Getting lost in banya experience vol 1 & 2

21.1.2018, VOL 1

After a long day of sliding it was time to take it easy, rewind and relax. But on the other hand, when volunteering abroad for 7 weeks you don´t want to waste your precious free time by not experiencing the culture of Kyrgyzstan. Para found the perfect solution to this dilemma; banyas. In short banya is like a spa or public bath with different kind of saunas, treatments and pools. It was a completely different experience compared to the spas in Finland. Mission relax and experience something new achieved.

We chose a fancy looking banya called Slegkim in Bishkek city center. When we got there the outside did not look much, some construction was going on. Here I have noticed however that a shabby looking building often hides some beautiful indoors spaces. That was also the case with the banya.

We had no idea how to use a banya, the staff did not speak English, we do not speak Russian and we did not have anyone from local AIESEC with us today to translate. Para showed from his phone the website price list and what we would like to have. I proceeded to pay to a slightly confused cashier who then gave us numbered bands and we went our separate ways. Entry fee to the banya was 300 soms which makes it around 3,50 euros.

I had no idea what any signs with Cyrillic alphabet was trying to tell. The lady in charge of the locker room was a bit confused at first since I did not understand her Russian but soon realized I was a lost little foreigner and showed me where to leave my shoes and get slippers, where to find my locker and where to go next. I was also given this flower patterned linen cloth. I wrapped it around myself and proceeded to the showers.

The banya was massive, it had a Finnish sauna (my home away from home), Russian sauna, Turkish sauna, pools, massages... Wanting to try everything but having no idea about the signs I promptly tried every door I could find. I ended up trying to get to a cleaning closet while a confused child witnessed my efforts. I was quite embarrassed of being so lost in the banya until Para told me that in his side he had not only also tried the cleaning closet as well, but also invaded the restaurant kitchen. I learned today that when trying new local things one should not be embarrassed to be curious.

It was an interesting experience for me being there alone, lost and not having the same language with people. I was trying to find a massage but managed to book myself a rubbing treatment instead. A very patient nice lady explained me with sign language what to do; first sweating in the sauna, then shower and then rubbing (I still thought it would be more like a massage though). But after the rubbing treatment my skin was so sooooft and pretty and I was happy I ended up trying it. The cost was only around 10 euros. At the end of the day I felt happy having survived a local culture experience without having a clue about banya culture before today. And I felt so relaxed I could just happily fall asleep in a crowded marshrutka mini bus.

27.1.2018, VOL 2

The weekend turned out to be really cold (-25 C) and we were forced to spend the weekend in the city of Bishkek and mostly indoors. Being charmed by the banya culture me and Para decide it was time for another relaxing spa day. Spa time once a week is really essential to charge yourself for new adventures, right? This time we tried Zhirgal banya in bishkek with charming dome architecture. One dome for women, one for men.

This spa was smaller than the one from last week but really nice and beautiful. Women's dome had showers, a Russian sauna and a swimming pool with cold water. What more does a Finnish girl need to relax. The spa had also a rubbing section but this time I was going to find the massage. I manage to find two massage rooms and ask the staff "massage?" making rubbing moves with my hands. A nice lady pointed to her sandwich and showed with hands "in 5 minutes". I was actually very lucky with my timing cause later the massage parlors had a long line of women waiting. At the beginning it was just an oil massage back, shoulders etc. Then the lady took some small pump, put it on my back, sucked air out and moved the device. It was a bit scary cause I had no idea what king of a massage I was taking. Next I heard some clanking and soon I was having lovely hot stones on my back. It felt amazing. The massage ended up being an all inclusive (pump, hot stones) whole body massage. After the massage I retrieved 1000 soms (12 euros) from my locker for the massage lady and she instructed me to go to the sauna and relax a bit more.

After the spa day we went to Chicken Star, a very popular Korean restaurant in Bishkek, to try their most spicy chicken. Menu said crazy mode spicy, Para said it was ok, not especially spicy for him. I cried a bit and my mouth was hurting... It was good in a weird way though. I have not eaten all that much spicy food before. The waiter saw my plight and hinted me to eat a sugar cube after every piece :D. Good times!