Ryan’s Massage Day part 1

I get foot massages at least twice a month, sometimes three times. It’s more than a foot massage. They also do my legs, but they call it a foot massage. The main part for me is the leg massage. My friend, Amy, is the one doing the actual massage. She knows what I like and she knows to concentrate on my legs more than my feet. Sometimes I get my shoulders done and I’ve had a few full body massages, but it’s mostly my legs and feet. After dancing all day in Belle’s big yellow dress – which is not light, let me tell you – or some funky Aladdin pants, my legs need a good rub down. When I talk to Ryan right after I’ve had a massage, I always tell him how great it is. Whenever he complains about being sore or tense, I tell him to get a massage.

Ryan is a guy. So going to spas is out of the question. Real men don’t get facials, and have you ever seen a man at a hair salon? I’m sure some do somewhere in the world, but not where I’m from. Minnesota men wash their hair with rocks and comb it with wagon wheels. Maybe not that extreme, but they’re never girly about hair maintenance. It took me a while to convince Ryan that getting a massage will in no way emasculate him and that working out those sore muscles might even feel good.

Unfortunately, I don’t know any places in Fuzhou. I have a regular place in Hong Kong where Amy works her magic on me, but I can’t recommend any place in the rest of China. I can’t even recommend a place in the rest of Hong Kong. The people Ryan hangs out with are not the spa treatment types, so they were no help. When I finally convinced Ryan to go get a massage, he was on his own.

When he came back from his first Chinese massage, maybe even his first professional massage ever, he asked me a lot of questions. He wanted to know what I wear when I’m getting a massage, what exactly they do and how much it all costs. I didn’t want to tell him how much it costs since I really don’t want him to know how much money I spend pampering myself. It’s not a great deal of money, but it is a luxury. My legs work hard for a living and they deserve a good massage, but I could live without it.

His massage was more expensive, which surprised me since everything is cheaper on the mainland. Then again, I get legs and feet, while he got full body. It should cost more, but I was still surprised by how much more. You also have to consider that foreigners usually pay a higher price for everything in China. I don’t get ripped off where I go, but that might only be because I’m a regular customer. Maybe it’s because I know how to haggle. If you buy anything for the initial price in China, you will get robbed.

When I get a leg massage, I either take off my pants or just lift my skirt a little. I’m not anything close to naked, and fully clothed from the waist up. I get topless when they do my shoulders, but they have towels for modesty. Ryan was surprised that they wanted him to get fully naked, but I told him that’s normal for a full body massage. The towel covers your butt and it’s a lot easier for them to oil you up. You don’t want clothes on when you’re getting an oil massage.

He wanted to know how they rub the muscles and what they do, so I told him. It probably takes a long time to learn how to be a really good masseuse, but the basic concept is pretty simple – work the muscles until they are not as tense.