Communal Bathing

There is a beautiful scene in the movie Gadjo Dilo by Tony Gatlif in which the main character, a Romani girl, bathes outdoors with her friend, to the curious pleasure of the gadje, who catches a rare, and perhaps forbidden glimpse into their wantonness. The makeshift outdoor bath house is as splendid as the violets the girls use to wash their bodies and hair. The laughter and frolic of the girls in the bare elements make it so that they appear harmonious with nature. There is an earthly goodness in that scene that takes us back to our roots, to simplicity, where nudity is not considered necessarily sexual, but rather sensual.

Of course, that kind of natural scene is only found in films. Or is it? While Gatlif captures the essence of Rom gypsy village life in the backwoods of Romania, there is a whole different kind of 'scene' taking place right here in Los Angeles. Well, not so much a scene as a tradition carried over from the old country.

Along the boulevards of Koreatown, Los Angeles, barely visible to the naked eye are traditional bath houses which offer a secret hideaway for pampering and relaxation. Dubbed 'spas', these are in fact legit communal bath houses that have traditionally been gathering places for Korean men and women, but are open to the general public. Establishments like Century Sports Club and Olympic Spa offer shared, public spaces for steaming, scrubbing, dipping in hot/cold/medicinal baths, indulging in massages and facials, all in one respectful communal environment. Men have separate facilities, (not unlike the women's spa), where they can indulge in sauna, hot tubs and steam rooms. And guess what, clothing is not optional! After all, the only way to get super clean and scrubbed is to go completely 'au natural'....And contrary to what one may think, the facilities are generally quite clean and safe as they do closely adhere to health and safety codes.

Though technically these 'spas' do offer more individualized services such as body scrubbing, facials, and massages, I like to call them bath houses. After all, I like to think that a bath house sounds much more traditional, organic, exotic, earthy, more gypsy... than a snooty-sounding spa!