If you are a long time reader of my blog, you will recall a trip last November to Bali and Singapore with Boo.
The trip was organised for Plus-Size traveller, and Boo and I would be meeting them all for the first time. Completely out of my comfort zone, but you have to try new experiences, don’t you?
So, twelve ladies, plus the organiser met in Canggu for the start of a ten day holiday.
The experience was absolutely out of this World; beautiful sights, amazing food, cultural visits and the best thing of all was the creation of the “Bali Babes”
Bali Babes Do Birthdays
I have blogged our little group before. Boo, Lisa, Rachel, Daiane and myself formed a firm friendship (some may say coven) and have stayed in touch since our first meeting.
So far this year, we have had two holidays in the UK together, then a trip to my hometown for my 50th birthday and now it was time to visit Romania for a weekend spa trip.
At the Airport
Boo had come across “Therme” in Bucharest which is billed as Europe’s biggest spa and put out a random post in our group chat, asking if anyone fancied going to a spa.
Of course, we all said “Hell Yes” and so it was all booked and paid for.
Travelling on Friday, I took the train to the airport with my suitcase and wheelchair. The train was pretty smooth and problem free, arriving at the airport in just over 30 minutes.
It was at the airport I met up with Lisa who had also got a train from a different part of the Country and we sat having a natter whilst waiting for Boo to get dropped off.
Thunderlift!!
The flight was a later afternoon flight, and we contented ourselves for three hours, reading, watching shows on our tablets and quietly chilling out.
By the time we landed, got our cases and added the time difference, it was gone 11pm when we met up with Daiane and waited for her cases.
We exited the airport and this was when our first adventure began!
We needed two taxis as we had four people, four cases, hand luggage and a wheelchair which caused us more trouble than we thought it would. We couldn’t get an Uber and ended up with two cabs from the airport rank.
Almost There
Of course, these are metered which we expected, but we didn’t expect that we had been given the wrong address by the Airbnb host!
As we were arriving into Bucharest Central, Boo spoke to the driver to advise that we were in the wrong location. He asked her to bring the address up again on her phone and it was then that the mistake was realised.
The Airbnb we had booked should have been around a ten minute drive, and we were now around forty minutes in the opposite direction. The two taxi drivers stopped, discussed the issue and turned around to go in the right direction.
By the time we actually arrived it was well past midnight and the price for the trip was extortionate!
Therme Bucharest
Luckily Lisa and I had cash and were able to pay them straight away.
The cost?
Over two hundred pounds.
Did they see us coming? We will never know, however we used Ubers for every other journey we took which was peanuts in comparison.
What a View!
Anyway, I digress.
We arrived at the Airbnb to the smiling face of Rachel, our other Musketeer. She had been there since the afternoon and had a food and drink delivery, so we all sat in the living room, snacking and talking until over 2am.
I was ready for my sleep, but whether I had got over tired or was too excited, I don’t know. What do I know is that I didn’t get any sleep at all that night.
After everyone was awake on Saturday morning, we had tea and coffee and a small breakfast before packing and getting ready for the first day at Therme.
Beautiful Surroundings
And what a first day it was.
Entering a huge glass atrium, we joined the queue to have our pre-booked tickets scanned and get our wristbands.
The wristbands are used for everything; lockers, purchasing a drink, ordering spa treatments and having a full meal. You scan the wristband and pay the bill at the end of your visit.
First stop was the desk before the locker rooms where you can hire a robe, towels, flip flops and more. I grabbed a robe as I had brought all the rest with me.
Palmy
Going through to the changing rooms, we got into our swimwear and stored our belongings in the lockers, which closed with the swipe of a wristband.
Walking into the spa area, I was amazed at the sheer size and layout of the place. Set on two levels, the downstairs consisted of the pools, bars and a lot of beds and sofas to lie on.
As there were five of us I started looking around for beds or sofas so that we could all sit together. Every single bed was covered with peoples robes, towels and belongings. Clearly it was very busy.
I was struggling to walk around on the wet surface, with my walking stick and the sheer size of the place.
Sitting and Chilling
A young man in a Therme uniform came up and asked if I was looking for somewhere to sit. I advised him that we were all searching, to no joy.
He advised that they always hold some beds back for people who have mobility issues or a disability. I told him that there were five of us, with two having mobility issues.
That was no problem whatsoever and took us up to a roped off area where we were able to get two oval hooded beds with several pillows on. You could sit and chat, or lie down and relax.
Absolutely Perfect.
The Complex
We got our robes off and headed towards the main pool area.
Surrounded by flora and fauna, the pool was an irregular shape and featured a swim up bar as well as revolving doors to a large pool outside.
We headed to the swim up bar and ordered some mock and cocktails. I went for something completely different and had a caramel frappe. It was a posh version of a McDonalds frappe, in that it had lots of chocolate syrup swirled around the plastic cup, a huge amount of cream on the top and a medium coffee caramel taste.
It was delicious and very moreish. It was not the last one I had that day, which you will read more about later.
Snapshots
The whole complex was massive and we had a good look around to orient ourselves and decide what we wanted to do. The main bulk of the saunas, solariums and steam rooms were on the first floor overlooking the main pool.
There was only one problem and that was the fact that they didn’t have a lift. I decided I would relax downstairs whilst the other ladies had a wander upstairs and tried out some of the facilities.
I sat reading a brand new book, which had me chuckling out loud and in the warm tropical atmosphere I got very sleepy. I may have had a 25 minute nap before getting back into the pool and getting another frappe.
The ladies joined me and we spent the afternoon in and outside, enjoying the bubbles in the huge outdoor pool. The weather was fabulous, around 28 degrees and so very sunny.
Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon
Exploring a bit more of the complex, we came across the huge restaurant “Humboldts” which offered foods from multiple cuisines, on a made to order basis. You could order Sushi, Burger and fries, smoothies, noodles, cakes and gateaux, salads and more.
We decided to get some dinner. I opted for the halloumi burger and fries. It took about ten minutes to cook and assemble in front of me and all went and found a large enough table to sit together.
Randomly there was a portion of a thousand island style sauce with every meal, which was great with the fries, but not what I was expecting. WE spent a good hours or so chatting and relaxing before heading back to the beds where everyone had a chill out before heading to the pools.
The afternoon was spent doing variations of the same; sometimes all five off together, then one or two breaking off and trying something different.
Lunch!
It got into the late evening when I decided it was time to head to the massage beds.
These were huge frames covered in what looked like a rubbery sheet. When you lay down, you realised that it was a water bed, which felt divine. Then the massage and movements started.
Up and down the whole body, these mechanical “rollers” and massagers went. There was a touchpad where you could choose the pressure and strength used as well as which part of the body you wanted working on. You could have specific areas or the whole body.
I went for the whole body and for eighteen minutes I closed my eyes and drifted into bliss.
Chilling and Chatting
This whole experience was absolutely wonderful. The massage table, the beautiful pools, the relaxing atmosphere and the time spent with great friends. I can honestly say it was exactly what I needed.
Work had been extremely busy and quite stressful over the past few months and I needed the time out, with nothing to think about.
And I certainly got that on this trip!
As the evening got darker, we ordered some more drinks (another frappe or two for me) and we swam, floated and chatted up a storm.
Frappe Time
The Spa is open until midnight so it was a real treat being out in the fresh air, being able to swim and the Bali Babes tried out more of the solariums and saunas.
We popped back to the restaurant about 10pm for a small snack; pancake rolls for some and a caramel éclair for me.
It was absolutely delicious and it didn’t take long for me to polish it off.
There was a little more swimming, floating and possibly another frappe and it was gone 11pm when we started talking about making a move back to our weekend home.
Humbolts
Going back to the changing room area, we gathered our stuff, got dried and put out clothes on. Meeting in the front of the spa, we ordered a couple of Ubers to get us the ten minute journey back to the house.
Therme was absolutely wonderful, and I was completely shattered when I got back to the house. I hadn’t slept well the night before so I was hoping to get a good nights sleep.
At 4am I decided that sleep wasn’t to be and got my book back out.
This was two night now that I hadn’t managed any sleep and I was just completely at a loss as to why.
The Spa at Night
It was only much later on the last day when the penny finally dropped. I had consumed 5 caramel frappes at the spa, and was hopped up on sugar and coffee and that was probably the whole reason for my insomnia!
The following day was going to be spent in the centre of Bucharest seeing the sights of the City before one last half day in the spa before flying home on Monday.
A quick visit but certainly a very worthwhile one.
What a Night!
Till next time,
SPSG xxx