Massage-y

Earlier this week Tuesday. I was up late studying downstairs in Tao Li Yuan with a couple Korean friends (1 female, 1 male). Around 11:45 ish they abruptly asked me if I was interested in getting a massage(y). A message this late immediately raised some flags and prompted some questioning. It turns one of my friends had been there a couple times already. The place was only about 5-10 minute walk from campus. The closer for me was the price. 2 hours for $58 RMB (= <$8 USD).

Keep in mind, at this price your not paying for ambiance. I've never spent money on a massage before, but I'm guessing that means no scented candles, relaxing background music, or whatever people get at the standard spa. We walked into the first room of the place, which looked like a normal living room. Three people people were there eating a late night meal and watching TV. My Korean friends did all of the talking and we were later led into another back room with three lazy-boy like massage chairs.

The masseuses came into the room (2 guys and a girl). I got the dude, which was sweet, he had strong hands. We started out with the standard back and shoulder massage, which felt pretty awesome. We soaked our feet in warm tea for about 10 minutes. The tea is later sold to Westerners for exorbitant prices. Our feet and calves were then massaged for the next 30 minutes or so. Throughout the 1st hour the masseuses were helping with our Chinese pronunciation.

We were later shuffled into another room with the standard massage tables where you lie face down. We spent the next hour getting massaged from head to toe again. Paying less than $8USD for a 2 hour no frills massage at 1am in China. On a scale of "Zero" - "Rad", I'd say the experience was pretty sweet.

The next day I told my friends (both White) about the place and couple of them went out that night to get their $58RMB massages. One of them somehow got the Chinese fire-cupping treatment. Which is damn hilarious, cuz he came back with ridiculously large red circles all over his back. We all get a good laugh reenacting the "wai guo ren" getting suckered into the most ridiculous treatment available in Chinese massages.