The art of nudity

If you ever come to Russia, you MUST go to a Russian banya. Sure, a sauna feels great in the middle of winter, but to get the full experience, you MUST go to a RUSSIAN banya. And if you're like me, a more or less conservative Asian-American girl, the minute you walk into the locker room, you will stand there in shock. Not the “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” kind of shock, but the “I just got stunned by a high-voltage taser” kind of shock.

Everyone is naked. Naked naked naked. I went to a private sauna when I was teaching at the language camp, but everyone wore a bathing suit. I went to a public banya and everyone was naked. I wish you all could have seen my face because I am sure it was nothing but priceless. Thank goodness my friend, another foreigner, was there to bring me back to life. No one pays attention to each other and it ended up being very comfortable for me. There is also an array of body types. I realize now that public banyas are safe from peeping toms and other perverts. No one wants to see that.

From the locker room, you go to the shower room. It's another scary room. Just think of the private things you do in the shower (when you're alone, of course). Now take away the walls. And add a lot of people. Yeah...you're better off not looking at what people are doing.

From the giant, scary shower room, you go to the sauna part. The room that is hot as hell. As soon as you go inside, you hear women beating themselves or each other with vennigs, branches of dried leaves (typically oak). It is said to increase circulation and prevent cellulite. I find that it takes too much energy to use the vennigs when you can barely breathe.

I feel at peace even when I'm in a bus full of people because I don't have to talk to anyone and I can just use the time to think. I feel relaxed and alone even in a public banya full of naked, old women because people keep to themselves. Now, I go to a banya once a week.

The following are pictures from a private room in a public banya:

Place to relax and drink tea/beer/water.

Where you go nude.

The actual sauna part. It's hot.