【Feng Jiaxia - World Wandering After Germany's Working Holiday】Georgia Backpacking Day 2.2 - Chronicles of Odd Encounters at the Public Baths

 

To be continued from the last post where we arrived at only T??? and then went to the underground station of ???. The cable car is on the fruit side~~~ whoosh ar~~~~~~~~~

Wait a sec………. my feet feel…… kinda soft wor……..

Normally V? walking around would present a certain style, but I’ve been walking non-stop for six hours from 12 noon till 6 pm now, and I usually lack girlfriend-shopping training at T?a la

Alrighty then！ Let’s spontaneously change the plan—let’s cross the bridge and go soak in the hot springs on the other side~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

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Here in Tbilisi, the main focus is on sulfur baths, and it’s the usual “super good for your skin and body~” benefits. All the hot springs are T? in the area, no need to dig deep~

For most friends V?, it’s important to recognize the chlorine scent, steam, and general vibe

From the outside, the Tbilisi hot spring area looks like a bunch of semi-domes poking out from the earth, giving off some Star Wars vibes, similar to the ones in Kashan, IranAncient Turkish Baths Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhousewhose roofs look very similar (personally I think the Iranian one is prettier)

 

 

 

 

But the most famous bathhouse turns out to be a mosque????

At first I was really skeptical, but once I went in and saw the hostel’s T? reception, I realized the two are actually combined into one space.

Alright, let’s see how good your hot spring is~~~~

“sorry we are fully booked for these 3 days”

……………………………………………………

Meaning T???? I couldn’t soak in FushanAlready very not gur ga la …….. can that black aura please not follow me from Japan to V? Jiaqing??

 

(If I hadn’t said it, you’d never guess this was a hot spring place............)

 

So I walked around the entire hot spring area, and every single one said they were fully booked.

Turns out the hot springs here are used in the form of private rooms, and with more and more tourists, the service is slow and the prices are on the high side—about 50 gel per room

No way……. so much effort just to get turned away??

When I went into the last one, “Bath No. 5,” and asked, the staff’s answer was “Private or Public?”

There’s a public bathhouse T? right? How much then!?

“ Private is 45 gel, Public is 3 gel”

“Woo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”

That “woo” sound didn’t come from my mouth but from my spine—I turned my head to look—do I need to T? complain about the steamy droplets wafting over while I’m just trying to soak~~~~~ You can imagine how many others like me wanted to soak but couldn’t c? ba chlorine?? r~~

Since it costs the price of a string of fishballs to V?? experience the steaminess, and I’m already used to comparing sizes with foreigners (I mean belly size), I went T? ao crazy

I bet I might be the only Hong Konger writing a report on Tbilisi public baths up to now~~~~~~

 

(It’s the one by the river recently)

(No photos allowed inside, this is the furthest I could go)

 

I originally thought this somewhat old-looking public bathhouse, even if not as nice as Kashan’s T?, would at least be comparable to Budapest’s Kiraly Bathspretty much the same

Turns out, I was way too naïve.

First, the changing room is a dimly lit space with about a dozen battered metal lockers—it feels just like the “Yes, sir!” locker rooms from old American military barracks!

Add to that a wet, slippery tiled floor and a bunch of completely naked, hairy Georgian sausages... Not to mention I got pranked the moment I walked in.........

Some of my friends, please don’t spit on me okay?

 

(Online schematic diagram)

 

Fully naked upon entry, you see a narrow space of about 400 square feet, with grayish-black walls, illuminated only by bulbs under 50 watts and the natural light from the domed ceiling;

Right in the middle sits a large stone chair, seemingly meant for someone to sit on, but no one actually does—because it’s piled high with shampoo and shower gel;

Above the stone bed is a circular pipe that drips down ten thin streams of water, like urination, for people to rinse themselves;

At the end of the room is a hot pool about the size of a Japanese sento, the water murky and yellowish—normal for a sulfur spring, right?

On the other side are several stone beds, similar to those in Hungary, used for resting, sleeping, or massages;

 

(Tried searching on Google but couldn’t find anything; even autoCAD diagrams were scarce, so I had to make do with MS Paint!! It took me half an hour to draw, so tough ga!! Please support me~)

 

As for the experience afterward………….. how to put it, it’s really quite something……..

The air in the bathhouse is stagnant and extremely stuffy, the dim and run-down condition gives off a dirty impression

A crowd of naked men rinsing under the ring-shaped pipe makes me feel like I’m watching some kind of torture session, and a bunch of loud, naked dudes just makes me want to keep my distance……

Look to the left, why is there someone standing next to the office trash can, moving around….............

Whoa!! Shaving pubic hair!! It’s PUBIC HAIR!!!!!!!!

Strawberry apple orange you big dummy!! Burn this stuff when you get home and turn it into yakitori instead!!

Watching Ob fumble around, picking it up, putting it down, pushing it left and right—my eyes were practically bleeding!!

Couldn’t take it anymore, time to hide out in the sauna!

Open the door—three levels all packed with people, truly spectacular!! It’s not the “Joy to the East” charity show unless you’re squeezing a dozen hairy, burly men into a tiny space!!

Hey……… what exactly is this place trying to be…… but there’s no way I can just leave right away, might as well soak a bit longer to calm down la……

(Sorry, I really can’t think of a suitable photo, please bear with it!)

(Good stuff, of course you have to look at it multiple times~)

 

Honestly, this place really feels like an ancient slave bathing house on TV….. But I’m also a slave, a slave to money………

But it’s really strange, the more I soak, the more I gradually start to find these sights kinda endearing~

The cheerful, talkative hunks, even bringing along kids… working, joking, showing genuine local life and energy, much more lively than the usual city folks

Only these jam-packed places can truly let you experience the local life and culture, just like going to a local Japanese sento—you really get a sense of the place

By the way, the hot water temperature is just right, absolutely perfect ar~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

From initially resisting it, to leaving feeling very satisfied—the magic of hot springs is truly amazing~ Gonna come back again in a few days, maybe check out another spot too

Alright~ Fully recharged, time to hit the road again, heading toward the mountain top goddess statue~~~~

 

More next time~