Thailand- A Painful End

With my last post on my trip to Thailand I want to share one more unforgettable story. My friends and I took a regrettable odyssey into the world of cheap massage parlors.

After spending a day walking around the city to see all of the wats and various other sights we ran into, we headed back to our main haunt (the area near our hostel). We were so tired, and our feet were so sore from walking for hours that we could barely bring ourselves to take each step back. Along the way, we came up with a great idea- let's stop in at one of the many convenient little massage parlors scattered along the streets.

While walking down the street we spotted one and checked the price for a foot massage. For some reason we decided to keep walking and check the next one, but the next one was like 30 baht more expensive! Let's be clear, this is a 90 cent difference, and the total massage only cost a few dollars. So, being the clever bargain hunters we are, we looked at the price and promptly said "Let's go back to the cheap one!"

So to the cheap, street massage parlor we went. We were greeted by a woman sitting in front of the shop. She ushered us in, showed us to chairs, and began to prepare tubs to wash our feet in. While preparing her materials she got on the phone and chattered away in Thai for a minute. Within five minutes, two more Thai women rolled up to help her with our massages. I have two theories to explain this, first I wonder if all the cheap, street-side massage parlors are all just a network, and they can call each other when they need a hand so they just run in between different parlors. My second theory, is that to work in a cheap, street-side massage parlor you don't need any kind of training or qualifications, so they just call up their friends or sisters or cousins whenever they need extra help. This is a mystery I may never solve. Anyway, back to our foot massages.

So the ladies bathed our feet in warm water, soaping them up, and patting them dry with towels. This already felt great for our poor tired feet! Tricia and I both requested a regular foot massage, while Charles opted for a back and shoulders massage. While sitting there I glanced around the shop. Turning my head over my right shoulder, to my astonishment I saw what appeared to be an open glass vase halfway full of old popcorn crumbs. But wait, there are dark things moving. It was a vase full of live, crawling bugs. I turned to Tricia, who was sitting next to me, and motioned for her to look. She peered around me and quickly her face turned to an expression of simultaneous disgust and complete bewilderment. We looked at each other and exchanged the same glance. "Maybe it is just some Thai massage parlor thing," we thought.

By now the massages were under way. They started out being uncomfortable and by the end were downright painful. At one point the massage "therapists" used sharp wooden sticks to stab the bottoms of our feet. They found the most tender areas of our soles and proceeded to dig the sticks in as hard as possible. When we flinched, they heartlessly chuckled and continued their devil's work. I kept glancing over at Tricia's massage, she seemed to have a lady who actually knew what she was doing. Well, at least one of us was getting a satisfactory experience.

Finally the merciless onslaught of pain was over, and they served us ginger tea. This actually is one thing that I do really love about Thai massages- they always serve you a steaming cup of sweet ginger tea at the end! I sipped my tea, and sang its praises to Tricia. She agreed with me that it was delicious, but then a minute later she abruptly set the cup down without finishing. I found this odd, since the tea is so delicious and she had just agreed with me on that. But I figured she must be full or something. So we paid and left the shop.

After leaving the shop we walked along quietly for a minute, then started to talk about our cheap massage parlor experience. What started as a small comment from one of us that the massage was not as nice as anticipated soon turned into a full disclosure of the terrible pain each of us endured in that hour! Tricia told me that she had been thinking my thoughts exactly, looking over at my massage and thinking that I must be having a nice foot rub. Meanwhile, Charles was abused in his massage as well (which incidentally caused him lasting shoulder pain for two days!), he regretted his decision to get a shoulder massage and kept thinking "Oh man, I bet the girls are enjoying their foot rubs. I should have gotten that!" Tricia also revealed that while drinking her tea, she looked down to see an ant crawling around in her cup! After realizing how terrible it was for all of us, we resolved never to fall into the cheap massage parlor trap again! After this massage experience we had our last night in Thailand, and by the following evening we were on a plane back home.

By the end of one week in Thailand, I was ready to get out of there and return home to Japan, a place where I understand the language, crave the food, and love the people. (And of course it didn't help that my last day in Thailand I was struck with a crippling stomachache that made any movement horrible! Thank you Thailand food/water poisoning.)

In all of my other trips abroad I have had a real purpose in being in that place, whether it was volunteer work, exchange program, or working; and that made my travels abroad so much more meaningful. But while I was in Thailand, I was a mere tourist. Just another person spending a week enjoying all the same touristy things that thousands of other tourists enjoy. I had fun in Thailand, made some good memories, saw things I will never see somewhere else, and I am without a doubt glad that I went. But overall the trip was just emptier than all my previous trips have been. What I love about traveling is the opportunity to experience a different culture firsthand and interact with the local community. Though I had a pretty good time, I think I would have enjoyed Thailand even more if I had been able to spend some time in a smaller city, with locals, or by making some kind of contribution.

So by the end of adventure-full trip I was ready for a steaming bowl of delicious udon, which I soon had the pleasure to eat. Coming soon- chronicles of my New Year's in Osaka, Japan.

The outlook behind Doi Suthep, on clear days you can see Chiang Mai!