Thai massage parlors

I had a great experience this morning. For my birthday Matt gave me a gift certificate for an hour-long Swedish massage at the small massage parlor in Wilmore, and today I went! I loved the heated table, the sandalwood massage oil, the relaxing music and candles, and I LOVED the face and scalp massage especially! Oh, it was just wonderful. AND when I got home, Matt had washed all the dishes (my job) so the relaxing experience could just go on and on! Ahhhhhh what a great morning.

During my massage, I was thinking about the only other time I've experienced a massage...which was a much weirder situation. I was 17, staying in Bangkok [alone] for a few days before moving up to Khon Kaen for the summer. For those few days my home was the Alliance Guest House, where several other random travellers and missionaries were in-and-out. Over breakfast one morning I met a guy (who's name has escaped me) who was stopping over in Bangkok on his way from India to Sri Lanka, where he would be working as a missionary in an orphanage for the next few years. Somehow the group conversation turned to Thai massage, which everyone raved about. Unknown name guy said he wanted to get a Thai massage before leaving for Sri Lanka, but was apprehensive about the shady nature of most massage parlors in Bangkok (if you don't know, Thai massage parlors = brothels, especially when white Western men show up alone!), so would I mind going along with him? I though, "Huh! That would be cool!" so went along without another thought. (Good Lord, so many red flags go up in my head as I'm re-telling this story!!!) Once we got to a reputable-looking parlor, we went in and were met by two women--a young Thai girl, and an old, rather scary-looking woman. They set us up on two side-by-side mattresses on the floor, fully clothed, and, well, gave us massages! The old woman did mine, and it was actually pretty painful. (Thai massage is a mix of blood-displacement and yoga, and doesn't have very much to do with muscle kneading.) At the end the old woman contorted my body into some really strange yoga positions and all I remember is feeling like a beached whale, an embarrassment which was only exacerbated by the fact that I was right next to a relatively complete stranger. After the massage was all done, unknown name guy and I were both given bowls of fresh pineapple which was, by far, the best part of the experience. Then we paid (about $5 for a half hour) and were on our way! Well, actually, unknown name guy was on HIS way--he had to leave and catch a plane, so I was faced with the challenge of shopping (er...finding....) my way back to the guest house by myself. All in all, it was a very weird experience and I should probably by very thankful that I got through it unscathed!