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On my last trip to Phuket, Thailand, we rented a car and drove around this popular Thai tourist island. One of our destination was Phuket Town.

Phuket Town is an old town and the administrative centre on Phuket island. There are distinct Muslim, Thai and Chinese enclaves and it is clear that Chinese influence in the town is obvious with a good number of Chinese temples and Chinese old-time architecture houses.

Phuket Town is off the regular tourist route and the entire town was sleepy and quiet on the Sunday that we drove in. Tourists tend to spend more time in the beach where almost everything is available as well rather then to come to town. Tourists who do come to Phuket Town tend to congregate downtown where a few modern shopping malls, large bargain-price markets, fast food restaurants and souvenir shops were gathered.

Among these few busy streets were a couple of small but modern and clean spas. These spas offered almost similar type of treatments and prices were very competitive - even lower than those available at the beach.

I guess it was because there were only a few streets in Phuket town that tourists congregate so the local spa operators have no choice but to stay competitive. I was particularly attracted to one of the promotion package that Kim Spa, one of these small spas, offered. The spa and massage promotion package consists of a body scrub (60 mins), choice of massage (60 mins) and a facial treatment (60 mins) - a total of 3 hours treatment for the unbelievable low price of 900 Baht or US$30!

I was in Spa heaven and chose to try out Kim Spa immediately! Kim Spa has a nicely decorated reception and rest area. On the first floor, it has about 10 cosy massage chairs for foot reflexology and a small corner for a foot bath. The 2nd floor is for Thai massage (beds are on floor) and 3rd floor is for facial and other body massage treatments.

My hubby opted for a foot massage and Thai massage for 2 hours. I opted for the 3 hours spa promotion package. While waiting for my masseur to prepare the treatment room, I whispered to my hubby that I couldn’t believe a body scrub treatment can last for 60 minutes. I kept telling myself … how much time can one person scrub the body? Will my skin drop off??

Shortly, we were led by our masseurs to our treatment rooms. My hubby started his foot bath on the 1st floor which is an open area foot massage area. I was led to the 3rd floor which had private treatment room and en suite shower. My masseur greeted me with the traditional Thai way “sawadee ka” with both hands together and bowed.

Although language was a barrier, we had no problem “communicating” with each other by sign and body language. The masseur indeed did a thorough body scrub and for sure she took more than 40 minutes before heading me to to the shower. My choice of Swedish massage was, in my opinion, average but the facial treatment was indeed refreshing. The masseur went through 2 to 3 rounds of scrubbing and cleansing my face. She then placed many layers of cucumbers on my face that made me feel very “cool” and relaxed. The smell of the cucumber were so refreshing. The facial ended with a cold mask and facial massage.

When my treatments were completed, the masseur led me to the reception area to relax and enjoy their complimentary floral tea. Overall, I must say this place is value for money, environment is neat and clean and most importantly, the staff were friendly and not pushy.

However, my husband who is an addict of hard massage was not impressed with their Thai massage and reflexology skills. He claim that the Thai and foot massage here were “too soft” and obviously toned down to cater to the many farangs(Thai for Caucasian foreigners) tourists in Phuket. He feels that shabby run-down massage shops run by old ladies offer the most true and authentic ancient Thai massage with the accompanying body-distorting poses, back standing and bone cracking twists. He feels that this is the ultimate form of massage! Funny guy!

Location of Kim Spa
Phuket Town, Phuket, Thailand
Size: 3 storey shop units with massage chairs on the ground floor and individual rooms on 2nd and 3rd level
Facilities: Toilet, shower and rest area
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$20 for a facial, wrap, bath or body massage. Various spa and massage packages available and starts from US$60.

A new massage boutique palor is in town and judging from it’s decor and type of massage and spa services it provides, seems to be a direct transplant of one of the higher-end massage boutique palor from Mainland China.

Qian Zu Ge or literally, Thousand Feet Court, is a 3 months old massage boutique palor located in Balestier Rd, Singapore. The 5,000 sqf massage palor is nicely decorated in traditional Oriental Chinese style with a service emphasis on Foot Massage, Foot bath and Foot pedicure treatments. Of course, there are also other massage services such as Chinese Tui Na, Thai massage, Aromatherapy massage to the less common Gua Sha, Ba Guan, Ear Candling and even Ear candling. Other spa services such as Facial services, Nail manicure and Nail art are also available.

(Note: Gua Sha and Ba Guan are specialized Chinese Traditional Medicine treatment meant to restore your body’s Yin/Yang balance. Gua Sha involves scrubbing your back with a horn scraper and Ba Guan involves using heated vacuum cups on your body’s accu-meridien points)

I visited this boutique with my husband on a late Sunday afternoon and there were only a few customers around. Once passed the reception area, there were about 10 luxurious Chinese-style massage chairs in the main hall and another 8 in a private room. The private room can be further compartmentalized into 3 smaller rooms with individual LCD TV where you can have some privacy if you come with a small group of friends. (See picture on left)

We were given a pair of loose Chinese-style shirt and pants to change into.

I opted for a Aromatherapy massage and my husband wanted a Thai massage. Unfortunately, the Thai masseur was not available and he opted for a Chinese Tui-Na massage instead. Incidentally, we were told that the Thai masseur is a Thai and the Tui Na masseur is a China Chinese. Plus point given for employing native masseurs because somehow, only native masseurs practise their art the best.

We were ushered to a curtained-off compartment with floor massage beds. The compartment was nicely decorated (see picture) and there were space for 4 body massage guests in privacy. We had a pleasant one-hour massage as the masseurs applied the right pressure; slow and smoothing for aromatherapy massage and hard and direct for Tui Na massage.

Overall, this is a nice massage palor with nice decoration, clean towers, soft music and good service. There are even 2 computers with internet you can surf while waiting for a friend or if you have finished your massage before them. The changing room is interesting in that you get those fancy round shower cubicles; complete with side nozzles and music while you shower.

There were however, a couple of issues we were not too happy about. While we were having our massage, some of the staff were chattering away just outside our curtained massage compartment. After 10 minutes of incessant chatter, I had to ask the masseur to tell them off. I came here to relax and chill out; not listen to some high-pitch incessant chatter that is so common of Mainland Chinese folks.

Another issue I absolutely hate was that two of the male foot masseurs were curl up in the foot massage chairs sleeping away! I don’t care how masseurs behave in their rest area or if they sleep during their off-duty period but to do so in front of customers is absolutely unacceptable! I hope the management of Qian Zu Ge realise this and stop this bad practice immediately!

As of this writing, Qian Zu Ge is running a foot detox and massage promotion with OCBC credit card. I will recommend this Oriental massage palor if you want to spend a relaxing afternoon or would like a group massage with friends in privacy.

Location of Qian Zu Ge
221 Balestier Road, ROCCA Balestier #04-01, Singapore 329928, Singapore
Size: Mid-size massage palor with large common room and several private areas
Facilities: Internet PC, foot bath massage chairs, facial treatment room
Friendliness: Polite staff and massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$30 for foot massage and US$40 for massage. Facial services starts from US$60. Discounted Spa and massage  packages for members also available.

Ten years ago, I remembered going to Kenko during lunch hours for shoulder and back massages whenever I needed one. It was a useful 20 minutes perk-me-up especially when work was hectic and stress-level was high. Kenko, then a small massage shop, was simply decorated and situated at Tanglin Shopping Centre, Singapore. The boss or manager was extremely friendly and the masseurs’ skills invariably good.

Since I stopped working around that area ten years ago, I had never visited Kenko. Over the years, I had seen Kenko move from strength to strength in Singapore - expanding into many branches and going up-market in decor, services and clientèle. I had wanted to try them out for old time sake but their new up-market prices stopped me each time. I would rather go to my regular foot masseur at almost half of what I need to pay at Kenko.

I was busy and had not had a foot massage for a long time. I happened to pass by Kenko in Chinatown one day. The nice decor and atmosphere lured me into the shop. I decided on a S$48 dollars for a 45 minute foot bath and massage.

The shop was nicely decorated and the massage chair was one of the most luxurious I have ever seen. Soft curtains, soft lights and soft music completed the mood. The male masseur assigned to me looked experienced and I was confident I was in for a comfortable foot massage from an experienced masseur.

The luxurious leather massage chair was fitted with a foot-bath; so there wasn’t a need to bring in a hot tub of water. However, the water in the foot-bath was only luke-warm and there didn’t seem to be any crystal or herbal essence added to the water; just plain, warm water. The foot bath had a couple of mild bubble-jets. It was nothing more than putting my feet into bubbling lukewarm water. It certainly pale in comparison with foot baths that I had done in many other places - especially the Taiwanese version where the foot bath are invariably the highlight of a foot massage.

My feet was quickly dried off and the foot massage started. I don’t remember any cream, lotion or powder being applied. The foot massage was weak, being a series of thumb and first finger presses; starting with the toes and then going round the feet. It was simply press, press, press and there were no deep second knuckle pressing, thumb presses nor any knuckle scrubbing so commonly expected of foot massage. There were also no massage of the ankle, calf nor knees except for a couple of tapping action.

Once one foot was finished, the same action was started on the second foot. No towel was wrapped around the finished foot so common in most other foot massage palours. The whole sequence finished quite soon and certainly did not feel like the 45 minutes that I paid for. The masseur then washed my feet before drying them again. This was where he made the mistake that you may sometimes come across when washing hair in hair salons; not ensuring the water was warmed up before starting the wash!

I was totally disappointed! This was certainly one of the worst foot massage I ever had and I suspect that the masseur was new, inexperienced or not well trained in foot massage. The shop was busy during the period I was there, with customers coming in and out for shoulder and body massage, but none for foot massage. I can only speculate that foot massages are no longer popular in up-market shops such as Kenko and perhaps the quality of foot massage had suffered as a result.

Even the ‘tea’ served to me at the end was not hot tea but plain cold water. I’m okay with either but why serve water in a tea-cup complete with tray when it’s just plain water? I or any customer would have expected hot green or ginger tea when served on a tea-cup as in the case for most up-market massage boutiques.

I paid up and left quickly. Once out of the shop, I knew for sure I hadn’t had a real foot massage - my feet did not have the warm, fluffy and tingling feeling I normally have after a good foot massage.

Luckily, it hadn’t become too late into the night. I decided that I needed to go look for a real foot massage elsewhere!

Location of Kenko Spa Boutique, Chinatown branch
211 South Bridge Road, Singapore
Size: Mid-size massage boutique palor with multiple rooms
Facilities: Toilet
Friendliness: Polite staff and massage therapists. Receptionist a bit pushy with selling massage packages.
Pricing: Ranges from US$35 to US$40 for massage only. Between US$85 to US$175 for massage packages.