Traditional Thai Message at Wat PoPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
Spas in Thailand have become big business. A few of these spas have been voted as the best in the world and many five-star hotels have started their own private spas. Some of the top masseuses from around the world are finding great success in Thailand. It used to be that visitors after a long flight went to an hotel cocktail bar and lounge and had a few drinks to relax. Now they go to the spa or gym to unwind.
A question that often arises is the meaning of the name masseuses.
A male massager is a masseur and a female massager is a masseuse and there doesn’t appear to be a unisex form. However, don’t fear. You will be understood whatever name you use.
But why Thailand?
The authenticity of traditional Thai massages cannot be challenged. We may not know the exact date this traditional healing art really began though it is believed to date back to the time of Lord Buddha, about 2,500 years ago, but was certainly very much in evidence in the early days of Siam. The first French envoy from the Court of Louis IV to King Narai, wrote home about the healing effects of Thai massage. When King Rama III decided to make Wat Po, the site of the Reclining Buddha, a centre of learning in 1832, he had texts on medicine and massage inscribed in stone and set into the walls of the temple.And after nearly 200 years Wat Po is still in the news.
The reason is that the teaching of the Thai traditional massage has been passed on from generation to generation by the monks at Wat Po. It is taught at the temple to this very day and the same school of “traditional eastern medicine and massage” remains the same. Every day, between 09:00 and 18:00 hours, you will find people from all over Thailand, and interested foreigners too, coming to learn more about the ancient “tried and true” methods of healing, in which the traditional Thai massage plays a key role. In fact, the school is probably bigger and more popular today than it ever was before. Expert instructors teach the fine arts and good ethics of Thai massage as prescribed in the past.
There are actually two courses taught at the temple. The first is a GENERAL THAI MASSAGE COURSE. Its purpose is to teach the (masseuse) the right positions to use, the proper client's position, and the ethics, caution and rule of massaging. It is said to relieve fatigue, muscular cramping and nervous tension; to make muscle and joints supple; to stimulate the blood and lymph circulation for physical fitness improvement; and to improve body immunity, for anti-aging and longevity. This course takes 30 hours.
The second course, THERAPEUTIC AND HEALING MASSAGE COURSE, is more complicated. It has been designed to teach the Thai fundamental massage points, for curing of more than 80 simple ailments, such as healing of muscle pain, muscle sprain, tennis elbow, stiff neck, low back-pain, muscle cramping, muscle weakness, muscle stiffness, muscle discomfort and nervous tension and to make muscles, joints and tendons supple. Massage is for preventing the atrophy (wasting away) of muscles in paralyzed patients or elderly persons who are unable to exercise. This course takes 30 hours. Applicants must have completed the first course to be accepted.
But there’s more at Wat Po than taking in the sights and going to school to learn to do the Thai traditonal massage. You can enjoy a healthy new lease on life by getting a traditional Thai massage yourself. If you are suffering from "tourist burnout" syndrome, from seeing too many temples and museums, a guaranteed cure is a traditional Thai massage.
The school of traditional eastern medicine and the clinic are located in two fairly modern, reconstructed buildings just to the left of the main temple and next to an open pavilion filled with plaques prescribing treatments for different ailments. Those who want a massage must register when they arrive and wait in the garden until their name is called. It is not a very long wait. The garden is cool and pleasant beneath great spreading Banyan trees.
When your name is called you are led to a well-lighted room where the air is heavy-laden with the scent of medical herbs and with large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the courtyard. Each person is given his or her own mat and instructed to lie face down and to make themselves comfortable. Masseuses, and masseurs, are dressed in yellow and have been taught the art by the monks. Naturally, monks are not permitted to make contact with people, especially women.
Before a masseuse begins, male or female, she or he proceeds with the obligatory prayer to centre themselves and put themselves in a meditative mood. They start with your feet by spreading a thin layer of coconut oil on them to relax the blood flow and then begin working upwards, gripping the muscles of your legs, twisting, stretching, massaging and exercising them with a gentle rhythmic rocking motion. From there, they move up to your waist, then up your back to your shoulders, neck and arms, repeating the same rhythmic motions, putting pressure on the so called ten key Zen points of the body's invisible energy lines.
Prices for massages by trained specialists are reasonable. One half hour is 150 baht; one hour, 250 baht; one hour with herbs, 350 baht. For Foot Reflexology, 250 baht for 45 minutes.
The school costs 7,000 baht for each course and takes 30 hours each. The exchange rate is 43 baht to the US dollar.
Class starts every day at 9 AM, 12 noon or 3 PM. Study for 5 days (6 hours per day), 6 days (5 hours per day) or 10 days (3 hours per day).
The French weren’t wrong when they returned home more than 400 years ago with news about a healing process with herbs that was certain to cure body ailments. The world has been coming to Thailand ever since to find the cure for themselves. They don’t go away disappointed.
One bit of warning. Don’t confuse the traditional Thai massage with those that are advertised in massage parlors around town. There is a big difference.
Next week I will bring readers the latest developments in Myanmar.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Hi there; I am enjoying your website and have a question for you about China House. A few years back I used to go there with my friends to eat Peking Duck for about $20. It was still a five-star restaurant, but they had no corkage fees and the food was really reasonably priced. With the new upgrade, do you know what Peking Duck is going for there days? Thanks! Sam Brier
A. Dear Sam. I phoned Susie, the public relations director at the Oriental Hotel, and she tells me that Peking Duck at the China House is 1,500 baht (US$43) and, would you believe, a goose is more at 1,800 baht. As for the cost per person it all depends how ay are dining with you. The cost of 1,500 baht is for a wh9oe duck. There is a corkage fee, 500 baht or US14.00. I hope this answer you question. I have to admit, it is great dining at the China House. –HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. | 
