes unbearable, you can take a shower or jump directly into the pool to cool down. Repeating this process several times helps to completely expel waste from the body.

4. Korean Hanjeungmak (Korean Sweat Lodge)

The Hanjeungmak (Sudatorium) is the most representative traditional steam bath in Korea. The main equipment is a giant dome-shaped kiln house (or “mak”) made of rocks and yellow earth. The diameter and height of the “mak” are about 6 meters, and each rock slab is up to 1 meter thick to efficiently emit infrared rays. The floor inside the mak kiln is covered with pine wood, and pine roots are burned in the center. Burning pine roots releases a fragrant aroma, which since ancient times has been known to have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and therapeutic effects on skin diseases and neuralgia. As for far-infrared rays, they also promote sweat secretion and help expel old waste from the body.