When people talk about Thai massages, they usually refer to either the stop-your-feet-from-exploding-with-pain-after-too-much-shopping variety or the bone cracking variety. I have foot massages everytime I go to Bangkok (obviously shop too much!), but rarely venture beyond that. I did try the bone cracking type once when I pulled a muscle, but it was a very scary experience & I think it may have made things worse, so I never dared try it again.

When my left trapezius muscle started playing up recently, I've been left nearly in tears with bouts of agonising spasms. No amount of normal massaging would relieve the pain. My therapists always complain that my back muscles are hard as rock at the best of times. Wei Wei, in particular would prefer to massage 4 clients in a row than handle me once!

Joy! Such is the pain I'm in...

Whilst clearing out the cupboards recently, we found a few Thai herbal balls that Ivan had bought many months ago. It was for the staff to play with, to see if it was viable to add to our services. As usual, it was just tucked in a corner & forgotten.

Fortunately, Amy happened to chance upon them & decided to try them out on me. Amy's originally from Thailand anyway, so she's very familiar with Thai massage techniques. She promised that the heat and herbs would help the muscles to relax, far more effectively than even hot stones.

And she's right. It's a truly blissful massage. The first time I had it done, it was a two hour extravaganza, and I was drifting in and out of sleep throughout. When it was done, my muscles were more relaxed than they'd been for days. Pure, utter bliss!

I had another session this evening as the spasms were back again with a vengeance. She mentioned that this massage technique is not so common in Bangkok. We couldn't really understand why. Maybe the setup costs are higher? I'm assuming they'd need a massage table and private room, whereas the bone cracking traditional Thai massage was done on a floor mat with curtains for privacy. Plus there's additional costs involved like oil and the herbal balls of course.

I did look at it when I was last in Bangkok. And the cost is considerably higher. So when in Bangkok, I'll just get my feet massaged so I can continue shopping. I don't know how common Thai Herbal Ball massages are in Singapore, but I'm really blessed to be able to enjoy Amy's pampering whenever I need it. Seems like the best of both worlds for me!