This wasn’t the best Thai massage I

have ever had, but it was the

cheapest. After months of searching

and hundreds of Thai massages, I had

finally found the cheapest massage in

Thailand.

Given my slightly obsessive-compulsive

personality, I couldn’t just come to

Thailand and have a good massage at

my hotel and pay the $10 or $15 dollars

there. No, I had to go out and look for

the best massage in Thailand!

One massage in a day was no longer enough. Two massages in the

same day barely suppressed that nagging at the back of my

brain. Three massages led to four. My body began to feel like a

piece of tenderized meat. When I lay down on a massage

mat, my muscles were so tender from the continual ministrations

of one masseuse after another that the very thought of another

massage made me want to run the other way. Two weeks of this

and my work began to suffer because of the time I was using each

day just lying on massage mats.

Lying on that mat while the masseuse pushed and pulled me one

way and then another, I imagined where I might find the cheapest

massage in Thailand. I visualized a small shop, located in some

seedy, tight quartered part of Bangkok. Outside the shop, a

dozen people would be standing on line waiting their turn to get

cheaply pummeled and twisted. But, as with most things in my

life, the expectations and the reality didn’t quite match.

The most expensive massages in Bangkok are found at

the more exclusive hotels and resorts. These four and

five star rated hotels all have some kind of beauty salon,

spa or health spa. A good Thai massage at one of these

hotels will run you anywhere from 300 up to 2,000 baht

or more. These luxury spas offer aroma therapy, hot

stone massage, oil massage, facials and just about

anything you can imagine to primp, preen and tone a

body.

The masseuse or masseur is sure to be an accomplished

and polished professional. The salon décor will be

tasteful and expensive. Pleasant Thai or New Age music

will play softly in the background. Given the relatively

high price of those salon treatments, that is as just as it

should be. You can’t go wrong with one of those high

end massages. You’re sure to walk away appreciating the

fine art of Thai massage.

Inside there were a dozen Thai massage mats laid out

in two rows. There were also a couple of hair

washing stations and three stations for Thai face

massage. Still holding my shirtsleeve at the wrist,

she showed me to a mat, which was clean and

inviting.

I lay down on the mat, face upwards, waiting for a

masseuse to come over. As things turned out, the

woman who dragged me there, was to be my

masseuse. While she worked I quizzed her about the

school and about the Temple.

No, she wasn’t a student. This question made herlaugh. She works for the Temple and shares the proceeds ofthe massage 50/50 with the temple administration. Sinceher English skills were limited two other masseuses came tocrouch by my mat and the three of them joined together totalk to me.

This one hour massage was only 50 baht. That’s only $1.70US. Thanks to a little help from Buddha, I had finallyfound the cheapest massage in Bangkok.

About the Author:Keith Jones is the founder of Baja Jones Adventures, Jones Adventures, Tigress

Tours in Thailand and Butanding Tours in the Philippine Islands and has led

thousands of people to Mexico and other interesting locations around the world.

He specializes in gray whale tour, blue whale tour, gray and blue whale combo

tour, giant panda bear tour, walk a tiger tour, shark tour, African safari tour,

African gorilla trek, arctic narwhal tour and Magdalena Bay whale watching

tour. He also writes about Baja travel and gray whales. Keith Jones is the

author of Gray Whales My Twenty Years of Discovery.