🇹🇭 Chiang Mai - Massage Course and Sightseeing
Dom's massage parlour is now open
NOTE: In case you’re wondering about the new email title, I’ve renamed the blog! I was never really fond of “dom abroad”, and the new name sounds better to me. Other than that, rest assured it’s still me on the other side.
Chiang Mai, North Thailand. When initially planning my travels, I was very excited to come here. The nature here is lush, there are great hiking routes, and the place itself has a relaxed vibe. In many ways, it’s lived up to the hype. I’ve been able to meet the most like-minded backpackers in all of Thailand here, and it still feels authentically Thai here. It’s still not at the levels of people I met in India and Nepal, but it’s the best I’ll get in Thailand.
I reflected a bit on why the backpackers here are like they are. I think most of the travellers here seem to be attracted by the fact that Thailand is easy to travel in and is relatively cheap. Through that, many tourists seem mostly concerned with making their money last, and don’t seem that interested in Thailand as a country. I’ve ended up in too many gatherings with travellers in their early 20s running away from something, mourning insignificant amounts of money (e.g. paying £2 more on a day tour than anticipated), and who just want to get drunk. Whenever I met someone with a purpose and interest in Thailand, I clung on.
Sightseeing
Chiang Mai is full of temples. I’m well and truly jaded by them now, only picking the ones that look unique. The silver temple was just that, and it was nice to spend a bit of time exploring it.
There’s also an artist village a little bit out of the town that’s popular with tourists, where local artists sell various handmade crafts. You can take a lot of classes here, such as jewellery making and book-binding. All the crafts felt a little homogenous to me, and none of the stuff was to my taste, but it was worth visiting for an afternoon.
Unexpectedly, my favourite thing to do in the town was visiting the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders. I found it through Atlas Obscura. It’s a private collection belonging to renowned mosquito researchers, which I believe is in their home. The museum was full of personal anecdotes from the owners’ lives, including quirky details like poems about insects and pro-house spider propaganda posters.
I could really tell that the owners were passionate about their work, and the way they described their exhibits was incredibly wholesome.
Food
The North of Thailand is famous for Khao Soi - egg noodle soup in a curry broth, topped with crispy fried noodles. I had it many times here, being careful not to get one that was too spicy (it’s very easy for the Thai people to serve you one like that). There are some famous khao soi places, but honestly, all the khao soi I had was great. It’s definitely worth ordering it if you’re in the area.
Massage Course
I met a guy on a hike months ago in Jack’s hiking group who mentioned that he did a massage course when he was travelling. I was curious and did some research to find that Northern Thailand is heaving with massage schools. Many are attended by physical therapists from all over the world, mostly to fulfil their requirements for ongoing education.
I like learning new things when I travel, so I signed up for a 3-day Thai massage course with Sabai De Ka massage school. While there are cheaper schools, this one had very good reviews, and the teachers seemed to know good English.
A Chinese girl, Shikin, started the course on the same day as me. I didn’t know her before and was a little afraid of seeming like a creep, being a single guy signing up for a massage course. Luckily, she was chill about it, and it was nice to hang out with her outside class.
The 3 days had a very simple schedule - the teacher would show us some new massage movements, and then we’d practise them under her supervision. There was a lot to learn, and we kept up a fast pace. I was very glad that I went to this massage school - the teacher knew great English and had a great attitude.
The most important thing about learning to massage, I found, was practice. If I were to learn again in the future, I’d opt for a school structured like a camp, so you can practise with other students after lessons. I think I’ve retained a good bit from the lessons, but without practice, I can see the knowledge dwindling.
I have a newfound respect for masseuses. There’s a lot that goes into massage in terms of the areas to target, checking in with the person being massaged, and making adjustments for different body sizes. A surprising element was also that there is some spirituality to Thai massage. At the start of the day, we’d start with a chant honouring the originator of Thai Massage, and we’d pray for protection from negative energy.
I went into the course wanting to learn more about the body and how to prevent some ailments, mostly motivated by having a bad knot under my shoulder for many years. In some ways, I got that. Specifically, I learned that I should start cooling down after exercise to let my muscles calmly recover to their resting positions.
In true Asian style, we also had a photo shoot at the end of the course.
I’m taking bookings for massages when I’m back in London. No happy endings unless you ask nicely, though.
Sticky Waterfall
The sticky waterfall is probably the most popular day trip to do in Chiang Mai. It’s a pretty long waterfall you can climb up, due to the rock being made of limestone and providing enough friction to be able to walk up. It’s not sticky in a sense, but rather, grippy. I went there with a few people I met on nomadtable, and it ended up being a really fun group.
There were a few small lakes to explore next to the waterfall, and a cave that a local in our group showed us. The cave felt eerie with nobody else there, and with it being decorated with various Buddhist shrines and artefacts. It was also steeped in folklore - the cave is dedicated to two princesses who prayed during a drought, conjuring a spring at the sticky waterfall.
Getting More Massages
To make the most of still being in Thailand, I went to a few massage parlours that had something special about them.
Women’s Massage by Ex-Prisoners
A massage parlour only employing female ex-prisoners. They have elaborate reintegration programmes for ex-prisoners, and it was great to support that cause.
Tok Sen massage
A Northern Thai massage technique that involves tapping a wooden mallet and a peg on the body. Some people swear by it as a way to ease knots. While the sensation of having a small Thai lady beat me with a wooden hammer was novel, I didn’t find it to help my knots at all.
The massage also involves a lot of Thai massage techniques, which I found I’m not a massive fan of - I’m not convinced that getting my body clicked and stretched does much for its wellbeing.
After having gotten a new body from all the massage, I was ready to get humbled by the Thai outdoors. I’ll cover the outdoor activities I did in Chiang Mai in the next post.