Thai massage at Wat Pho

We had our first Thai massages today! After a morning of wandering around several wats and the grand palace, we opted for a half-hour, full body, $5 rubdown. The spectatular Wat Pho, a temple with intricate tiling, beautiful gold leaf, countless chedis and home of the largest Buddha in Thailand, also conveniently houses the School of Massage. They give you a queue number then rush you to one of the many beds crammed into the small building, knead your body and muscles with strong hands for the requisite time period, give you a glass of juice, and send you on your way. Production line or no, it was fantastic. Thai massage is a whole body affair, and by whole body I mean the masseuse's whole body... They sit, stand, and straddle you in all possible positions while using their hands, arms, backs, and even feet. At one point my masseuse was sitting at the end of the bed, grasping my feet with both hands and stretching my legs apart, while her leg was extended along mine and she pressed her foot into my inner thigh. Somehow it felt great. (?) The whole affair is really relaxed but without privacy, and the masseuses chat each other up and laugh away in Thai while you wonder if they're joking about your stinky feet. My masseuse liked to make fun of me for not knowing what to do and would tap me on the wrist and laughingly order, "turn over, sleepy!" The whole session was great and Em and I seriously considered going back for a full hour... although my inner thigh is relaxed enough for one day.

-alyssa (learning how to write short posts, finally!)