The Olympic Day Spa

Where every itch you ever had in your life gets scratched!  A couple of days ago Tuck and I went to a Korean Spa called The Olympic Spa on- you guessed it- Olympic Blvd off of Wilton. This experience without, any hesitance, was my favorite experience in LA so far. I walked out with a Koolaid grin and giggle that could have brightened anyone's day.  I warn you though, this is not a place for the faint of heart! If you are a: germaphobe, judgmental body gawker, or haphephobe don't show up, deal with your repressed sad self and eventually you too can be polished within an inch of your life and love every freaking minute of it. This is a nude place.

When you walk in to the spa an extremely kind gentlemen valet parks your car for FREE. You enter and deal minimally with some irate Korean women who obviously are not taking advantage enough of the hot soaks out back.  After five minutes lost in translation Tuck and I decided on an Akisuri scrub for me and a milk and honey scrub for her- the later $10 dollars more but worth it if your skin is super dry.  For $15 dollars more (which you kinda don't have to pay because you go back to where the pools are for the scrub no matter what- but karma is important) you have access to a highly chlorinated super jet jacuzzi, and herbal eucalyptus cold plunge pool, a super hot pool filled with mugworts herbs, kumabochi tea and a variety of other Chinese medicinal herbs, a dry Swedish sauna with ceder wood, a hot stone room with tatami mats, a super powered steam room, a heated floor with blankets for a nap and a running hot water stream with soapy scrubs and scrub mitts so that you can polish your self in case you don't want the bikini clad Joy Luck Club in the back to go to second base with you.
We entered and perused the joint. We were given a locker, a really comfy robe and a couple of small towels.  The clientele was incredibly diverse both racially and style wise. Most of the woman looked like they took care of themselves. This was obviously a regular ritual for them.  (For $15 why not????) At first, it was a rather funny site to see five or six naked ladies of various races gossiping about frenemies while soaking in a red pool of water. We walked towards the pool, paused for a millisecond and then did as the Romans do.  In ancient Hindi and Buddhists cultures it is a belief that the secret to longevity - the fountain of youth in a way, is actually just water- but the perpetual contrast of plunging one's body in cold and hot baths. This would form a pump action to the blood and increase the circulation in the body. The extremity of feeling such alternate temperatures would invigorate the heart, the soul and the mind.  I really felt this.  I felt high. I somehow could have swam in the chilly cold pool for hours. I could have boiled in the mugworts for days. We did not want to go.  And to be honest after 15 minutes all the naked bodies just seem like an extended part of the geometry of the room.  It's also good to remember that bodies, and grooming styles really do come in all shapes and sizes and that there is no one type that's right or better.  I felt like the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world when I left- and i have not even gotten to the scrub. Tuck agreed though that she felt like she looked like a million bucks - and she did. We were glowing from within.

The Akisuri scrub: Oy vey is meir, The spa is a large room with pools of water in the center- different therapeutic rooms, as I have mentioned, are on the periphery and to the right when you walk in there is a room partitioned of with low lying cubicle walls for the scrubbing.

There are about 6 tables that divots in the center so that when you are lying down on them the hot cucumber infused water that is doused on you remains puddled around you.  There is no privacy. You lie there naked, and no matter where your eyes turn, some other chick is naked and getting scrubbed.  The women, 40s or so, are sweet. They are all wearing black bikinis. They call you by number and gently lay you down on your table. They poor tons of water on you and then scrub with these mittens several times over your ENTIRE BODY!  No, there is no happy ending and they do not touch your lower privates- this is not by any means a skanky establishment.  Everyone respects everyone else. No one cares what is going on with your body - all they care about is their own!  The clientele were classy, healthy women of all ages, sizes, races, creeds... etc. You close your eyes and fall into a dreamy sort of slumber. The scrub is like a massage. They also scrub your scalp and give your hair a good shampoo and conditioning. It is Amazing. The scrubbing lasts 45 minutes! Afterwords you can continue to do a round robin of the other amenities.  With tip the whole 3 hour event cost me $55.  My skin felt like butter, my hair smelled and looked amazing and I had a flush that can only be compared to a good sex or in love flush.  If you live in NYC they have places like this in Queens- DO IT! Let go of your issues- its worth it friends- it is worth it!  Thank you Jolene P for telling Tuck about this- you are my hero!