Surreal Odyssey at Bangkok Float Center

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Price: B2100/60 mins | B2500/90 mins
Hours: 10AM-10PM everyday, 7 days/week
Location: Bangkok Float Center, Show DC Complex, Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok Float Center

Address: Bangkok Float Center, Show DC Complex, Bangkok, Thailand
Email: info@bangkokfloatcenter.com
Phone: 098-628-9599 (Eng) | 093-159-9998 (Thai/Eng)

What Exactly is a Float?
Think of an over-sized bathtub with a top lid. Put 1000 liters of water to have a 30cm depth. Then, add 650kgs of Epsom salt. Warm the water to 35.5° to emulate body temperature. This is now the float environment.

When you immerse yourself into the tub (aka - pod in spa techno-jargon), the salt solution gives you buoyancy to keep you afloat and nullify the effect of gravity. You are now weightless! With water temperature the same as your body temperature, it's hard to discern where your body ends the water begins. It's surreal!

FIRST FLOAT

Immersion
Coming from an air-conditioned room, the 35.5° water felt soothing. Then my attention was focused on floating. This was my first float and it didn't feel 'normal' at first. It was a new sensation altogether. I tried comparing this with scuba diving on a neutral buoyancy (underwater but neither sinking or coming up) but it wasn't the same with the wet suit and mask strap. I could float while swimming, but it's also not the same. This one felt like the water was pushing me up - instead of me trying to keep afloat. The close comparison would be freediving while being at the bottom of my rope and staying there. But the water pressure of freediving is not in the float. I thought I could keep my mind awake while in meditation, but I fell asleep. The gentle wake-me-up music was my cue to come out of it. One hour felt like a pause!

Surrendering
You might think the body would instantly accept the new environment, but no. It took awhile before I acclimatized. I initially felt heaviness on my neck, but I guess that discomfort was the body trying to reboot itself from the compaction of gravity and bad posture. But when the body finally complied, it felt like dissolving myself into the water. I guess that's also when I fell into sleep. When I came out of it, I was very much at peace. It's almost like doing yoga nidra.

I was told that in some cases, there would be a pleasant after-effect that may come up and last up to 3 weeks. I don't exactly know what that is, but I will be mindful about body changes in the coming days.

SECOND FLOAT

Anticipation
More than anything else, I was curious about this 2nd float. Why? Because my body already has the muscle memory from the first float - so I won't have to acclimatize anymore...or at least I'll have a shorter transition. Additionally, would I then go deeper into my meditative trance?

Desiderata
The initial slight discomfort was still there as the body acclimatized, but lesser and shorter than the first time. This time, I had the familiarity of my stimuli-deprived surrounding - complete darkness, complete weightlessness and complete silence. Usually in meditation, I would focus on body sensations part by part. But this time, I felt dissolved into the water - it was hard to fixate on any body part. I instead focused on my breath for a deep sense of present awareness as I let go. Surprisingly, I didn't fall asleep. My mind was awake the entire time, although it drifted a few times until I would reign it in. At the end of the hour, after having showered and dressed-up, I remained calm and collected. I was reminded of Desiderata, "Go placidly amid the noise and haste...and remember what peace there may be in silence".

Binaural Beat
Because being on the float is to be in a meditative trance, I suggested to Sam (the Director) that instead of ear plugs, why not use a water-proof earphone and play binaural beats to exponentially deepen the trance? Binaural beats activate Theta waves in the brain that induce deep relaxation. It excites me to speculate what synergies arise when you combine these two powerful techiniques - deep relaxation by Floating and deep relaxation by activating Theta waves. Add a little auto-hypnosis to that and who knows? Maybe you walk on water at the end of it :) All I'm saying is that if you are playful (like me), you can bio-hack a bit. Floating can be a blender's base - to binaural beats, to auto-hypnosis, to meditation, to pranayama, etc.

Ending Thoughts
You don't have to go to the Dead Sea to experience extreme buoyancy in extremely salty water. Here in Bangkok, immersion on the Float gives you a surreal sensory stillness unlike anything else that's out there! It has to be experienced.

--- TheLoneRider
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Next stop:: Window Seat [His Precious]

Float Blogs:

• Meditation in a Sensory Deprivation Tank at Float Chiang Mai Jan 29, 2019
• Surreal Odyssey at Bangkok Float Center Oct 29/31, 2018

Float Tips:

• do an intense workout before the float. The exhaustion will pave the way for total surrender
• try not to have the salt-water on your eyes - it will sting
• if you are adventurous, bring your binaural beats .mp3 and your water-proof earphones to sink deeper into Theta Wave realm

Bangkok Map

Bangkok, Thailand

HOTEL

Adventure Hostel Bangkok - N7 BTS train stop, dorm rooms, great for solo travelers, laundry, roof deck, entertainment center, kitchen, all-day tea-coffee, fridge, clean
1541 Phahonyothin Rd. Payathai

RESTAURANT

Dalad Vietnamese Restaurant - N7 BTS train stop, authentic Vietnamese cuisine, clean & hygienic, fresh green leafy vegetables
195 Soi Pradipat 19, Pradipat Road, Phayathai

SPA / WELLNESS

Bangkok Float Center - experience a surreal sensory immersion as you effortlessly float on 10 inches of water, 5-stars from 524 Tripadvisor reviews
99/6-9 SHOW DC Retail and Entertainment Mega Complex (4th Floor)

 GYM| YOGA

Now's Fitness Bangkok - gym equipment, yoga, Muay Thai, boxing, fitness trainer, cafe, healthy food
726 Soi On Nut 14 Rd, Khwaeng Suan Luang, Khet Suan Luang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10250

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