I Survived Thai Massage… And Decided to Have Some More

My female massage experience in tourist and local places

Me receiving Traditional Thai massage. Property of the author.

I wasn’t into massages before coming to Thailand. But this place is all about massage, right? And even so, I was hesitant. You know, all this feedback about Thai massage being too painful.

My back began to ache after my first month in Chiang Mai (north Thailand). I looked around: rough wooden furniture. My body refused to fit into beds, chairs, or work desks.

“How do these people put up with this furniture?” I thought.

And then I began to notice… Thai massage was not a tourist thing. It was a local thing. So I ended up trying almost every type of massage I wanted. I found very cheap and super posh options, ex-prisoner's massages, massages in temple courtyards and more.

I learned two things about it:

1. Traditional Thai massage felt like someone doing yoga with my body. I’m flexible, so it didn’t feel painful. It may be a problem for people who are less flexible. This is not a relaxing type of massage, it’s more like exercise.
2. Thailand is a very safe place for a woman to get a massage. I always wore special costumes and had a safe place to change.

I split my massage experiences into three categories:

Ambience Places

It was quiet and peaceful, with relaxing music playing in the background. A Thai woman bowed to me.

“Let me wash your feet, ma’am.”

She poured rose water on my feet while another woman served me a cup of tea.

I chose a deep tissue massage, and it’s far from a classic Thai massage.

“Let me show you your room.”

The woman led me down the dimly lit corridor and then left me to change. The woman was nice, and her movements were soft. My initial deep tissue massage evolved into a Thai massage combination. Whatever she did, she would always ask “Are you okay, ma’am?”

Tourist places like this offer dozens of different massages at a higher price as it takes time and money to educate masseuses.

I had the softest massage in such places. Masseuses never go deep into tissues because it is painful, and they must ensure that you’re not howling in pain. What relaxes me there is the ambience.

Overall:

• Accept cards
• Book in advance
• Price: $20–60

Ex-prisoners Massage

Photo by the author.

I was trying to get into a prisoner education centre once. It greeted me with guards, both men and women. And a huge line. The centre works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., so I couldn’t get there in the afternoon.

“Come back tomorrow at 8 a.m. We accept no cards and no bookings.” One of the guards warned me.

So I ended up going to one of the ex-prisoners places.

As strange as it may sound, many Thai massages are performed by female ex-prisoners. Thailand borders Laos and Myanmar, with Chiang Mai being the closest tourist place to this area. Golden Triangle — where all three countries come together. Where opium fields used to grow. The triangle still exists in some forms, and Thai women get involved in narcotrafficking. Massage salons are one of the few places where women can find work after being released from prison. By supporting these salons, you’re helping ex-prisoners.

So the ex-prisoners’ place looked less posh, and the masseuses felt more relaxed chatting to each other. This place offered the two most popular Thai massages: full body and foot. This is what they’re learning to do while imprisoned.

I went with full body, and a chubby masseuse led me through a room filled with beds and other customers. Mostly men. I already changed to this traditional Thai massage costume, so who cares.

The chubby woman also didn’t go deep into tissues. And “Are you okay?” was the only thing she knew in English. But we were having fun. She enjoyed twisting my flexible body, so we ended up photo shooting our session.

Overall:

• Mostly only cash
• Can’t book in advance
• Price: $7–15

Temple Massage

My back was still killing me despite previous efforts. I was wandering around Chiang Mai’s temples when I came across a vague message invitation. And a tiny door. I felt adventurous that day, so decided to give it a go.

One of the massage places is hidden behind the temple. Photo by the author.

I squeezed through the door to find a small room with a man and a woman doing massages on the floor.

“What massage do you want?” The man noticed me.

“This one.” I pointed at the one I had wanted to try for a while — Thai herbal compress massage.

The man nodded. I didn’t know I was lucky that day. Most of the time, such places are full, and they do not allow you to stay and wait.

Anyway, I was lucky. While I was changing behind the wardrobe, the woman began to boil herbs for the compress.

The next thing I remember is lying on a mattress on the floor with the woman burning my body with the hot balls. It felt like she was pouring herbal tea on me.

“No heat, no good.” The woman said, burning my wriggling body.

And that night, my body felt relaxed as never before.

You can also have your massage done at weekend markets. Apart from foot massages, I saw a couple of old guys doing Tukson — the one when a masseuse hammers all parts of your body with a mini wooden hammer. I didn’t have time to wait at that time. Maybe next time.

Overall:

• Only cash
• Few masseuses
• Price: $4–10

The temple place with herbal compress massage. Photo by the author.

Verdict

Despite being one of the most iconic tourist attractions, Thai massage seemed to me to be a very traditional Thai thing. I encourage you to at least compare the tourist places with the local ones.

My skin has survived through all my travels. Here’s how:

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