Foot Massage - Ancient Chinese Secret?!

As I tweeted/status'd (amazing what words come into being thanks to the Internets!) yesterday, I was pretty stoked about last night's episode of The Amazing Race as it brought the contestants to Beijing.  My international travels have been pretty limited, so it was fun to have them finally go to some place I had actually been!  (I know they've been the big European cities, but in the past seasons... not the after I had been there!)

Overall, I was a bit disappointed as they arrived... and pretty much all of last night's activities took place... at night... and they even arrived domestically, so I couldn't even recognize the airport terminal! 

I got excited when they said they were headed to the natatorium... so thought they were headed to where we saw water polo!  But alas, it wasn't the natatorium (Yingdong)... but a natatorium (Guangcai), which apparently there are quite a few of in Beijing... even sporting the Olympic logos (but they were everywhere... and apparently still the winter after the Games).

And while the episode ended at the well-known/tourist spot of the Drum Tower (oddly enough, the location where those American tourists - family members of the US Volleyball coach - were killed in the opening days of the Olympics), we didn't make it there and/or (???) only saw it from afar.  But it looks like from next week previews, we'll see a bit more Beijing...

Anyhow the one thing we did recognize and pretty much laughed our way through was the foot massage roadblock... which also inspired the name of this episode "Having A Baby Has Got To Be Easier Than This":

While we didn't go to this particular foot massage palace, there was a lot of things that were quite recognizable... from the very gaudy interior design, to the massage room set-up an chairs, to the bucket/plastic bag set-up (which you can kind of see in the picture to the left).

I will say immediately that ours was not nearly as painful as what was going on in this episode.  I think they were told to go easy on us and to give some indication if it was too rough... something I don't think the Racers had the option of requesting with their full-on service.  We were also given tea at the start, but it wasn't awful tasting as Kisha suggest (again, could have been something totally different).

Now, I will say it was uncomfortable... very uncomfortable at times!  Our massage lasted over an hour... so more than 10 minutes on the feet... but also some rhythmic slapping of our feet, calves and thighs (again, personally not terribly pleasant)... and a neck/head massage (which Todd painfully describes in the comment section!).  Thankfully I was the only one (there were 6 of us in one room) NOT to get upper body treatment as I was in a seat/chair that couldn't be moved or for someone to squeeze behind... that said, it was tad awkward to be sitting there watching everyone else get it done!

Now, we pretty much thought we were in the minority... most folks in our group really seemed to enjoy it (a couple even fell asleep towards that end... granted it was after our long flight over/on our first full day in Beijing)... and even my friend James, who lives in Beijing, voluntarily gets this done on a regular basis (!!!)... plus these huge facilities (I wasn't joking when I said "palaces") suggest there is very high demand for this... so we had just made peace that we just didn't "get" it.

All this said, we (well, particularly myself!) are not a huge fan of any kind of massage... again, one of those quirky people who don't like to be touched... feet or otherwise... so that was personal roadblock #1... but also that this was the replacement/"oops, sorry!" activity for not going to the Opening Ceremonies (that was promised for 5 months in advance)... well that didn't provide any improvement over getting a foot massage either.

It was really a big thrill to see TAR last night and see folks not enjoy it as much as we did... haha!  Heck, even James stumbled upon a "non-relaxing" one not too long ago! (Update: James clarifies in the comments that it was not a foot massage... my bad!)  So at least we're not crazy... while not a highlight of the trip, it is still one of those things that we will always remember about our trip to Beijing! 

Comments

[Todd]

While getting my neck/shoulders massaged on that trip, I was thinkig "this is really extraordinarly painful and not at all what I would think a massage would be like," but also thinking maybe I just didn't "get it." It wasn't until the next day, when I discovered scabs on my shoulders where they actually rubbed the skin raw and drew blood, that I felt vindicated. The TAR episode definitely did bring back some very "unique" memories, though!

[James in Beijing]

OK, I cannot let this go without a comment! I was thinking of you two while watching TAR the other night, and wondering if you were watching, too. Guess you were! We went for foot massages with some visitors last weekend, and for one of them it was a first-time experience. To say the least, they were confused about why we were doing this to him after so many years of friendship, and we all found it very amusing that he was suffering so much. Of course, the three of us "pros" really enjoyed it. Also, it has to be said that I think the girls on the TAR road block were going at the racers' feet with much more gusto than normal, since their object clearly was to cause as much pain as possible. We were laughing throughout the scene, especially when the deaf guy was signing "ow"!

Also, I must point out that the massage that was not relaxing that I blogged about some time ago (or Tweeted, I cannot remember) was not the foot massage part but the back and shoulder part, and it was not relaxing because the guy was way too jumpy and rough with me (I prefer rhythmic and firm). Next time you're in Beijing we'll take you to a good massage place, I promise!