Massages in Bangkok

As planned, I had my daily fill of massage during my Bangkok trip. On the day we arrived, YM and I headed to Paradis, touted to be the biggest spa in town, for a rub down. We both opted for the Paradis massage which was supposed to be a combination of Thai, Swedish and deep tissue treatment but we walked away disappointed at the end of the session. On my end, the pressure was not strong and firm and I was constantly “harassed” in a not-too-subtle way by the therapist for tips. That was only oil-based massage for the trip. One of the peculiar things I found during that session was that I was required to shower after the treatment – all my previous experiences was that I should keep away from showers or baths for at least 2 hours in order for the essential oils used to be absorbed by my body. All said, it was still a nice way to get into the groove of the holidays.

The following day, we traipsed to Pranee, which was just 2 doors away from Paradis and 1 step away from the Saladaeng station. This time I had a 1.5 hours of Thai massage. As usual, I requested for a strong and firm pressure and this session was a huge improvement over the previous day’s therapy. While I know it is not comparable but I walked away satisfied.

The highlight and the best massage therapy of the trip was at Baan Dalah. This was one of those places YM and I stumbled upon while looking for Kinraree Restaurant (Kinraree) and to think it was just steps away from Nana station (we were staying in the area – Soi 11 while Baan Dalah was in Soi 8, the same street as Kinraree). The one-hour Thai massage I had here more than made up for the past 2 days’ session and I was grinning from ear-to-ear during dinner that night. This was also probably my most painful massage in Bangkok but I have always been a firm believer that the strong pressures applied are the best way to iron out the tightness and knots. Diane, my Singapore therapist, had the same comments and prefers clients who can withstand the “pain”. Diane still wins hands down for the award of best therapist! Where or who else can you go to and come out feeling sore for the next 2 days?!

Photo log of our culinary adventure in Bangkok:

This is from Whittards at the airport before our flight to Hong Kong. Oh I miss Whittards!