The rain begins to fall in slow, silvery threads. In the distance, a lone red junglefowl darts for cover. Around me, the bathers fall into a hush, as we watch the dense wall of greenery blur behind wide windows.

I start to notice the small things: The silky warmth of water enfolding my body, the layered soundscape of drizzle and sonic beats. The storm outside lulls me into a kind of limbo, and my mind quiets. I feel cocooned in a forested mountain hideaway.

Except that I’m in the heart of Dempsey at Nowhere Baths, a contemporary bathhouse designed to bring back the ancient, communal pleasure of bathing.

Opened on Apr 18, Nowhere Baths is the brainchild of Derrick Foo, 37, and Sarah Chan, 34. The couple are the same duo behind Palm Avenue Float Club, Singapore’s pioneering floatation therapy centre opened in 2014, and Altered States, a now-shuttered wellness and movement space in Kampong Bahru.

Nowhere is their newest vision yet – a sanctuary to “soak, sweat and steam, dream, and simply be.”

BATHING AS PLEASURE, NOT PERFORMANCE