A new kind of bliss.

I'm discovering more and more that LA offers a lot of the things that makes me love cities. And despite the traffic, smog, and unabashed superficiality, there is one thing that I now love which was never even in my vocabulary before I moved here.

The Korean Spa.

Now, I like anything with the word spa in it. I think I get this from my sister. Nail spa. Foot spa. Spa Day. Day Spa. Massage Spa. A sigh of relief calms my body with the utterance of this magical three letter word. Given the fact that money is tight and there is no way I'm going to one of those expensive spas in West LA to get my R & R, I decided to save up to treat myself to a less expensive post-semester stress-busting reward before I started studying for my last exam. Considering that I've been having upper back pain all semester and could use a little beauty treatment, I decided to investigate the phenomenon of Korean spas that exist in our neck of the woods here next to LA's expansive Koreatown.

So after checking out some of the reviews online, I picked Natura spa because it was reportedly clean, modern, and not as expensive as some of the others. I made an appointment for a scrub and massage, which was about half the cost that nice spas in LA would charge for one of these services. The fee included access to the jacuzzis and saunas at the place, so I went early to take advantage of the amenities.

Well, I read online that these spas are pretty "old world" in the sense that they observe a lot of the traditional bathhouse protocol that you find in Korea. And reportedly from my husband, visiting a spa in Korea is a pretty shocking experience. In fact, it was the only experience that made him feel that he was in a foreign country when he visited Korea a few years ago for the first time since he was like 3. The reason being that everyone is NAKED! Of course, men and women are separated. But the shock of seeing even members of your own gender completely in the buff is well, shocking. Especially when many of them are twice your age and often your grandma's generation.

I found Natura to be a world away from the busy street of Wilshire Ave. Hidden underneath a Korean mini-mall on the basement floor, I was greeted at the front desk by two ladies who weren't sure if I was Korean or not and offered me half-apologetic smiles and confused looks. I said loudly, "Hello!" not even bothering to say the formal Korean greeting because if I said it correctly, they would only assume that I was Korean and proceed to talk to me in Korean. So I tried to make it clear that I was 100% Americana.

A nice lady proceeded to give me a tour of the premises, showing me my fancy key access gym locker, set of white towels and terrycloth robe, the cucumber and citrus-infused drinking water, and complimentary toiletries. It was a very nice changing area and was impeccably clean. She also pointed me to the sauna area, stressing to shower before and after entering the pools, the sleeping room, composed of an elevated floor with tatami mats and comforters with a flat-screen TV on the wall, the restaurant, which sold overpriced Korean food, and the lounge, which had sofa chairs with wooden ottomans and Korean magazines. I liked what I saw. I quickly changed and put on my terrycloth robe, making my way into the sauna to take a shower.

Well, opening the door to the sauna was a bit like entering the Twilight Zone. I was prepared to enter with my robe on, thinking I would discreetly take it off and find a little corner to shower where nobody would see me, since the showers and the tubs were all in one large room with no walls whatsoever. But a sign on the door said, "FOR SANITARY REASON, PLEASE DO NOT BRING ROBES INTO THE BATH AREA." Huh? I guess I had no choice but to enter in the stark, carrying my little towel, and to remain in the stark until I would leave 3 hours later!

So, I entered the world of nakedness, and pretty soon I got used to it. None of the other ladies were looking at me, and I avoided making direct eye contact with anyone so that I could try to blend in as part of the bathhouse scenery. After a few minutes, I found this Naked World With Complete Strangers to be somehow liberating. I was no longer concerned about the extra tummy rolls that I gained this past week when I went on a baking frenzy and Paul and I had Korean BBQ and fried chicken in the same day. I wasn't concerned about anything. I was comfortable in my own skin. Quite literally. And apparently, everyone else was too.

I tried a comfortably hot jacuzzi first that was supposedly infused with tea, called a Mugworts Bath (which reminded me of something from Harry Potter, and I spent most of the time in it wondering why they called it that). It felt heavenly and the sweet smell of the tea or herbs was intoxicating. After a little bit, I investigated the other options around- an extremely hot, scalding jacuzzi, an ice cold plunge pool, a steam room that smelled beautifully of Chinese herbs or something, a sauna room with Korean TV blaring (I didn't like this one), and two funny rooms called the Jade Stone Room and the Yellow Clay Room. The Jade Stone Room looked like some sort of cave where you might find Gollum. It looked creepy at first, but I went in and sat on a leathery coushin I found on the floor. It wasn't until some other ladies entered that I learned these coushins were pillows for your head. The others proceeded to lie down, rest their heads on them, and take naps. I found this strange at first, but quickly followed suit, and took my nap next to some other naked ladies on the floor. After a little while, I wandered into the Yellow Clay Room, where people were doing the same thing. This room was made of yellow clay reportedly imported from Korea. It had an earthy smell and even had bags of clay hanging from the ceiling. I think its supposed to be good for your skin to be around such earthiness.

The time came for my appointment for my scurb and massage. I waited near the massaging area for my number to be called. The massage area was a strange sight as there were no walls and about a dozen massage tables were grouped together in a corner. I'll spare you the gritty details, but forget having a towel to modestly cover the areas not being massaged. The lady who called me up promptly took my towel from me, pulled me by the arm like an auntie might pull you to the dinner table, and cheerfully gestured for me to lie face down on the massage table. She then began throwing buckets of hot water all over me. I yelped a little at first, and then decided to just forget about any reluctance and just enjoy the treatment. The lady proceeded to scrub every single inch of my body with this little scrubby mitt, and the results were immediate. Layers of dead skin started falling off me (which Koreans call dae) that she cleared out by throwing more hot water all over me. I spent a little time wondering if they use the same scrubby mitt for everyone or not, but then just shrugged it off as I was scrubbed into oblivion. This little lady was sparing no inch and was no joke. She scrubbed with superhuman strength and spent a particular amount of time on my right armpit and left thigh. I wondered if she tells her grandkids about what she does all day.

After several layers of my epidermis had been rinsed away with hot water, she then proceeded to lather oil all over my body, gave me some facial cleanser, and then told me to "take shower." I obeyed and rinsed off the oil and facial cleanser, and then game back to the table for part deux of the experience. Hot towels were put on me and she began to massage. But apparently the Korean version of massaging is more like using a punching bag- me being the punching bag. She literally got up onto the table and hit me with the back of her elbows and fists. I've come to like very strong pressure in massages, but I just found it funny at first. I almost let out a giggle, but she hit the air out of me at the same time so it came out more like the sound of an endangered small animal. I let her work out some of the knots in my upper back using this method and began to get used to the treatment. After she had let out her agression on my back, a silky substance was poured all over me. I opened my eyes and peeked at my arm to discover that it was milk! She also gave me an ice cold cucumber face mask and then proceeded to shampoo and condition my hair, along with a very intense scalp massage. Wow, what treatment! I felt like a queen and when it was finally all over, I was instructed to shower yet again for about the 10th time that day, and then went into the locker room to change. I noticed that my skin had a new glow to it and I went into a state of happy relaxation for the rest of the day. I was a new woman.

Take it from me, the Korean spa treatment deserves a try. Now that I think about it, I am probably not making this sound very appealing. Pay someone to scrub you with what feels like steel wool and punch you for an hour? And not let you have your clothes? Well, there must be something in the water. I am definitely going back. But not with anyone I know.