Travel Talk

Best $5 I Ever Spent, EVER!

Greetings,

Just when I thought I had nothing to write about, I went on a sift in a now decrepit pair of Sunday slippers. The night was cool and I was looking for a massage. I had been to all the regular joints and was going to scope out this new one. I got there and my gut said it was too vanilla, too commercial so I ventured forth into uncharted territories.

I then sifted onwards and decided it was a dead-end so I turned around. Sifting is slower than strolling and not even related to marching, fyi. I saw a sign that said “Thai Massage & Training” with an arrow down this desolate lane way off the main drag. As I walked I passed some fields and a make-shift sewing operation. That got me thinking about the shorts. Instead of mass production perhaps make them on a per order. I also need some sewing done.

I digress.

I get to the end of this lane and on my left is this house with a massage sign out front. I looked at the price and it was 150b or $5. Most other places are $4-$4.50, I can’t believe I just mentioned that but the thought did run through my mind. In the window were these posh couches and a lovely lady in her late 40’s or early 50’s sitting there watching TV. She smiled, I smiled back and kept walking.

After about 12.2 steps I turned around and went to the door. Something about this place, something about this lady. She was older but looked amazing, I figured when she was younger, she must have been the talk of the town. She opened the door and I asked about a massage. She told me the price and I went in.

This place felt really homey and it had a few well decorated massage rooms. Not knowing what to expect I lay down and waited for the lady to return. Turns out, I just got the best massage of my life. She went so slow and methodical that I thought we’d run out of time. Either she went way over 1 hour or all the others had been gaming me. *shakes fist with a scowl*

Not only was it the best massage I ever got, it also involved tiger balm. Tigers are cool and when something is the “bomb” it’s usually pretty dope, this was no different. She’d do the massage and rub tiger balm into all the joints. I’ve never had a tiny lady walk down my back on her knees, she had moves I’d never seen before. I felt like I was in a tiger balm thai massage freestyle, of sorts.

This is very in-keeping with my motto in life, “you’ll never know unless you go”. After the massage she offered me coffee or tea and I sipped my tea on that comfortable couch while watching thai television as this younger lady cut ribbons for some sort of decorations.  She’s the massage trainer and I told her I’d be back. Tuesday’s and Saturday’s will now be 100%, perhaps even during the week.

When you get a great massage you really realize how sore you are from all the hours hunched over a computer with what could at best be described as “horrible ergonomics”. That also got me thinking of how mangled most workers (myself included) are when they work 9-5 hunched over a computer like monkey’s on a type-writer. I can’t believe that back home they charge  $70 an hour for some girl who probably likes her job as much as you do and is fresh from some “massage course”.

I left right as it began to rain and headed to the night market. I bought an omelet with pork and veg for $0.33 and 5 pieces of sushi for less than a dollar. Picked up some skewers and was on my way. I made it home just before the rain began.

Went out last night, had a great time and ran into who are becoming my “nightlife” friends. A group from Tampa and a gent from Toronto. Hung out a bit, drank some, eat some shawarma and stepped in a murderhole of mud before dunking my foot in a barrel but that is besides the point.  The whole night with cabs two and fro cost me $13.67. The 1st cab was from other side of town as I was looking for this “elusive expat bar” but gave up and hailed a cab.

I’m starting to really like it here, adjusting to a more “normal” lifestyle then the hectic and curiously chaotic way of life as a drifter.

On that topic, I wrote a budget(that’ I’ll add here) on how one could work out, enjoy night life, eat-out like a glutton, get 2x massages a week and play a round of golf for under $600us a month.  Most likely way under but I am over-estimating the price of living here just to be sure. If one had friends and shared a house, under $400, most likely.

I found a complete gym that is 50b a session or 800b a month. I will use per session as over-training is the death of you. When you pay for a day you also have access to yoga, dance or aerobics on weekdays. In theory you could work out in the morning, lounge all day then hit up yoga. Only did yoga a few times with my ex-gf, who knows who one could meet?

In closing, if you have your own business, the easiest way in the world to make more money without doing ANYTHING is to simply jack your prices. I raised mine ~20% on the lower end package and ~15% on the higher end package and have been making identical sales. Even my “regulars” have been paying the new price, not a word. If you have a business, you must play with prices, I insist.

It’s Saturday, it’s healthy to go out on Saturdays.

Tip of the hat,

P.S: “The Never Ending Story” was on today when I woke up, not how I remembered it but still an incredible movie. If you have kids, they have to see it, if you’re still a big kid, you should see it, again.

Search du Jour?:  “im a taxi driver and hate my job should i quit” – Result.

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