Visit to the Sauna

Once again I jump on to the back of my host sister's motorcycle. It is time to prepare our bodies for the upcoming wedding by going to a traditional sauna.

We ride past the evening market (that closes by 6:30 p.m.) and then turn the corner, as if on the way to the Lao Language School. Before reaching the KoLao motorcycle shop we turn off the main street and pull up to the family-run traditional sauna.

Women go the left and men go to the right. We stop at the counter to pay the 10,000 Kip (approx. $1.30 Canadian). My sisters purchase a tamarind paste, a small container of milk, two packets of "mystery" whitening powder and a container of scrubbing salts. A wooden divider and a row of wooden lockers separate the men and women.

We change from our street clothes into a cotton sinh that we use to wrap around our bodies like a towel. After finding a locker with a working lock, in which to put our belongings, we go over to the large plastic water container and using a small plastic bowl as a dipper, we wet our bodies.

Then it's time to enter the sauna. The heat and darkness of the sauna initially cause me discomfort and I question whether I will be able to enjoy this experience, but gradually I begin to relax and breath easily. What is in the darkness that surrounds me? We sit along two ledges in a space that is maybe 6' x 10'. I can reach up and touch the ceiling. After about 10 minutes we leave the sauna to sip hot tea, "shower" and scrub our bodies with tamarind. The tamarind paste is used to exfoliate the skin.

In three days my host sister will be married and today she prepares her body for marriage. Four women in their mid 50's sit at a table next to us. They relax and enjoy each other's company as they experience the healing aspects of the sauna. Two pre-teen girls also move in and out of the sauna. Each age group of women comes to the sauna for varying reasons and yet together we nurture our female beauty.

We return to the sauna and rub our bodies as the steam moistens the tamarind. In the darkness I sit and try and understand the Lao conversation of the other women. I catch a few words, but would love to understand fully. They talk of Thai politics and then work and something about someone's boss. In a later conversation my sister translates and summarizes the story shared by one of the women, who as a young child collected ammunition for the army during the war. The group of women laugh as they reflect on their childhood experiences.

Several times we go through the process of wetting our bodies; scrubbing our bodies with tamarind, the "mystery" whitening scrub and/or milk; sipping tea and then returning to the sauna.

Finally with our bodies relaxed, purified and smelling of the traditional herbs in the sauna, we prepare to leave.