The Champagne of Bottled Springs

View from the enclosed "beauty baths"

I crossed over the mountain from a pleasant 65-degree, overcast, calm morning in Fort Bragg to Willits and Ukiah, where a 106-degree temperature nearly melted my car seats. Isn't it just like California to have a 35-degree temperature change an hour's distance away.

My main reason for stopping in Ukiah was Vichy Springs Resort, one of the oldest continuously operating mineral springs in the state. Vichy is touted as "Jack London's favorite" for it's bubbly carbonated water. It's certainly gone upscale since my last trip here 15 years ago. Then it was a clothing-optional hippie haven, with a shed where you paid to use the facilities. Now there's a set of hotel rooms, an Olympic-size pool, walking trails and landscaping. One of the trails leads to a waterfall  But some things remain the same as they were in 1854, when the former Native American site was "discovered" by settlers.

The old concrete tubs are stained with 160 year's of constant mineral

inflow. Bathing suits are required throughout the property, but there are 3 two-tub rooms like this one which can be conveniently locked for those who eschew swimwear. There are outdoor open tubs, and an open hot tub (104 degrees). The mineral bathing water isn't hot as most think of mineral springs - it's kept at 70 degrees year round.  If you sit still in the regular baths, you'll be covered with thousands of tiny bubbles, thanks to the water's carbonation - the "champagne effect." The tubs are huge: 8 feet long and 3 feet deep, and the bottoms are rough from decades of use (if you wear a suit, make it your shabbiest one, as the rough bottoms are tough on YOUR bottom and will tear up the lycra). Be warned: if you have some difficulty stepping down and up that distance, you'll need assistance (they're planning on putting up grab bars).

Tubs fill and empty using 1860s tech: You pull up the standpipe (the white thing in this pic) and place it in the hole on the other end of the tub; the tub fills. Reverse the procedure to empty the tub.

This particular tub is in the "beauty baths", which have more boron and less carbonation than the regular tubs. That mound surrounding the standpipe is a century of mineral flow accumulation of iron, sulphur and other minerals, supposedly great for softening the skin.

All I know is that I felt relaxed and happy after my $35 two-hour visit ($50 for three hours). Must have been the tiny bubbles.

On the way down 101, I was struck by a sudden desire tor barbecue, and I found a most interesting place: The Hamburger Ranch Slow Cooked BBQ in north Cloverdale (pardon me, "The World Famous Hamburger Ranch & BBQ" - they have a wall of international postcards to prove it). Country music on the speakers, old west funk decor and great BBQ. I fell in love with the waiter when he cheerfully replied, "Of course!" to every request. I understand this place is normally packed for sports games - I hope that's in their future. Meanwhile, if you're in the neighborhood, it's a worthwhile stop. Good 'cue isn't easy to find.

Day Four: Eat for Free!

Chime introduced us to the Metro—the crowding made Tokyo train cars look like empty warehouses—thank goodness for the first “ladies only” car, as we were back-to-bosom all the way. We all managed to rendezvous at the famous Chowri Bazar, a warren of shops and nameless alleys selling everything from street food to underwear. Nothing compares to this major visual overload. Chime does not like to shop: We literally ran down the street known locally as the wedding market; incredible beads, laces, and trims beyond gorgeous for those who made their own saris. I probably could have lingered there for a couple of days. Overhead, the electrical wiring was in itself a thing of wonderment. One power line was usually spliced into 20 others—in America, every power pole would have yellow hazard tape around it.

After our shopping-free sprint, we went to Jama Masjid, the most famous mosque in India, built by Shah Jahan in 1650. Four gates surround the courtyard of this huge and peaceful place, which can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. Women in pants (most of us) and men in shorts were given either full body dresses or sarongs to wear, though we were allowed to refuse if we chose; women were asked to cover their heads and men were given caps.

A few blocks down the street, we paused in the waiting room of the Sikh Temple before washing our hands and feet in the fountains on the entry steps. Inside, we sat a few moments while the Sikh holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) was read (a continuous process that takes several days for each reading); the book is considered to be instruction on both the spiritual and material life of all Sikhs. Author Pearl Buck wrote these words in the introduction to a 1960 English translation of the Guru Granth Sahib: “I have studied the scriptures of the great religions, but I do not find elsewhere the same power of appeal to the heart and mind as I find here in these volumes. They are compact in spite of their length, and are a revelation of the vast reach of the human heart, varying from the most noble concept of God, to the recognition and indeed the insistence upon the practical needs of the human body. …They speak to a person of any religion or of none. They speak for the human heart and the searching mind.”

We were led to the communal kitchen where we joined other volunteers in food preparation, then ate lunch on the floor of a gymnasium-sized room, seated on 50-foot-long sisal mats. The lunch consisted of daal and chapattis served on tin plates; the temple feeds hundreds of people for free all day, every day.

Audience Hall of the vast Red Fort

Chime left us on our own after that, and we milled about like lost ducklings for a few minutes until several of us decided to go to the nearby Red Fort. 

For a World Heritage Site, the fort was ill maintained, a disappointment. Bamboo framework held up some of the structures and the gardens were untended. As Claudette, one of my troop pointed out, Europe was in the dark ages when the Red Fort was built; India lead the world in architecture, mathematics and astronomy. Now we see two men with sledgehammers busting up an ancient monument to stick an iron rod in it so they can build a bamboo scaffold to hold it up. Rumor has it that there are so many palms (and I don’t mean trees) being greased in political circles in Delhi and India that everything is sliding to ruin. The Red Fort was a sad example.

Josef and I decided to skip the group visit to yet another tomb and head for real coffee. We took the Metro to Connaught Place, the “British” part of town, found a Starbucks-like cafe, and enjoyed the first real caffeine hit of the trip. Espresso! Brownies! Yes! I fear I am one of those tourists I’ve make fun of, minus the socks and sandals. Wait…I did wear socks with sandals on the plane….

To see specific reviews of guides/travel companies, places to eat, stay and shop in India, see my custom guide to the golden triangle on GoGoBot.