The Art of Massage and Bargaining

Since we had tackled most of Chiang Mai's sights the day we arrived and since the Elephant Camp only took up the first half the of the day, we decided to indulge in our second massage. Since Thailand is famous in part for massages, and since we'd only had one thus far, we thought we were due for another. Still wary of having the vice-like grips of the Thai massuese applied to our backs, we opted for another foot maassage and chose a massage parlor recommended by Lonely Planet. The massage parlor was a lot nicer than the Wat Pho massage school and bit cheaper as well. We expected to have similar experience to foot reflexology massage we got at Wat Pho. Not quite. First, it was not a reflexology massage (which involves pushing on pressure points on the feet with a small wooden tool). Second, the massage was not confined to the feet and calves - it went up the thigh and included the shoulders, back and neck as well. While the shoulder and neck massages were nice, both Danielle and I were a little uneasy about the back part, which involves: 1) putting you in a full nelson and twisting your torsoe until your back cracks; and 2) having you sit up on a mat while the masseusse, who is sitting behind you, pull you backward over her so that she is lying underneath your arched back. After this, I realized that I would not be getting any traditional Thai massages while I'm here, since they involve even more pulling and poking. Overall, we both have a love/hate relationship with the foot massages - parts of it feel great, but other parts either tickle or just hurt (I personally am not a fan of having my toes pulled to crack my toe knuckles). That night we headed back to the night bazaar to make good Danielle's new shopping list, where she displayed her finely honed bargaining techniques through the "walk away" move: after asking how much something is, and stating your own new price, if the merchant does not agree to your price, you turn your back to them and move on. Often, the merchant will agree to your price, sometimes saying, "first customer discout." Perhaps the best example of this Danielle picking up a necklace that was quoted at 550 Baht for 300 Baht. Again, we think the key is demonstrating that you are not too attached to the merchandise, knowing the maximum price you are willing to pay, and being able to walk away if the merchant does not meet that price.