SA PA, Vietnam - On a recent trip to Vietnam, I noticed that our guide slipped away from the hotel every night. When he came back, he always looked alert and rested. Finally I cranked up the courage to ask him about it.
"Where did you go last night?" I inquired over a bowl of noodle soup at breakfast.
"I had a massage," he said, grinning.
"And the night before?"
"Another massage," he said. "And I had a great one the night before that, too."
The spa offerings at the hotels were often pricey, and it was hard to imagine that our proudly frugal guide was blowing his salary this way.
"Do you get a guide's discount?" I said. He laughed. "Why? A full body massage is less than $10."
What the Vietnamese know, and tourists do not, is that there are a host of local massage experiences that are unusual and inexpensive. I set out to try a few.
In Sa Pa, in the mountainous area in the north, I had a full-body treatment. A young masseuse named Thanh, a tiny woman who spoke no English and wore skin-tight white clothes, took me by the hand and led me into a small dressing room. I waited for her to leave, so I could get undressed. She didn't budge. I figured I would start undressing and she would get the hint. She just stood there, watching. Then she reached into a locker, grabbed a large towel, wrapped me in it, and led me into a room with an ovoid wooden tub.
I slipped below foaming bubbles and scattered rose petals into the warm water. Thanh handed me a plastic bucket that exuded a heavy menthol scent, and told me to inhale. Then she left me alone. When she was gone, I wanted to scream. I looked into the water and saw that it was deep, bloody red. I later found out that I had been submerged in 30 different herbs, all related to healing, soothing, and well-being. They had been purchased from an herbalist from the ethnic Red Dzao tribe. The herbs are boiled for 35-40 minutes before patrons sink into their crimson caress.
After a soothing half hour, Thanh beckoned me to follow her into a small, unadorned room with a massage table. I hopped onto it and realized I had entered into an unspoken pact with her. She would massage every inch of my body - including nostrils, hair follicles, cheeks, underarms, and eyebrows. I recognized some of the kneading as Thai massage. But the pressure point work, scratching up and down my back, twisting my hair and fingers, and rolling the hair of my eyebrows seemed uniquely Vietnamese.
After about an hour of massage I was given a delicate cup filled with ginger tea. As I sipped, I had to admit that I had just experienced the most complete massage and soak of my life. Total cost: $10.