Wow. I am a convert. If this is a Thai massage (course it is!) I want more. No oil this time. Instead, elbows, heels, feet, body weight. Deep pressure. Pressure points. Right spots. Gentle but coaxing manipulation. Amazing. 300Bht for the best massage in the world. Ha Ha. Why not?

Have a photo taken with Nit. She gives me her email address to send it.

Meet Elle and Kellie back at the Black Cat Bar close-by. Where I left them. Tell them I’ve just had the best massage in the world. It’s made me curious about Thai massage. And why Thailand for massage? Ask around but get no answers.

Google later. Wikipedia on Thai Massage to the rescue.

• The founder said to have been Shivago Komarpaj, who is said in the Pāli Buddhist canon to have been the Buddha’s physician over 2,500 years ago.
• One of four branches of Traditional Thai medicine.
• Involves deep massage and stretching. It is a therapeutic procedure that provides relaxation and restores healthy blood circulation.
• Treats energy blockages, weak, dysfunctional organs, aches and pains, stress and tension, flexibility, paralysis, nerve problems and postural alignments.
• 

  Kamala beach wedding photo op.

  Combines acupressure, Indian Ayurvedic principles, and assisted yoga postures.

• “Massage is big business in Thailand, regulated by the Public Health Ministry — but only 500 of the 2,000 spas nationwide are legally registered…” Of consequence only when choosing where to go and which of the plethora or salons and masseuses to choose.

Enough. Lots more online, including from the Traditional Thai Massage Association. Silly to write about what people can Google.

Being a modern-day pilgrim

And aren’t we all pilgrims when we travel? Modern-day pilgrims in the context of wanderer, explorer, in some foreign place. Creating our own experiences. Learning new things. Traveling solo, in pairs, backpacking, hiking, walking — anyone doing it their way.

The traveler as pilgrim; experiencing the lifestyle. Open to being surprised. Seeing how people live. Eating what the locals eat. Eating with them. Engaging with them. Observing and learning from them.

And sure, the traveler will do some tourist things, just because countries set themselves up for tourism. For clear economic reasons.

So there’s a generosity involved in the pilgrimage; in traveling. You give. You receive. It’s the spirit of the journey.

Being a modern-day pilgrim is something open equally to all. Women going solo. Men going solo is more of a norm. And boomers. Because to travel, to pilgrim, requires that we stay fit and healthy.

© Wanda Hennig 2016

Blog continues with Thailand Travel 8.

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