Thai massage
(Picture courtesy of Pete; me having my feet washed before a Thai massage: Bangkok)
I was slightly nervous before my very first Thai massage today, in fact, it was my very first professional massage ever so I had no idea of what awaited me. The whole process took two hours and involved the brief preparation of slipping into this natty blue ensemble that felt like hospital scrubs. Then my feet were washed, ready to begin the massage from there and work up. It seems to be the custom here to keep the head and feet very separate; the feet are regarded as dirty and must be washed before the massage begins. I also noted that my masseuse left the room (Pete told me it was to wash her hands) before beginning to massage my head and face. The room we lay in looked almost like a hospital ward and looking over at Pete wincing whilst being folded up in a blue two-piece, it could have been a bizarre physio session.
Thai massage involves the masseuse using more than hands; the feet, elbows, arms and bodyweight are made use of to great effect. At the end of my session, I was sitting as she sat behind me; she pinched my back between her right leg and left knee and twisted my shoulders left in order to eke out some substantial creaking from my back. After the session, we changed and sat down to drink two cups, one filled with water, the other with a strange pink, floury liquid with no taste. At this point, the experience felt surreal; my body ached in a new way, my head still feels like it has been chewed by an oversized dog. I felt very tired and very odd after the massage and I had a terrible, grouchy hunger soon afterwards, but after a meal I really felt fantastic. Hopefully I will have a chance to revisit the Thai massage, I could feel the masseuse breaking through tight cables of knots in my shoulders that have probably been developing for years. I heard that Thai massage can actually make infertile couples conceive and can cure all manner of ailments – I wonder what it can do for my tangled shoulder muscles…
Wow, how lucky you are. I hope I were Pete’s guest. Every time we
went to Thailand, no matter which part of Thailand, I would go for
a massage, even there was no time going for one during our stay there, before boarding when there is enough time for a brief one, I would still go for it.
So far, I haven’t gone for a two-hour one.
However, don’t go for one done on the beach, I caught a cold after that.