Huynher's Adventure: Foot Massages and more…

No trip to Bangkok is the same without a good foot massaging experience. Luckily we bumped into Kenny’s friend, Chi Fong Luong and his girlfriend Tracy Ng. It was actually pretty weird, we were on the subway heading back to the hotel, when I heard Kenny scream out, “Chi, what are you doing here?” You would never think to bump into a friend halfway around the world. It was a pretty good feeling being able to see someone familiar in a foreign country. Well, it was Tracy that recommended us to go to the King and I Spa. They went the night before and told us that it was excellent. So we headed out there the next day, and signed up for a 45 minute foot reflexology massage. Let me tell you, it wasn’t the best experience at all.

First off, the masseuse starts by getting you comfortable in your chair. She then soaks your feet in warm, soapy water while gently getting all the nasty bits out between your toes (doing this with a smile on her face). After that your feet are dried with a fluffy towel and then the brutality begins. Menthol smelling lotions are rubbed into your feet while she works all your pressure points. It seems the moment she senses that you are nearly lulled into a deep sleep she pulls out a funny looking stick to get you back to your senses. The stick is made of wood that is ridged and ribbed at the end. Trust me, you are definitely jolted straight back into your chair instead of laying back in relaxation.She uses this handy little tool to rub all over the soles, the sides and even on top of your feet. The rather sharp point is used to press into the "head" of each toe – this is pure agony as she continuously presses into each toe and I am thinking I have 9 more to go. When the masseuse is done with your feet, she gets you to sit on a smaller chair in an upright position and starts pressing into your shoulders and neck to relieve any tension - dare I say tension caused by the foot massage. Yes, there are definite moments during the treatment where you think never again, but needless to say the benefits of having a thai foot massage are endless so I guess gritting your teeth every now and then is worth it. (we hope).

Kenny's Masseuse

Well Bangkok is not just a city of foot massages, it is also the transvestite capitol of the world where those with confused gender identities can live as they feel comfortable with little risk of open persecution or ridicule. It can definitely be confusing at times, I never know if I am looking at a man or a woman. And the funny thing is that some of them are probably the most beautiful ones you will ever see. We went to see the famous cabaret show – The Calypso Show at our hotel, the Asia hotel. As you enter the stage room area, you are seated at a little table with a complimentary drink. The show promises that all dancers are pure transvestites. And they sure were. Some of them actually looked like real women and some were just plain nasty looking. But throughout the show you are constantly reminded that they are men through their movements on stage. No matter how hard they tried to look and act feminine, they cannot hide the fact that they dance and move like men. As they dance, you can hear the hard feet movements on stage…. At the end of the show, you get to take pictures with the dancers. They pose in a straight line and ask you in for pictures. In the bright light, you can sure tell that they are men. Up close, they look like female giants. They are double Kenny’s height and some are actually scary to look at because of how hard they try to look like a female, but still look like a male.

Bangkok’s Khao San Road is backpacker’s haven. This is where most of the backpackers are situated when they arrive in Bangkok. This is also the only place where you can see the most foreigners hanging out in one place. It is never a dull moment here on Khao San Road. This is the place where you can actually get butter and toast for breakfast rather than noodles. But of course, because Kenny and I rather experience the true local culture of Bangkok, we chose not to stay at Khao San Road and rather happy that we didn’t. The area reminded us too much of America.

Only foreigners in Kao San Road area

We also went to visit the infamous Damonen Saduak Floating Market. Damonen Saduak is actually the name of a canal dug about 90 kilometers south of Bangkok. The market was definitely a spectacle. You pile into a rented boat and direct the pilot to paddle around, stopping to haggle at the various boats as you like. Most of the goods on offer are produce or other foodstuffs, with a few knickknacks thrown in. We were constantly held down by the sellers trying to sell us their hats and other souvenir items. I remembered this couple on our boat that bought fried bananas from a woman and they turned around and told us that it absolutely had no banana in it, but just fried dough. We bought fresh sliced mangos from another lady and as we bit into it, it was already the seed part. So, no mango meat but just three big seeds. Haa haa, that is what you get at such a touristy place.