This post may seem like a bit of a diversion from my set of blog posts on my travels in Vietnam, but bear with me!
Today, after a heavy morning of sightseeing (about which more in the next post), I went for a massage on the recommendation of a fellow traveller. And it got me thinking about the best massages I’ve had the good fortune to experience, amongst which this one definitely features.
Tucked down a pretty little alleyway in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, is the Omamori Spa. It is a social enterprise, and what makes the treatments here special is that they are carried out by young sight-impaired masseurs/ masseuses. The organisation states that its mission is ‘to dismantle negative stereotypes and demonstrate to customers that blind employees are not only capable but can deliver services of exceptional quality’. I am not going to argue with that.
From the minute I entered the spa, the atmosphere was extremely calm. My young masseuse led me up to the treatment area and gave me my instructions (which it later transpired either she didn’t give accurately or I didn’t understand! But no matter). I had chosen a treatment called ‘Zen-in-the-heart’, a treatment that the therapist tailors to the individual, and which may (and did) include deep tissue, acupressure, Swedish and hot stones. The entire 75 minute massage was carried out totally by touch – she felt her way to the parts of my body that she was working on, and let what she felt guide how long / how much pressure etc. Honestly, it was absolutely amazing. I totally trusted her and felt confident that she was taking every cue from what my body was telling her. I’m not sure where the time went but by the end I was in a state of total blissed-out relaxation. Amazing.
This had to rank amongst the top 5 massages I’ve had in my life… and it got me thinking about the others that make the top 5. Which currently would be as follows:
- An in-water massage at the Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland. I find water exceptionally relaxing at the best (and worst) of times… including during childbirth… so to lie on a float while the masseur massaged me in / under the water was an unbelievable experience.
- A massage at a rented flat during a girls weekend away to Krakow, where two Polish masseuses came and worked on four of us in two shifts. That massage hurt like a bitch and I swear I had bruises the day after, but my body felt like it had been released from a cage for days afterwards.
- An Ayurvedic Marmabyanga massage at Aroma Holistic Health in Pontcanna, Cardiff, which I wrote a whole blog post about back in 2016 here and which remains in my memory as the massage which rendered me totally incapable of driving home afterwards… I had to sit in the park until my brain and body had grounded themselves sufficiently to get behind the wheel of my car!
- A Thai massage carried out at the Chiang Mai Women’s Correctional Institution Vocational Training Centre by a prison inmate in training as a masseuse in order to ensure she had job prospects on her release. I paid a grand total of £6 for the privilege of being pulled and pummelled and it was fabulous.
I’m sure there are others that have slipped my memory, but today, along with these other four I’ve listed have most certainly stayed with me!
I’d be very interested to know whether you have any massage recommendations, wherever in the world you are 😊
50shadesofbrave 