Posts Tagged ‘friend’
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
The Philippines is the lone Christian country in Southeast Asia. The majority of their 75 provinces swiftly caved into Jesus when Spain embarked on a short–lived Asian experiment in the 1650’s. In spite of that, six of those provinces — within a secluded mountain–range jungle in northern Luzon — fiercely resisted Spain’s take on God. The semi–tropical Cordillera is the country’s most rugged and least populated region and is still a thorny place to plot a route and get a haircut. Native Ifugao, Igorot and other pagan tribes remained warring headhunters until the 1950’s.
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Posted in Philippine, Travel | Comments Off
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
I am flat on my back in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. My body is just one of many on a sea of cots that resembles the operating ward in “M*A*S*H.” My masseuse, who speaks no English, straddles my leg, pressing hard on my inner thigh. Though I speak no Thai, she has no trouble understanding my groan. In her saffron-colored smock she smiles at me with friendly eyes, pushes more, and slowly releases her hands. I feel heat emanating from the spot she has just released. She smiles again and turns to my other thigh. I am mid-way through the best massage I’ve ever had.
Recognizing the value of massage in healing the body, a turn-of-the-century Thai ruler (at that time the country was known as Siam) established the Traditional Thai Massage School at Wat Po temple (sometimes referred to as Wat Pho) so that his subjects could afford to enjoy the blessings of a good massage. My one-hour massage cost just $5.
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Tags: admission, antidote, anything, baht, bangkok thailand, bargain, blockages, body, book, Buddha, Buddhist, buddhist temple, camera, Cat, chain, classroom, client, clothing, cost, cot, country, course, day, decorate, designer, designer handbag, encampment, end, energy, energy imbalances, energy lines, English, enhancement, equivalent, Everyone, exchange, experience, fact, fee, fence, field, flat on my back, football, friend, gecko, gift, groan, guinea, half, handbag, harmony, heat, hour, idea, information, inner thigh, invisible energy, japanese woman, Japanese-national, leg, leverage, link, Loaner, manipulation, marble, massage, massage experience, massage school, masseur, masseuse, material, mid way, miracle, Movements, noise, notice, Oil, Open, pantsuit, Part-way, pavilion, person, pig, pillow, pop, portion, pressure, pressure points, rate, reality, Reclining, Recognizing, refugee, Reminiscent, Reservations, result, return, ruler, School, sea, shop, Siam, site, smock, spot, state, street, street clothes, stress, suitcase, take, temple, Thai, thigh, time, tip, Tipping, Traditional, traditional thai massage, Travel, treatment, trouble, value, viewfinder, visit, wall, ward, wat pho, water, way, west, woman, year
Posted in Thailand, Travel | Comments Off
The Philippines is the lone Christian country in Southeast Asia. The majority of their 75 provinces swiftly caved into Jesus when Spain embarked on a short–lived Asian experiment in the 1650’s. In spite of that, six of those provinces — within a secluded mountain–range jungle in northern Luzon — fiercely resisted Spain’s take on God. The semi–tropical Cordillera is the country’s most rugged and least populated region and is still a thorny place to plot a route and get a haircut. Native Ifugao, Igorot and other pagan tribes remained warring headhunters until the 1950’s.
I am flat on my back in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. My body is just one of many on a sea of cots that resembles the operating ward in “M*A*S*H.” My masseuse, who speaks no English, straddles my leg, pressing hard on my inner thigh. Though I speak no Thai, she has no trouble understanding my groan. In her saffron-colored smock she smiles at me with friendly eyes, pushes more, and slowly releases her hands. I feel heat emanating from the spot she has just released. She smiles again and turns to my other thigh. I am mid-way through the best massage I’ve ever had.