it's finally happened...

...i've met a spa i didn't like. being the spa-junkie i am, i thought i'd never see this day :P

on november 3 (after much planning and discussing), vanessa, priscilla, dawn and i were spending the day together for our DOF (day of fun - aka, celebrating our 30th birthdays). we started off at 11 a.m. for brunch at elixir. the restaurant was very quiet, only a few other diners, and it was wonderful. i really enjoyed my smoked sablefish hash, and while it wasn't completely filling (and i appreciate the server warning me in advance), it did allow me room for cheesecake for dessert :-) mmmm!

since we were in yaletown we did a bit of window shopping before heading to south granville. this day was about trying different things, so we had appointments at miraj hammam, a middle eastern spa. as soon as we arrived, we were taken into the co-ed changing rooms (no men were present when we arrived), showered, and wrapped in our sarongs. the 4 of us hopped into our private steam room and steamed for (what seemed like) a really long time. it wasn't just your average steam room...no no no, this room was hotter than hot! and it was infused w/citrus-y fragrances. i'm very funny...i don't like heat, but i love to suntan; i don't like saunas but i love hot tubs. anyhoo, this steam room was so steamy you couldn't see more than a foot in front of your face, and it was incredibly hot. after about 10 minutes, my body had adjusted to the intense heat. one-by-one we were taken out of the steam room and had our exfoliation treatments. did i mention we were naked?! um yah. that was definitely different.

after the exfoliation, we were taken into private rooms for our massage or facial treatments. by this time, i had a headache...not a good sign :( the facialist was hoping that a temple massage might help, but alas it didn't. then i thought the sweet tea and cookie might make me feel better, but no such luck. i did manage to sneak in a quick little nap in the relaxation lounge! unfortunately my day came to an end shortly afterwards...i was feeling quite ill by then and headed home. good thing too, because i got sick shortly after :-( i was terribly upset because i missed out on dinner at sanafir.

stupid spa...made me sick. i'm never going there again. i even kept myself hydrated. i had exercised in the morning and had about 3 cups of water and then in the steam room i drank more water to keep myself cool. such a shame. the others were fine, so it was just me who suffered. so sad. well, at least i can say i tried something different, out of my usual comfort zone.