Sara AmiraWhile we honour the achievements of prominent female figures this International Women’s Day, don’t forget to celebrate your girlfriends as well. From lending you their shoulders during fights with bae to lending their ears to rants about work politics, your girlfriends will always have your back. Time to show your girls some love; what better way to do so than to go on a girls trip!
However, I’m not referring about the usual shopping trips to Bangkok or island getaway to Bali (although we would certainly not mind heading there again for the nth time!). Here, this is all about trips where you and your girlfriends can bond on another level. Here are seven travel experiences where you can get really close and personal.
1. France: Visit a not-so-basic beach
Image credit: Nyctaline
You and your girls love to sunbathe but hate tan lines? Head to Plage de Tahiti, St. Tropez, France, which is a most iconic nudist beach. Back in the 1960s, sunbathing nude gained popularity in France as a way to empower women to have the choice of what they want to wear, or not to wear on the beach and allows women and men to dress equally. Cheers to girl power and no tan lines!
2. Australia: Try skinny dipping
Image credit: Sydney Skinny
Your girl squad thought of going nude on a beach but are too nervous in somewhere too public? Sign up for Sydney Skinny, a yearly nude ocean swim event. Sydney Skinny is a ticketed and private event where spectators are not allowed on the beach, which is perfect for your first nudist beach experience. Don’t worry, the event is not a competition, nor are you being timed. Just be comfortable, have an exciting time with your girlfriends and tick “skinny dipping” off your bucket list!
3. Japan: Soak in an authentic onsen
Image credit: julienlstark
It is said that Japan is the country that has the most hot springs, also known as onsens. Most tourists visit “onsens” that allow swimsuits to be worn. Locals say that these “onsens” aren’t the real deal. Even the Japanese Snow Monkeys agree that being nude is the way to go. Why not listen to both kind of locals and go for the authentic onsen experience with your girls. Soak in the nude experience (see what I did there?) and truly relax your body and mind.
4. South Korea: Get Scrubbed Down in a Jimjilbang
Image credit: Korea Tourism Organisation
Want to get beautiful, gleaming skin that Korean women are known for? Go forth and exfoliate! Hit up a jimjilbang (bath house) with your girlfriends and go for a professional scrub, or seshin, where ajummas (aunties) will quite mercilessly scrub you down in the nude with scrubbing mitts. The result is the smoothest skin you’ll ever have! As the saying goes, no pain, no glory (or a glorious mien, in this case).
Read TripZilla’s Guide to Staying Overnight in a Korean Jjimjilbang here.
5. Finland: Take a leap of faith at a Finnish sauna
Image credit: Visit Lakeland
The first part of the sauna experience is what most people expect; sweat it out in your birthday suit in a heated steam room. In Finland however, there’s a second step to this therapeutic experience – you are supposed to whip yourself, or your girlfriends, with a vasta or vihta (a bundle of fresh birch) after getting warmed up. If that’s not strange enough, it is customary to go outside, still naked, and jump in a lake or sea or even roll in the snow! Sounds bizarre but the Finnish claims that it’s really good for health. You and your girls will love the after-sauna glow.
6. Czech Republic: Be brew-tiful in a beer spa
Image credit: Original Beer Spa
Instead of engaging in girl talk at your usual bar, why not go to a beer spa in Prague? The Czechs really love their beer. They consume the most amount of beer in the world and beer is cheaper than water there. You and your girlfriends can literally be immersed into The Czech beer culture at a beer spa! Continue your girl talk with unlimited beer on tap throughout your bath. With the detoxifying and beautifying properties in beer, your and your ladies will leave looking pitcher perfect.
7. United Kingdom: Learn About The Suffragettes
Image credit: Loco Steve
Are you and your girls history fanatics, or simply love learning about incredible women? Head down to the Votes for Women exhibition at the Museum of London to learn more about the suffragettes. The suffragettes are a diverse group of women who fought for equality and the right to vote for over 50 years in the early 20th-century. The exhibition is on till 10 March 2019. If that’s too late for you, not to worry – the Women’s Movement exhibition in the same museum, which takes place until 28 April 2019, will also shed light on how life was like for women in the same period and on those who fought for women’s rights in London.
In line with this year’s International Women’s Day campaign theme #BalanceforBetter, engage in meaningful conversations with your girlfriends about how the suffragettes helped pave the way for a gender-balanced world.
Tell your girl squad to clear their schedule and pack their bags, it’s time to jet off for your next girl trip. Whether it’s to gain new experiences, or to pamper yourselves, or to learn, you will definitely be having the time of your life with your closest girls. Happy International Women’s Day!
