Bright and busy Ximenting, Taiwan

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.

The bright lights at the entrance entice late, tired visitors

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…

Dip your tired feet into the ‘rock pond’

I started with a hot foot bath. Check out the photo above 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

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