On Monday, I met with my American friend Stephanie living in Wenzhou for a girls spa day. My classes were slowly being cancelled and used as revision time for the end of year exams next week so I had plenty of time to spare. Of course, I was fine with that so off I went to catch the bus into the city and to meet at our usual spot - Starbucks. After a quick coffee we caught bus 92 to the spa. As the bus was full, I ended up sitting next to an elderly lady. She could tell we were foreigners and insisted on talking with me. My Chinese is still very poor so we only had a short conversation but it was still good to practice.
Fifteen minutes later we were at our stop and walked in the 33 degree heat (sweat dripping off us) to the ladies only spa just minutes from Stephanie's apartment. Once inside, we were given a towel and Chinese style pyjamas to put We showered, changed and then met in the sauna with the rest of the staff. They probably don't see many foreigners so they all came in with us, in their work clothes, while we tried to talk to each other - us trying to speak Chinese and them English. They had brought us in cups of hot tea to drink as we sat there chatting about the treatments we wanted.
After the sauna we were moved to the massage room and we laid face down on the tables. We were having back massages first and then facials (yay!). Once we were comfortable the massages began, but 5 minutes later the rest of the staff came back in to talk to us again. So much for the relaxation! This time they had their smart phones with them, and they had apps that they could speak Chinese into, and would translate back into English. Sometimes it worked but other times, it was hit and miss, but that was ok.
The massage was deep tissue and after about 5 minutes, I was wondering what the heck I had got myself into. This was painful! Every now and again they would talk to us about our health. "You need to eat more black food", they said to Stephanie, "it is good for your kidneys". I was told, "your back channels are clear, very good". It would've great to get more information but I will have to do that another time when my Chinese is better. As time went on, the massages became more comfortable, and the initial pain had vanished. After about 2 hours we had our facials and it was so good that I'm sure I had a wee nana nap for a few minutes. Just over 3 hours later, we were done. Totally relaxed and feeling great. We slowly got changed and went out into the reception and paid our $60. Then they sat us down and gave us a small cup of red bean soup. After a few photos, Steph headed home and I caught the bus back into the city to catch the ferry home. I got stuck in the rush hour traffic so it took me around 2 hours to get back to Yongjia. But at least I felt relaxed and happy!
Fifteen minutes later we were at our stop and walked in the 33 degree heat (sweat dripping off us) to the ladies only spa just minutes from Stephanie's apartment. Once inside, we were given a towel and Chinese style pyjamas to put We showered, changed and then met in the sauna with the rest of the staff. They probably don't see many foreigners so they all came in with us, in their work clothes, while we tried to talk to each other - us trying to speak Chinese and them English. They had brought us in cups of hot tea to drink as we sat there chatting about the treatments we wanted.
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