8th Oct 2019
Looking forward to the spa for way too long.
Jess booked us at Let's Relax spa using Klook. There are many Let's Relax branches in Bangkok but not all has an Onsen. The last time I went to an Onsen was in Hakone, Japan and there were many funny memories from there.
Destination: Let's Relax....here we go!
BTS: Ratchaprarop -> Thonglor
I got excited when I saw BTS sign only to know BTS stands for Bangkok Transit System in Thailand 😂
Is this Nichkun from 2PM? When did he became a doctor?
Well, Lisa from BLACKPINK was everywhere on Bangkok's billboard and so was Bam Bam from GOT7.
Exit Thonglor station and we walked about 900m to Grande Centre Point Hotel. The street was lined with restaurants and cafes. Then we saw this...
OMGeee...look at the Pad Thai and crispy fried oyster. I've never eaten one like this before. Writing while drooling at the moment.
The crisy oyster shop and you can gauge the proximity to the BTS.
What a nice brunch. We continued our way to the spa. hehe...
We started to sweat and we wondered how much further should we walk. The security guard said yes, we were walking in the right direction. We had to cross the road where traffic never stop. I saw others just walked across and somehow, motorists will stop for you. So, I did the same. Praying I'd still be alive and indeed (with some precautions) motorists did stopped. Yay! I crossed the road!
Wait, where is Jess? I looked back and saw Jess was still in the middle of the road waiting for motorists to stop. OK, she was halfway through. She stepped a little bit forward, motorists slowed down (but did not stop yet) and suddenly she reversed and ran all the way back to the other side of the road. Motorists whirred forward in frustration. I told Jess she can do it. Finally she crossed the street and yes, both of us made it~
A couple of steps later, we reached the Grande Centre Point Hotel. The exterior looked well....grand!
We were sweating like pigs with excessive cold sweat from the traffic crossings. Felt a little overwhelmed to enter the hotel.
The hotel felt so posh with marbles, gold plating, doorman and all. It smelled good too with a quaint English tea room/restaurant with prices I cannot afford. The receptionist guided us to the lift where Let's Relax spa is (Level 5)
Here we are at Let's Relax spa. We were blown away by its Zen/Muji aesthetic. Since it was a week day and about lunch time, it wasn't crowded. In fact we were the only one at the lobby when we arrived. We had their famous snacks - coconut, coffee (sorry...I forgot the other flavor it was about 1 year ago until I write this blog). The coconut roll was the best to down with cool lemon water. We transformed from sweaty pigs to cool pigs before we even began the spa.
We were ushered into the Onsen. Prior to that, we were briefed on how to use the Onsen.
- Take off shoes (We were left alone for a moment and we were asked to take off our shoes. We wondered into the shoe cabinets area and asked should we put our shoes here? The ushers suddenly panicked and said you don't need to go in there. I will take your shoes to keep for you. Uh...OK ahaha)
- Then we were asked to read the board below. What is the "Hot Stonebed"?
- Then we were ushered up a couple of stairs to collect our Onsen bag. We were given a key to wear on the wrist. This key allows us to access our Onsen locker with just a scan
After this point, camera was no longer allowed. Obviously because people need to start getting naked to enter the Onsen. Of course the Onsen was separated from the male. Only the small towel was allowed with you into the Onsen. Any other stuff was forbidden so here comes my insecurities.
Entering the Onsen, one needs to bath first removing all dirt from the body. Although it was an open area, the cubicles had better privacy compared to the one in Hakone. Since there were not many people around, we can choose the cubicle far away from others if you want more privacy. One can choose the standing shower or the sitting cubicle just like most people. Each cubicle was equipped with quality shampoo, body shampoo & a washing pail. The sensation of the warm shower was just heavenly.
All right, off to the onsen. There were 4 onsen pools each with different temperature and minerals for different health benefits. The open air onsen came with individual sitting & standing jacuzzi. Next, there was this milky white onsen with a higher temperature. There were 2 more onsen where one of them was with ice cold water. There were also the sauna rooms. The pool with ice cold water was the hardest to get in. Imagine your body was so hot from the hot onsen and then you dip into the cold one. Other ladies who looked like regulars were dipping in and out of the ice pool. So, the pig followed. One foot in and I jumped out of the pool. Is this thing going to kill me?
After wondering in and out of the pools, I went into the sauna to get baked even more. Then, I saw a sign outside. It was the recommended sequence for the onsen to get the most out of it. OK, so I followed and boy, that felt much better and why didn't I know this from the start?
Services was fantastic. Any puddles were wiped dry almost instantly. Iced towels kept refreshed.
Did I mention that you can spend unlimited time of the day at the onsen?
After a good onsen, we headed back out to the bathing cubicles again. We took our own sweet time to indulge in our bath. After that, we changed and entered another section with rows of make up table to dry our hair. Hair dryer, lotion, individually wrapped comb, cotton buds were all provided.
It's not over yet. We headed to the hot stone bed. It was actually a room with heated stone floor. We laid down in the warm darkened room and fell asleep. Then, there was the cooling room. What's that?
It was the opposite of the other room where this room is very cooling. It was not too cold but the cool temperature was just perfect to cool down. Last but not least, the relaxation room. Over here, we are allowed to bring in phone and books. As we laid down (again) to rest on the tatami, with floor sofa and blanket.
Gals, this is the place where you can spend the whole day relaxing and chilling without the pressure of time limit. Oops, we have spent half a day here already and needed to head out soon (to Icon Siam). We "logout" from the onsen. Boy were we hungry & thirsty after that. We snacked on the coconut rolls and lemon water again feeling rejuvenated and refreshed! I dreamed about coming back here one day.
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