Harbin, part 3

BESIDES GETTING NAKED, WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?
I must admit that my first impressions of the vibe at Harbin, and the attitude of the people, weren't too favorable. Between the scrawny hippie with leathery skin and the lady with a ridiculously large smile, everyone seemed a bit... weird. Like they were absorbed in some intense New Age spiritual quest, and here they were at Harbin Hot Springs, and by God they would attain enlightenment!

And then there were the buildings around Harbin - huge teppees, white domes, curved temples. The mood at the pools was too serious, the tacky buildings were too eclectic. The whole scene had the appearance of being a forced gateway into pseudo-nirvana. But it's funny how our impression change quickly. After spending 30 minutes in the communal kitchen, I got a feel for what this place was really about, and my negative thoughts began to evaporate.

First off was a sign on the door: something about the "health department not allowing full nudity" in the kitchen. That's good. Inside, the kitchen was spacious, with multiple commercial refrigerators and every appliance you could ever want. I started chit-chatting with a girl who was preparing soup- when making food everyone relaxs a bit, becomes more sociable. I noticed, also, the incredible level of organization that goes into making the communal kitchen possible. Everyone had their cubby-hole of storage space, every food item was labelled with name and date. Signs ask us to clean up after ourselves, and watch your neighbor's food in the oven. You'd expect the communal kitchen to become one huge mess, what with dozens of people using it, but it remains spotless and clean. I was quite impressed. Ironically enough, because of strict rules of organization, this kind of thing remains possible.

In the afternoon, there were two events I was really looking forward to. First, there was a free yoga class around sunset. It was quite pleasant, although I found the use of pillows, strechy cords, and foam "bricks" a little over the top. Still, it's blissful to do yoga after a day of soaking; your engine's revving up, ask for more, more! Yoga and soaking seem to go hand in hand, and I was stoked they offered it at Harbin.

Then came the big night-time event: The Unconditional Dance Party! What's a dance party without a beer or two, though? The whole "no alcohol" rule seemed reasonable during the day, but I figured beer can hardly be called "alcohol"; so we enjoyed a pale ale while hiding in the car. Samantha and I then strolled confidently into the indoor event center, and we heard the boom-boom-boom of a bass line cranking. There were lights flashing in multi-colors, strobes blinking erratically, and a crowd 50 strong grooving madly on the floor. Hordes of young ladies and blokes were dancing, where they came from I do not know, because there were mostly middle-aged folks at the pools. But here was a genuine dance party, without the awkward sleazebag and slutty girl mixture evident in night clubs everywhere. Everyone was good-looking and just going off.

By 10PM the DJ had wrapped it up, but we were grateful. You can only burn steam for so long, when your body's limp from a day of hot springs relaxation. We walked out, the dancing sweat dried up on our skins, and felt the chilly nip of the night air. Brrrr! Turns out there was an outdoor shower next to our campground, so we decided to be brave and get cleaned up. The worst parts are taking off clothes and later putting them back on- but the actual shower was glorious, hot and powerful with a full view of the stars above.

Time for bed, and we curl up into the back of the Chevy Blazer. It's really cold. Sometimes I wish I'd make some money and afford the comforts of a room. It sure would be nice right now, not to mention more pleasurable with the girlfriend! Instead of being cramped in a tight space and barely warm. But then moments come along like the one in the hot shower, star-gazing hand in hand, which would never have happened if we'd invested in a comfortable room. It's all worth it for a few moments of raw nature, raw beauty.

The next morning we wake up at dawn. Our 24 hours is nearly up, and I've got to return for work. Of course, we have a final soak before getting on the road. Not too long or else we might feel sleepy. Just long enough to get that re-lax-ed feel, that warm tingly feeling... like the fountain of youth has finally given in, and found a little nook in your own body to reside in.