First Jjimjilbang experience!

So you might be wondering, what is Jjimjilbang?

Basically it's a Korean bathhouse where you can have hot showers, baths and various types of saunas and massages. After watching so many Korean dramas, I had to go and try one!

First up, a picture of my mother and I, donning "yangmeori" in the jjimjilbang!

I did some research and found out a famous one, Siloam Sauna, was just a few bus stops away from my hotel. So off I went!

If you find this familiar, it's probably because you've seen this in some k-dramas before, such as Misaeng, where the main leads were selling underwear and socks at the front of the jjimjilbang.

It's a steep way up!

And yes, the entire building belongs to Siloam Sauna. It has a basement and 5 levels, comprising of different activities.

Once you enter, you'd be at the lobby with the cashier!

There are different prices, for day and night; for bath only or bath and sauna. You can choose according to your needs!

We visited in the night and opted for both bath and sauna; making it 17000won (approx 21sgd) per pax.

Granted, it's not the cheapest for a bath and sauna, but for this price, you can actually stay the night till the next day at 12pm.

If you're in a pinch for accommodation on the first or last day of your trip, you can try staying at a jjimjilbang to save on a day of hotel fees.

After payment, they will pass you a set of their PJs which you change into. I was quite skeptical about fitting in them at first because all Koreans are ridiculously small sized and I am just humongous. Thankfully, after they dug around, they managed to find one big enough for me! Phew, thought I had to go naked throughout for a brief moment, haha! So if you're big sized, don't worry about it and just go ahead and experience it!

Oh and the naked part.. well technically you do go naked for a while. The baths are separated by genders and newsflash:

EVERYONE GOES IN NAKED

It was pretty weird initially to see a huge mass of naked women; from children to ahjummas, just standing around and scrubbing their folds, but I soon got used to it. I was, after all, naked too! Besides, as my mum always said, what we have, they have too. So meh!

I did get quite a bit of side glances though, probably because they are not used to seeing fat people in general. This ahjumma in particular kept staring non stop at my belly, so much so that I wished she would stare at my buns instead HAHAH!

After the showers and baths, then you should get clothed and go for your different sauna and massages!

Please remember to put on your clothes before stepping in to the sauna areas because the sauna area is mixed gender and free for all. Just imagine if one is to step in naked! I can imagine and laugh at the number of accidents that had occured based on the many warning and reminders on this issue!

Here's my family and I after taking our wonderful hot showers!

I don't have any photos to show what happens inside because of course, no photography or videography is allowed at the bath area. There were no restrictions at the sauna areas though but I thought it would be disrespectful to take photos of strangers lying down while they were enjoying their sauna and rest time. So after a few selfies with my family, I just relaxed and enjoyed myself.

There are restaurants and vending machines in the jjimjilbang for you to quench your thirst and satisfy any hunger pangs.

I opted for iced cold sikhye, a sweet drink made from rice. We also got some hard boiled eggs and cracked them open Korean style, with a knock on the head!

Of course, there are other facilities available for use. Such as PC room, where you can play computer games. There is also a gym, mini cinema and Table Tennis room for you to enjoy!

It sounded a little silly to us that one would go to those entertainment rooms while at a jjimjilbang, so we only went around and experienced the different fomentation rooms.

On hindsight, the entertainment rooms made sense if you had the plans to stay overnight.

My favourite fomentation room was the oxygen one. It had a nice temperature of 18 degrees and, I am not sure if it was my illusion, but I did feel more energetic after experiencing the higher oxygen saturated room!

My mum's failed attempt at doing a heart sign....

Lastly, about the "yangmeori".... I believe you'd seen them if you're an avid k-drama fan! It's basically a sheep head hat which they believe can help keep hair and sweat away from your face while you do the saunas.

My mother and I had seen it so frequently in Korean dramas and were very excited to don them on! However, there was absolutely no one doing it! But you know me, #doitforthegram LOL. I had to make my mum don the yangmeori with me and take a selfie! ... even if nobody was doing it.

So that concludes my first jjimjilbang experience. It was a very interesting and comfortable experience. I would definitely visit a jjimjilbang again when I go back to Korea! #seoulxinz

Till next time, Siloam Sauna!