Self inflicted pain

In Chinatown you can get a Chinese massage for the outstanding price of $50 for 60 minutes. Perfect!
If it wasn't for the pain caused.

Imagine a really small room in the middle of bustling Chinatown, and then place five plush armchairs (sitting comfortably during your foot reflexology is important), three back massage chairs, two bench-beds for full-body massage, and then a couple of flexible armchairs that can be turned into whatever you need them for. Fully booked this little SPA palace looks more like a wet market with a random mix of people piled up high and low wherever there is room.

Fully dressed and with a towel as a blanket I was placed on an improvised full body massage chair/table. Lowering my face down into that little hole I had to make a very conscious effort to breath only with my mouth. The chair/table smelled like hell and it didn't take long until I figured out why. The massage was seriously freaking painful. I was sweating stress- and anxiety hormones like crazy. It felt like I was the cattle next up in a butchery. Amazed by the masseur-uncle's ability just pinpoint the spots along my back that clearly were very unrelaxed, I was counting down the minutes doing breathing exercises to distract myself.

About 15 minutes into the massage the uncle politely asked "Mam', you pain?" I managed to squeal out a "yes, pain, pain-pain", underscoring that I was in a lot of pain. This was happily excepted with an "okay", and the massage went on. When I curled up backwards and almost fell of the bad because I was trying to balance out a finger that was poking my lower ribs out, the uncle laughed a little to himself and said something in Chinese that I can only assume was something like "wimp". They are supposed to be really good these deep, pressure point massages, and I did stick it out the entire hour.

Thankfully my massage was interrupted a number of times when people climbed over me to reach the washroom. I also had someone sitting down at my bed by my feet for a little while. And at some point my massage-uncle explained something that was happening along my spine by "drawing" and pointing at random places along my back and vividly discussing in Chinese with someone else.

Next time I'm doing a Swedish massage. For sure. Or maybe I should give it one more go... Maybe one gets used to the pain?