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Have you been to Taiwan; a lovely country located between mainland China and Japan? A tourist impression of Taiwan is that it is full of friendly people, hot springs and night markets (street bazaars). Yes, besides friendly people and hot springs, almost all Taiwanese towns, large and small, will invariably have a night market where small stalls sell all sorts of food, tidbits, clothes, home accessories, comics, DVD and CDs, and others.

Crowds gather whenever there are night markets and where crowd thrive, there will always be a foot massage parlor or two. After spending a night of shopping at a busy night market in the city of Hualien, Taiwan, I visited the foot massage parlor, pictured on the left. (Left pix: Note the large foot on the bright neon signboard)

This foot massage parlor has a unique, simple and clean zen design concept. Like all foot massage parlors in Taiwan, a foot massage always start with a hot foot bath and this is where this parlor is unique again with it’s specially designed hot water tubs.

Perhaps because of it’s prime location in a busy night market zone, there was a queue for available massage therapist. Luckily, due to the large numbers of therapists, it was soon my turn after a 15 minutes wait.

I started with a 15 min foot bath in the hot tub. Chinese medical herbs were added to the hot water and my tired and sore feet quickly turned relaxed. My feet were then dried and my foot massage in an extremely comfortable soft chair started.

I had been to many foot massage parlors and the chairs here must surely ranked as one the most luxurious and comfortable that I have ever sat on. It was full leather with a 14″ LCD TV attached for my viewing pleasure throughout the foot massage session.

One of the thing I noticed in Taiwan is that a large ratio of foot massage therapists are male and they tend to exert stronger strength during a massage session. In fact, according to reflexology principles, a foot massage that is not painful is not effective - literally a case of no pain, no gain. I personally realise that the harder strength a masseur use, the lighter and more nimble one feels on the feet after a foot massage session is over.

However, if you do indeed feel too painful, you should ask the foot therapist to ease off on the strength. Compared to a body massage, there is more pain during a foot massage and your pain threshold during a foot massage will need to build up as your feet slowly become familiar with foot massage. Many people on their first foot massage session will literally scream in pain!

My foot massage session ended with a hot towel wrap. That totally took all the tiredness and soreness off my feet and body. Having had a rest and my sore feet restored by an invigorating hot herbal water bath and a good foot reflexology session, it is now time for another hour or two of intensive night market shopping!

Location of Spa: Zhong Hua Rd, Hualien, Taiwan
Size of massge parlor: About 20 massage chairs
Facilities: Hot water tubs, leather massage chairs
Pricing: NT600(US$18) for a 45 min foot reflexology, NT1200(US$37) for a 60 min Body TuiNa session

One of the fascinating features about visiting earthquake-prone countries such as Taiwan or Japan is that hot springs can be found almost anywhere in the country! It is not too difficult to spot hot-spring signboards while driving through the countryside in either country.

Hot spring visits in Taiwan and Japan are traditionally family or communal events; where entire families or communities share a hot spring. Of course, in recent years, many communal hot spring facilities have converted themselves to private room resorts to cash in to the younger population who are more willing to pay for privacy, comfort and exclusivity.

The Bunun hot spring spa is one of the hot spring spa in TaiDong(or Taitung), Taiwan that has kept true to the communal spirit of a hot spring spa. Despite being situated and surrounded by scenic mountains, it has remain a communal hot spring spa that caters to the young and old, rich and poor alike.

Bunun hot spring spa is more like a communal swimming pool complex than a relaxation spa. The only key difference perhaps is that instead of being in a man-made building and supplied with chlorinated water, Bunun hot spring spa is located in green nature and supplied by natural mountain hot spring water.

There are two main pools and several smaller pools with fountains and slides which you pay a NT150(US$4.50) entrance fee to enter. The water is clear, slightly warm(40C) and only a mild mineral smell and taste. To be honest, I had to double-check with the spa attendant that this is indeed hot spring water!

Away from the pools are the public access area which includes changing rooms, a garden terrace cafe, a BBQ area and a public tent area. The garden terrace is a nice area to relax away from the pool and have coffee amongst the hills.

This is a great hot spring to take your family to because the children will love frolicking in hot water with the slides and fountains but you may want to give this hot spa a miss if you are a alone, with close friends or a couple hoping for some private time in your own bubbling hot spa tub and a relaxing massage from skilled masseurs afterwards.

You will need to take a taxi or a public bus from TaiDong city. There are 4 buses a day and the journey is about 40 mins. (Bus company: 089-333023) You can also get a taxi (Call: 0932-664938). Private pickup from TaiDong airport or railway station can also be arranged at NT$500 for 4 people (Call: 089-561211 x 200)

Location of Spa: Bunun Village, TaiDong (Taitung), Taiwan
Size of Spa: Two large pools; several small pools with children slides and fountains Friendliness: Friendly
Facilities: Changing room, coffee house terace, BBQ and tent area
Pricing: NT150 (US$4.50) for all facilities. Swim cap and swim wear are compulsory and may be purchased at the gift shop.

Have you ever been to Ximenting (or Ximending), Taipei in Taiwan? Well, this is a pure shopper’s paradise with streets upon streets of both Taiwanese and International clothes, fashion accessories, shoes and cuisine. Shopping and dining here can be fun and of course, tiring, especially if you have bags and bags to carry about especially late into the night.

Well, within the vicinity of Ximenting, lies a massage parlor, ready to lure all Ximenting shoppers to it’s offering of a hot foot bath and soft massages after a hard day of shopping, dining or clubbing! You can’t miss their large neon signs, especially at night, with their name of Royal Bali Massage Parlor in large fonts. More importantly, the sign also says that it is opened until 3 am - an important consideration for late night shoppers and clubbers in this area.

Most massage parlors in Taiwan are designed with an Oriental theme but this parlor stands out with it’s tropical Balinese theme. What attracts one most to this parlor is it’s attractive hot foot bath pond done up complete with volcanic stones, koi pond and tropical foliage. You put your foot into a ‘hot water hole’ just besides the Koi pond and relax alongside this tropical theme. This is as as interesting and as creative a concept I have ever seen with any massage parlor anywhere else in Asia!

Services offered here includes foot reflexology, manicure, pedicure, facial treatment and partial and full body massage. Prices are reasonable and all services comes with a hot foot bath and hot tea.

I opted for a 90 min aromatherapy massage and was pleased to find out that the massage comes with a free facial service! This was a nice upgrade and a terribly attractive head to toe offer for a very tired shopper…

I started with a hot foot bath. Check out the picture on the left for their very creative concept of having a footbath besides a Koi pond and tropical foliage. Note the Koi fishes in the pond and how even the water pipes are hidden and hot water looks like it was actually flowing from the pond onto my feet… Yes, I can sip hot tea and feel myself recharged for another round of shopping just by sitting here for 20 minutes… What powerful recharging capabilities a hot foot bath in a conducive environment can do!

After about 20 minutes, I was lead to a 2nd level to do my aromatherapy massage. There were about 10 small private rooms done in Balinese theme at the 2nd level. The massage was performed by a middle-aged Taiwanese woman - and for a moment, I was disappointed that it was not a real Balinese woman. However, I did not really had to worry because the massage was performed just as well by a Taiwanese lady and it was not long before I was quickly convinced of her aromatherapy massage skills.

One interesting addition was the use of hot pads for the back while massaging the arms and legs. The use of the heat pad keeps the back relaxed at all time and soothe the back while other parts of the body was being massage. What a good idea!

All too soon, the massage came to an end and I was lead to another room for the facial treatment. It was a normal facial treatment but what was different was that the facial therapist is a young man rather than a lady. I have never seen a man doing facial treatments anywhere else in Asia!

Location of Spa: Ximenting, Taipei, Taiwan
Size of Spa: About 12 foot massage chairs, 4 manicure tables, 12 private massage rooms and 1 facial room over two levels
Friendliness: Friendly
Facilities: Individual treatment rooms, hot water pond
Pricing: NT2,000 (US$70) for a 90mins aromatherapy massage with free facial cleaning