The writer at the Bath Spa train station. The city of Bath was awarded the World Heritage Site status in 1987. — FLORENCE TEH
I have always enjoyed going to bath houses. In Japan, soaking in an onsen, especially in the country’s hot springs, is sheer delight.
Nothing is more rewarding than being submerged in the warm water of these facilities, especially if they’re outdoors.
In winter, it’s even more invigorating when snowflakes fall on you as you enjoy the bath.
But of course, rushing into the facility from the cold is an experience in itself, especially when one is buck naked – the prerequisite of Japanese bath houses.
No wrap around towel or swimming trunk is permitted either.
In Japan, clothing, towels and other garments that have been worn are considered sullied or dirty, and should never, ever, be brought into an onsen!
I have also visited the thermal baths in Budapest, Hungary as well as the world-famous Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
Nudity isn’t de rigueur there. So, I was in my swimsuit to conceal the mostly flawed parts of my body.
Hungarians seem to be blasé when it comes to taking pictures if it’s merely a selfie, since privacy isn’t invaded.
The best part of the Blue Lagoon is that visitors are allowed to indulge in alcoholic beverages when they’re in the water. Pictures can be taken to the heart’s content, too.
So, when I was in Bath – as the place is aptly named – in England recently, it was only natural that I made my way to one of the baths.
It has been regarded a true centre for relaxation as it’s one of the only places in Britain where you can bathe in natural hot springs.
Bath has been accredited by Unesco as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, underscoring the city’s identity and its most important feature – its waters – to facilitate the Roman Bath from long ago to the modern-day spa.
It’s easy to travel to Bath from London as this beautiful city in Somerset is only about 160km west of the capital. The Great Western Railway provides around 45 direct trains between London and Bath.
My first visit to Bath some years back was just a day trip, but this time around, I decided to spend two nights there and have my spa sessions every afternoon.
If you’re not staying in any of the city’s 21 hotels with their own spa facilities, then there’s a public facility owned by the Bath and Northeast Somerset council, which owns the building but operated by the Malaysian YTL Hotels group.
The other option is the Gainsborough Bath Spa by YTL, which is the only hotel in Britain with its own naturally heated spa and is listed among the small luxury hotels of the world.
But even if time doesn’t permit a spa experience, no visit to Bath is complete without checking out the well-preserved Roman Baths.
A temple was constructed on the site between 60-70AD in the first few decades of Roman Britain and the area is still well-preserved. It was used for public bathing until the end of the Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century AD.
But Bath, which was granted World Heritage Site status in 1987, is more than just a city for spas. It’s also renowned for its Georgian buildings, Medieval cathedral and has over 40 museums.
More importantly, I felt secure exploring the city because it has been voted one of the safest places in Britain and Europe.
When visiting Bath in England, be sure to take a tour of the well-preserved Roman Baths. — JULIA PHILLIPS/Pixabay
Recognised as one of the best places to raise a family, Bath is also an affluent city with a very low crime rate.
So, tourists can feel at ease roaming around without feeling they might be pick-pocketed or hassled.
Shop assistants were also friendly and understanding when I decided not to buy some items I had selected – after converting the weak ringgit into British pounds!
And as morbid as this sounds, the missus and I even walked around the city cemetery because we were curious about the people buried there and their cause of death. Some holidays are decidedly different, I guess.
Bath is a green city with spectacular parks and gardens, including the Sydney Gardens at the end of the Great Pulteney Street, one of the remaining 18th century public gardens in Britain.
Perhaps, it’s here in Bath that one should find the time to read. After all, famous novelist Jane Austen featured the city in her two books, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
Austen, who first came to Bath in 1797 with her mother, went on to live there for five years, when it was already a spa resort then for the wealthy.
There are also references to Bath in her more famous book, Pride And Prejudice, written in 1813, a novel about manners and the repercussions of hasty judgments, where one can appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.
After the agonising two-year global lockdown, Bath was the second English city I chose to travel to after London.
It wasn’t for me to merely rejuvenate the body in Bath’s invigorating spa, but also to read in the tranquillity of this place.
For some locales, a one-off visit is enough to soothe the soul, but Bath is an entirely different proposition, and a place I’d like to return to again.
