Fragrant Steam and Lao sauna

Hello fellow travelers! I’m taking a little time off from moving around and relaxing in the capital of Laos, which as we all know is Vientiane. There’s really nothing much to see here, apart from the inevitable wats and a couple of stupas (those titty-shaped religious structures, that are either stand-alone or inside a wat area). The closest stupa to my hostel is, I kid you not, the rather overgrown That Dam Stupa!

Whilst on the topic of relaxation, here’s a fun fact: Laos has the best steam saunas! Not as aesthetically pleasing or socially intriguing as the hammam of countries like Tunisia or Morocco, but with much better steam AND the steam is infused with herbal aroma, which are guaranteed to cure all ills - indeed, in the past herbal steaming was used medicinally to treat those who were ill. On top of its healing properties, the smell of the steam is fantastic. The herbs commonly used include lemongrass, mint, eucalyptus, lime leaves, cinnamon, basil and rosemary - which doesn’t sound like a bad recipe for a chicken stew either. These fresh herbs are loaded into a vat of boiling water located under the steam room to produce the steam. (However the green thing in the pot in this image is the family’s dinner, not my herbs)

My first Lao sauna on this trip was in Luang Nam Tha at the Phon Herbal Sauna. Located in a quiet inner courtyard off a side street. 

It was a family space, with the children chilling outside the family home and the old sauna building at the edge of the property. 

Up a rickety stairway and into the locker room / massage room.

When I came, they were just finishing massaging one local man - other than that there was no-one else there. So they had to steam up the sauna for me, which took around 15 minutes.

The sauna is heated using local wood and in the local way, which is to use long sticks of wood and just shove them further into the fire as the tips burn off. This same method is used in the villages for those open cooking fires. People here really aren’t into chopping wood any more than they need to. So a 2,5 meter long stalk of bamboo is just right for firing up the sauna.

You are given a sarong to wrap around yourself and you nip into the tastefully decorated changing cubicle to slip into it. 

Then it’s off to sauna - unlike in Finland, without going to the shower first. Well, I say shower, but actually the washing facilities are a scoop and a vat of cold and hot water - the hot water being produced as a by-product of heating up the sauna.

There are separate steam rooms for men and women. The steam rooms are just under 4m2. The small size means that the steam is thick - so thick that for once you really can’t see your hand in front of your face, any of the walls or even the narrow window giving natural daylight. And when you first go in, you start coughing in the herb infused steam, but gradually get used to it. A very pleasant smell, it must be said.

Much as in a Finnish sauna, the protocol is to remain in the sauna around 10-15 minutes, come outside to chill, then repeat a couple of times. When you’re done, it’s the perfect time for a massage.

Lao massage is physical, painful, efficacious and, by Western standards, cheap, with a 60-minute session costing 5 to 6 euros.

After the full treatment, you feel reborn with skin as smooth as a ... puppy’s? Chick’s? Anyway, very damned smooth! And fragrant as a chicken cassarole! 

So having now relaxed for a bit, it’s back on the road again. Specifically back onto a 6.30 am bus (how I suffer) for the presumably bumpy 7 hour ride to Savannakhet. I’ll be in need of another sauna & massage after that ride I expect.