In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans; in one aspect of You are found all the aspects of existence.

Khalil Gibran

Weekend trip with Saumya: March 3-6, 2023

Hot Springs, Arkansas is a town in the middle of the Ouachita mountains, known for its naturally heated springs, that has thermal mineral water flowing from the depths of the Earth for almost 4,400 years.

I took a flight after work from LGA to DFW where Saumya picked me up. We came back to her place, chilled for a little bit with some wine and amenities, and then went to sleep past midnight. It was beautiful flying into Dallas – I forget how vast the city, and Texas in general, is – as I overlooked an expanse of glittery blocks.

We woke up early and set off after a quick Starbucks drive-through pick up of 2 Grande Iced White Chocolate Mochas with light ice, no whip, caramel drizzle, vanila sweet cold foam, and a couple of Ham and Swiss cheese baguettes. We started blasting our usual vibe of old to new Bollywood (Saumya played the Desi Otherwordly Spotify playlist). It was a 4 hour 45 minute drive ahead of us. Saumya was very keen on beating the estimated time given by Google, insisting that she could shave off at least 20 minutes off of the total duration, which we eventually did. The drive was very smooth with a couple of pee breaks/gas refills and a lot of chatting and catching up talking about life. We had not met each other since Saumya had come to New York for her BofA orientation week, prior to which we had been used to staying 3 minutes of a walk apart from each other. It’s always a great time reuniting with a bestie.

We had set our first stop as Gulpha Gorge Campground which would be our starting spot for a hiking trail we found on AllTrails.com. Upon reaching there, we parked the car, and waded across the tiny gorge with cold spring water flowing across it, before starting our hike up this mountain around 1:30 pm. This was nestled in the Hot Springs National Park and there were very few green trees due to it being early March, but the temperature was pleasant and the sky was sufficiently sunny. I’m sure it is lush green in the summer but currently the tall bare trees were also providing enough shade from the much weaker spring sun.

The weather for the rest of the trip was pretty pleasant in the 15-25 degrees Celsius range. At some point, I really need to actually understand Fahrenheit beyond just estimates. The end of the trail we took brought us to Bathhouse Row which is the center of downtown Hot Springs. We saw our hotel – the Arlington Hotel Resort and Spa at the end of the street. Bathhouse Row seems like the main street in the center of the town and it was beautifully lined with 8 bathhouses on one side, all in different colors and styles of architecture, and the life of the downtown packed with food joints and bars on the other side.

Because we had left the car (Saumya’s first car – a white Ford Fiesta named Tara, short for Khatara, because she got it second hand), at the GG campground, we took a cab back there and then drove the car to the hotel. The Uber driver (an old white Southerner like a lot of people in this town) told us that the town has a rich history, and has been a popular hangout for a lot of infamous mobsters (including Al Capone) in the late-1800s through the mid-1900s. Funnily, it’s probably because the safe, secluded scenic location of Hot Springs made it the ideal hideout. The demographic of the town was of course overwhelmingly white and conservative with no non-black POC for miles other than us and a couple of other Indians we saw. People back home were slightly concerned for safety and potential racism, but for a short weekend, it was not a big deal at all. People were very polite regardless of what they might have been assuming/thinking about us. The small town did bring in a lot of tourists but mostly from the neighboring Texas and Lousiana. A couple of people who saw my New York ID were surprised that I had come from so far, not knowing that I had come from way beyond the Atlantic Ocean;)

We found overnight parking in a nearby lot and then checked in. This hotel seemed like it was a big deal a few decades ago, but now was more of a 3-star heritage hotel constantly undergoing restorations. However, there was a grandeur to this hotel even though it was something of decades past. The rooms were very comfortable and the services offered by the hotel seemed like it used to be frequented by wealthy people in the area. However, it was still old in the sense that the decor was quaint colonial, the elevators had the old-timey mail chute, the room doors opened with a key and not a card, etc etc. We dropped our stuff in our room, the door to which we struggled opening multiple times. We had to ask people to help us and had to watch in amusing embarrassment at the ease with which they were able to open it for us. No exxageration, we spent at least 20 minutes in total over the weekend, trying to figure out how that key worked.

We then headed to the Quapaw Bathhouse a few blocks down the street. We had earlier made a reservation for a massage and facial but we decided that we could do that anywhere and decided to instead take a dip in their public thermal mineral pools that, like most of the establishments in the area, drew water from the natural hot springs. This natural hot spring water was cooled down to a controlled temperature that can be used recreationally. It also was used as drinking water in a lot of these places. Some of the minerals included calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and most of all, calcium carbonate. Some benefits of drinking or soaking in this hot mineral water are trace mineral absorption, heals skin problems, reduction in stress and blood pressure, boosts blood circulation, and promotes quality sleep and relaxation.

So the pools were of 4 levels: 95, 98, 100, and 104 degrees Celsius. We were asked to first shower and change into bathing suits and wear flip flops. They were serving cold drinking water by the pools as this was similar to sitting in a hot tub where you are perspiring and constantly losing water so it’s important to replenish that. We started at the coldest and made our way to the hottest pool. It was extremely relaxing. We dunked our heads in the water as well as this was relatively cleaner water than all the chemically treated water our face and hair had seen, and nothing compared to chlorine water in swimming pools. A couple of the pools had these shower structures with jets pushing out water from overhead at a pretty high pressure so standing under them felt like a massage for the head, neck and shoulders. We immediately realized we enjoyed the highest temperature pool the most, however, that could get a little too hot so we would switch around the pools and sit in the cooler ones before getting back into the 104 degree one again. We were in the pools for about 30-40 minutes after which we started getting exhausted to the point of passing out. It was physically draining in a way even though we weren’t moving, and we had foolishly forgotten to eat the whole day since breakfast. We finally left after a quick change and then headed back to the hotel to change into some nicer clothes to go out for dinner. 

We went to the Ohio Club which was supposed to have live music and is very famous for their burgers. We got the Ohio burger and the Southwest burger. I forget which one had the fried jalapeños in it but that was the better one. The burgers by themselves were a little dry and I needed some sauce, but we were so hungry we decimated them. We then went to Kilwin’s creamery (both these places were on Bathhouse Row) where we got a nice fat dollop of ice cream (as usual I got praline something and Saumya got chocolate something). Southern portion sizes and prices are exactly the opposite in nature to that of New York. We didn’t enjoy the Ohio Club as much as we gorged on lunch the next day at this new El Salvadorean place called Rolando’s, that was recommended to us by another guest we chatted up in the elevator. (He also told us to check out Fat Bottomed Girls cupcakes which turned out to be rich and delicious – and had a whole pink themed gift shop dedicated to it.) At Rolando’s, we were given the hugest bowl of chips and a corn, bean, tomato salsa, totally free. We could have easily gotten a guacamole which was one of the appetizers, and that would’ve been our entire meal if we finished those chips with the guac and salsa. The salsa was so fresh and went perfectly well with the crispy nachos and creamy guacamole – also fresh with diced tomatoes. We got a pork quesadilla and a chicken enchilada which were wonderfully cheesy and crispy at the bottom. There was also a delicious herby sour cream on top of them to cut the grease. We also got a slice of tres leches which was perfectly moist and a treat as always. I had been thinking about tres leches the entire week prior to this trip and the craving was more than satisfied (Saumya had gotten strawberry tres leches for me in Dallas). But all in all, New York could never match up on the portion size and pricing, because that entire meal came out to 40 dollars.

Every now and then we would come across a manmade structure like a fountain or a small pond garden that brought the steaming springs water to the surface and reminded you that this town was all about their hot springs. The Arlington hotel even had a tap in their lobby that said mineral water directly from the springs.

Totally forgot to go into our activities of the morning before we set out for the El Salvadorean meal. It was the most unforgettable morning I had had in a while.  We hot-boxed the car with amenities and then headed over to the hotel to check out. We went to the thermal spa in the hotel where the massages and facials were all booked out but we could do a private bath with essential oils. The whole experience cost 56 dollars including tip which was a steal. 

First they led us to our lockers where we had to strip down and then wrap ourselves in a towel and wear flip flops, both of which they provided. We were each assigned one female attendant. It truly felt like we were some old aristocratic missuses getting our Sunday spa routine in. My lady was named Khristina and she was a short red headed girl who was ever so polite, as all the Southern service staff usually are, with their Yes Ma’ams and their warm smiles. She led me to the bath that had been drawn up for me in this small cubicle. The spa was not super fancy and modern, that could be told from the older tiling and slightly cracking wallpaper, but it was clean and well-kept for how old this place probably was. The water was gushing through from a couple of jets in the tub to create a whirpool effect. There was a brass tap pumping hot water into the tub as if it were bringing water directly from the hot springs. The water was very hot so she adjusted it so that it was still hot but comfortable for me. She added the bath salts of my choice – eucalyptus, that I chose for calm, focus, and concentration – and then filled up a cup of hot water from the tap for me to keep sipping on. She placed a board under my back so I could lay back comfortably, and after she left I was trying to float on top of it. It was extremely calming, I felt like I had entered another state of consciousness that was so peaceful. I actively tried to blank my mind out and take in small details of the experience. All I could hear were the gushing jets of water that were doing god’s work by massaging my body. Maybe dunking my hair for this was a bad idea as the salts messed with my hair a little bit, but after a rinse later that day, it was left with a beachy look. The best part was there was no time limit on how long I could sit in there, however, after a point I started getting dehydrated and drained and the water started getting cooler and I decided it was time to be done.

Khristina then led me to the dry sauna for some more detoxification and relaxation. Dry saunas also have benefits in promoting blood circulation, weight loss, stress management, etc. However, it was extremely hot and I could not stay in there for more than 5 minutes. She then gave me another cup of iced water and then had me lay down on a table to cool down before the hot towels which I was experiencing for the first time. She wrapped my body in these very hot towels and covered my face with a cold towel. It was extremely relaxing and I felt like my muscles were healing, even though we hadn’t done shit to work them. Maybe if our hike was a little more intense, we would’ve deserved that more. Hot towels are supposed to open up the pores and soften the skin as it keeps the moisture trapped as the body cools down. As I lay down there, I just remember being so grateful that I could experience this peaceful moment, and tried to focus on my breathing and do Shavasana which was apt for the culmination of this wonderful experience.

It was after this amazing morning that we went and had the delectable meal at Rolando’s. After that we rounded up our stuff and headed back to Dallas. Once in Dallas, we chilled and watched a little bit of a new Netflix documentary called the Romantics before crashing for the night. There was a minor setback to this perfect weekend where I ended up losing my new glasses and was extremely upset about it for a bit, not only because they were kind of expensive, but also because I was practically blind without my contacts for the rest of the weekend. But that was just another lesson in going easy on yourself when you mess up. But also a lesson to triple check the hotel room before you leave and not be a careless dumbass about it.

The next day was a Monday and we worked on our laptops while playing Band Baaja Baarat in the back and also getting these amazing Birria tacos from a new place that opened near Saumya’s apartment, as well as some fish and shrimp tacos from Velvet Tacos which is a popular fast food chain. After our taco test runs, I set off for NYC with a sad goodbye and the wonderful memories of a short but fun-filled weekend.