Massage

So in my pursuit to remain mellow and relaxed rather than turn to negative habits I have found a nice way to relax, the massage.  A proper massage can vary depending on the provider, but I will be writing about the differences and similarities between three types I have received so far in Asia, the Thai massage, the proper Chinese massage and the Balinese massage.  Each massage has its own merits for what makes it a good massage, however my favorite massage is a Thai massage - given by a Chinese masseuse.

Reclining Buddha

Wat Po

So Thai massage was my first foray into professional massage therapy.  I visited Wat Po, which is a temple dedicated to massage and the massage of Buddha.  Christopher and I both visited massage therapists for one hour who provided a very respectable service.  My masseuse was a bit heavy handed, but was very professional.  I stared jealously at Christopher's masseuse.  She seemed to have the perfect touch, but alas, another day.  Wat Po is also a training center, so I imagine my masseuse was not only well trained but also a trainer who was keeping all the hidden secrets of Thai massage and passing them through to me with gentle massage.  Maybe not, but it was at least a relaxing massage.

Later while visiting one of the beach cities, Cha am, I received a better Thai massage.  I think the masseuse used a better technique and it was a generally more relaxing massage.  The massage was from foot to head and back.  Oil was included.  The pressure applied was nearly perfect, which is why I prefer the Thai massage.  I think overall I prefer woman masseuse to men, because the touch.  It is somehow easier for most women to add pressure than for most men to release pressure from their touch.

Cha Am, Thailand

Chinese massage is usually accompanied by one word, pain.  Chinese massage is full contact, of course you can ask your masseuse to go easy, but they will probably ignore you, or just go easy enough.  My friend commented once, you should cry during a good massage, because the tears are toxins released from your body.  I am like, which part of relaxing does that include?

So, you can get a good Chinese massage, but you have to be prepared for some pain.  In addition, you might also get some accupressure or cupping included.  Accupressure is where pressure might be placed and released on particular trouble spots.  This, I highly recommend, because it increases blood flow.  Cupping, I would recommend only for the brave.  It involves hot cups being placed in position on the body and released over time.  They build pressure as they remain.  They can leave marking on the body for weeks after... after a few days, when the pain is gone, you can feel the effects of a good Chinese massage.  This is not the Chinese massage we are familiar with in America, sort of like American Chinese food, different concept.

The final massage I received about a week ago was the Balinese massage.  My friends comment - that is a sexy massage.  I don't know if I laughed harder at that comment or the surprise when they handed us disposable underwear to wear during the massage.  The masseuses and I had big laughs.  Still, after it was finished I had to promise never to have a Balinese massage again, not because there was any hanky panky, but because it was too relaxing.  I don't know if my masseuse was that relaxing for me, I mean I was coming down with a cold, so maybe I wasn't in to the massage enough.  But from where my friend was sitting, I was too relaxed.  The technique is a combo between Chinese and Thai techniques, easy and then heavy pressure.  Also they pay plenty of attention to the feet and as well as the full body.  In the end they got my money because of the advertising of the poster.  The lady looks so ready for a massage...

Looking forward to another Thai massage soon, but seeing how I am headed back to China looks like I might have to put my body through the abuses of a Chinese massage next time I need to relieve some stress.  Much better than reaching for a drink or a pack of cigarettes.  At least with a good masseuse.  Enjoying Bali.

Bali Sunset

Shanghai

Noodles @ 3:00am

Shanghai is a huge city in which every corner holds little wonders that you couldn't imagine. The small part of the city that we got to see was intriguing so I'm sure that the rest of it is even more fascinating. We arrived at the airport around midnight or 1:00am.  The line at passport control at the airport was pretty long, though it moved along fairly smoothly. It took us at least an hour to make it to the front of the line. Seeing as though we didn't have a Chinese visa, we were prepared for questioning and paperwork once-overs.

The guy at our booth scanned out passports, asked a few questions, then called his supervisor over. Soon afterwards we were directed to some bench seats a little further away and told to wait. And wait, and wait. In a little while, the supervisor told Orlando that he was waiting for flight confirmation from Sri Lankan airlines. They wanted to make sure that we would be out of China no later than 48 hours from then. There was also the issue of our hotel. We had only booked one room online, planning to secure another room when we arrived. Apparently they were a little wary of this, but they let it slide anyway. After what seemed like forever, we were finally given our 48 hour pass and released from passport control. 

It turns out that our baggage had been removed from the 'merry go round' and had been stacked neatly on a luggage cart for us. Not having to go on a mad hunt for our luggage, piece by piece, was a welcome surprise. One of the first of many to come. 

Asari and the Pagoda

We arrived at the hotel and it appeared to be a fair amount of staff still on duty. Someone showed us to our room upstairs, and then we were on the hunt for some food. Orlando and I go down to the receptionist to ask if she knows where a restaurant is where we could eat. The hotel restaurant is closed, but she directs us to this section on the other side of the lobby where there are bags of snacks and all different kinds of ramen noodles. This just wouldn't do. After a few days of mediocre to horrible food, we wanted some real sustenance. So we tried to get her to understand that we wanted to go out. She insisted that no, no we shouldn't go alone because everything was closed. Finally, she understood that we meant serious business and called one of the staff on the phone to take us out. The streets were pitch black, but there were still people mingling about, and there was a little convenience store that was open too. But we walked on past that. Whoa this guy was walking fast! Orlando was keeping up but I was having a hard time doing so, luckily where we were going wasn't far. We ended up at a street full of food carts. One sold skewers with different mushrooms, onions, and other veggies on them to be grilled, along with soups. Two others sold stir fried noodles. We got six orders altogether and the total was 30 yuan which comes about to about 5 dollars. What a bargain!  They tasted amazing, the best food we'd had in a long, long time. The guy that took us to this gem of a place refused to take a tip or food from us. How awesome. We slept like babies until 2pm the next day.

We did a little shopping the next day, bought some excellent Taiwanese oolong at a reasonable price. The people we came across all looked as we passed by. And I mean they looked, as in stared. But they were very friendly and courteous so I had no complaints.

The next day, the hotel called us two taxies and we made our way safely back to the airport. As we borded the airplane I thought to myself that we would surely have to make it back here for a longer stay.

Vienna Hotel in Pudong, Shanghai

Carrefour Shanghai

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Shanghai Pudong Airport