Let’s get the pleasantries out of the way first, since this is the first article of the year it is courteous for me to say (write) Happy New Year! I trust and hope you are all doing well thus far. I am doing well too thanks for asking and I am very excited to be in my writing bubble once again. So let us enjoy it together, please.

Over the New Year, my friend and I got to do some travelling in Houston which I really enjoyed and will be the basis of these next few articles in case you ever find yourself or plan to travel around the same area and are shopping for fun things to do.

Accommodation

I think we won with our Airbnb location. We stayed downtown on Bomar St. we were close to almost everything. When I say close, the furthest distance we had to drive for one of our activities was 30mins. Every other thing was in between 5-10mins from the house. This saved us in terms of fuel as we did most of the driving. In case you also want to eat out, there are all manner of eating joints around this area that you can try out. I will share in a separate post.

Spa World – Korean Spa and Sauna

This was the first item on our itinerary. After a long year of hard work, the least we could do was tell our bodies ‘thank you’ for carrying us. This was the long 30-minute drive I mentioned earlier.

I’ll talk mostly about our experience as most of the services offered and prices are clearly outlined on the Spa’s website.

There is a general entry fee; however this is subject to change over the festive season. The entrance fee grants you access to the Spa, to enjoy the different sauna rooms, the different temperature pools, the play center in case you have kids, the theatres amongst other facilities in the building.

We had booked ourselves for a body scrub and a deep tissue massage in the morning. These are among the services you pay separate in addition to the entry fee. It is also important to mention that, once you enter the spa, just before paying you will be required to put your shoes in the lockers provided. The locker key is attached to a bracelet that you wear everywhere you go. With this bracelet, you use it to tap on any separate service you partake while at the spa, be it buying food, snacks or even at the golf area. Once you are done with your visit at the spa, your bracelet gets scanned so that you pay for all the extra services you partook.

The body scrub is mainly getting washed by a professional. This was my first time doing this and honestly I would do it again. The ladies doing it are older and very respectful. Whatever products they used were amazing as I have never felt my body that soft. The scrub takes place in the women’s locker area where the heated and cold pools are located too.

No photos or videos are allowed in this area as everyone is technically nude. They however have made cubicles that give a little bit of privacy during the scrubs. Before getting the scrub or using the pools, one is required to wash off in the showers provide. If time allows, you then soak in the pool before being called for the scrub.

After the scrub we headed for our deep tissue massage before trying almost all the sauna rooms. Just a heads up, be prepared to tip in case you choose to get the individual services. They take tipping very seriously and you may feel they are adamant about it. I wanted to tip using cash and one of the ladies literally followed me to my locker to make sure I got out the money and put in the tipping jar. So be prepared so you are not caught off guard.

I wish we had time to stay for a movie and enjoy the beautiful theatre rooms they had. We literally spent the whole day here. Before leaving we spent a good amount of time enjoying Korean cuisine. I do not remember Jajangmyeon (black noodles) tasting that amazing.

If you have ever been to Shinsagae in Busan-South Korea and need a reminder of that Spa, this is the place. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Here is the link to the vlog, to put an image to all these words;