Day 140 – Tianmu Spa

We left the apartment at 7:45 and tried to get a cab, but it took a few minutes to get one.  David was panicking a little thinking we would be late, but we were okay.  One came along after just five minutes and we got to the Hanlin Hotel before anyone else did.  As soon as everyone got there, the Clarke’s, the Pace’s and Kathy Gao and son, Hansen, we loaded into the 15 passenger van that had been rented for our excursion to Tianmu Spa near Liaocheng in Shandong Province.  Traffic was pretty heavy, so it took a lot of time to get out of the city.

After a two hour and fifteen minute ride, we arrived at the Tianmu Resort.  We got our rooms, rather nice rooms, carried our swimsuits to the spa/pool area and learned how their system works.  We were given an electronic wristband with a locker number on it.  The wristband opens your locker and you use it for things you want to purchase.  We got changed to our suits and went to the first pools.  They ranged in temperatures anywhere from 34 degrees C. to almost 46 C.  We got in one that was 38 C and then changed to one that was 41 C.  It was pretty warm, but after a while felt pretty good for soaking in.  After a while we decided to explore the rest of the spa area. 

Foyer area of the resort.

Atrium that divided the two halls between the rooms.

We had heard there was a pool that has fish in it that are supposed to come along and nibble the dead skin off of you.  We decided to try that one.  Libby was already in there and enjoying it.  Wayne took about one minute and decided he couldn’t stand it.  The Pace’s were next and then I went in.  David had a harder time wanting to do it, because he is so ticklish.  After the initial shock of what it feels like (think of hundreds of tiny, tiny electric shocks), it was actually kind of fun!  As you can see from the picture, David looked like he was being tortured!  We stayed in there for almost a half hour, and I think they pretty much got every dead cell they could find on the parts of me that were in the water.

In the fish pool.  Can you tell how much David is enjoying it?

Then we went to another pool and spent about 45 minutes in there.  Kathy and Hansen were in there most of the time. Hansen (9 years old), didn’t like the idea of the fish nibbling on him at all.  We talked and chatted.  Some of them tried the hotter pools. 

They have an upstairs level where you could get free fruit and drinks, sit in comfortable reclining chairs with extra-large towels to cover you and watch some TV if you wanted, or sleep.  In order to go there, you have to change into the gold and red suits that they provided for you.  We all looked pretty Chinese in these.  The TV was no big deal because all the channels were in Chinese (we found it interesting that there were war movies playing in an area where you are supposed to be relaxing), so we just enjoyed the food, a short nap and some cookies that Kathy had brought. 

Stan and Wayne relaxing.

Enjoying the fruit, drinks and cookies in our official spa suits.

When that got a little old, we put our damp suits (not fun) back on and went back into the pools.  The hottest pool had climbed from 44.5 C to 45.6 C and that was too hot even for those who had gone into it before.  David and I stayed in the pool area with Kathy and Hansen because we thought they were going to turn on the waterslide like the sign said, but they didn’t.  That sign is only for weekend hours, not weekday hours.  We were kind of disappointed, but they did turn them back on at 8:30.  They only turn them on for a half hour.

We had dinner at the restaurant at 6 p.m.  We invited the bus drivers to come join us because the meal would feed ten people and they only allow the bus drivers 20 RMB for a meal there, which hardly gives you any food at all at the resort.  After dinner, David, Kathy and Hansen went back in the pool so that Hansen could go down the slide.  David went also, but once was enough for him.  I was feeling too tired from my cold so I stayed in the room and read.  We had the softest beds we have had in a hotel in China yet!