A friend who was taking a massage class told me it was clothing optional so I made some assumptions which were not even close.

It was great; I took off my clothes for the first time! No one was having sex that I could see. The library was great! You can blindly pick a book and be sure it’s good read.

I’ll finish up here…. As I walked the trail back to my tent, I felt a real sense of peace and started to smile, a true smile. I can’t wait to go back!

Thanks for your comment, I don’t consider someone with your view an “evil person”, just someone sharing a different reality than my own. -Tamara

i could probably just be labeled as one of those “evil people” for not wanting little kids at the hot springs but so be it - i don’t really want them there, either… i’m not a parent, and the sound of a shrieking child (whether in laughter or otherwise) is not really a sound i appreciate, and DEFINITELY not one i’d want to hear at the hot springs.

When we arrived I was presented with a 15 min lecture on the specific do’s and don’ts of ‘bringing a child to Harbin’ Ok I understand rules, not everyone likes kids…so I can abide. However that was only the first in several ‘reminders’ that was issued to me from staffers and old harbin hippys. Now I know some parents let their kids run wild in a way that takes it’s toll on even the most child loving of hot springers, but I do not. I am conscientious, I will not keep my crying child around the meditation pool hoping he will eventually keep quiet…I move and fast, far, far away. We camped along the stream far away from others, we walked to the pools then back to camp for everything…a long treck with a 1.5 year old and all the gear that parents need to shlep along to keep kids happy.

However pools were limited in their use to me, strict times when kids cannot be in ANY pool, decks that were off limits to kids, activities that were off limits…and the biggest bummer, people treated me differently, no casual pool side chat ups by naked old man….COME ON when has that ever not happened to me at a hotspring? (ok actually that was a relief but even the cute ones acted like I was a lepper)

The moment Kaleo would utter a semi loud happy shriek people would glare at me, even go so far as to point the signs clearly stating the rules about children (even in the child sanctioned tub!) yes there were least three posted. I know Kaleo did a great job, far above what most kids his age would be like, he was happy, chill, rarely cried loved the water and all the people, loved sleeping in the tent and playing in the dirt. But I was fricken stressed out, worried that some naked lynch mob was right around the corner should they be forced to notice this CHILD in their midst.

I have since contacted two other local hot springs WHO DO NOT ALLOW kids under the age of 7!!!! This all got me thinking, am I wrong to think the hotsprings should be a family kind of place? Is it the tranquility of life without normal obligations that attracts us to places like Harbin and was I harshing on their high?

I was sad at peoples reactions and spoke to one other mom who was there that said she just puts up with the child haters and doesn’t care about the rules because she likes it there so much. This feels slightly uncomfortable to me as much as I would like to adopt her casual attitude. Sadly it was uncomfortable enough that we will not be going back as a family.

Funny but this is one of the things I eagerly looked forward to sharing with my son. My child was going to grow up knowing that hot springs are beautiful sacred spaces and naked bodies are all sacred temples. I am not done with my quest for the family hot spring but obviously I will have to drive quite a bit further than my local hot springs to enjoy the experience.

that is not to say that it doesn’t exist at all - i have read some scary reports from people who did have or witnessed very inappropriate interactions, either with other guests or staff. however, i’ve been there many times and i myself have never seen anything out of order or had anyone say/do anything to me at harbin. the most i got was some guy commenting that i was ‘a brilliant shade of pink’ when i got out of the hot pool.