A large three headed elephant appeared to float beside the freeway as we headed south to Hua Hin. Conical gold temples glitter in the distance surrounded by towering phallic spires. Traditional multi tiered roof lines, adorned with curling pointed extensions at each end, some with large mythical serpents winding down the eves, can be seen everywhere, even on bus shelters. Orange Robed monks wander along the roadside in contrast to huge empty bill boards cluttering rice paddies between the towns. As we draw closer to our destination, Resorts tower along the coast between jagged mountains that appear to have broken their way out of the flat landscape. "Sawasdee kha" hangs in the moist fragrant air, accompanied by a prayer like gesture - fingertips touching the nose and a slight bow of the head. We are in Thailand - meaning the land of the free but more commonly known through its promotional slogans as land of smiles. Everywhere the beautiful smiling faces of the Thai people are evident. The hotel staff are dressed in traditional Thai silk dresses as they show us to our room for the next 5 days - 5 days of decadence, relaxing by the pool, reading, sleeping, eating. The palm tree haven of the pool soon becomes our friend. The occasional gecko drops out of the trees then skitters across the hot concrete to get out of the mid day sun. Frangipani blossoms flutter from the trees to float in the pool releasing their scent in the hot heavy air. All around the resort frangipanis can be found floating in water, even the top of rubbish bins contain a depression filled with water and frangipanis. In the evening we sat by the ocean under trees festooned with coconuts. A full yellow moon hung heavily in the sky providing the perfect back drop for the lights of the fishing boats and navy ships out at sea. The sound of waves washing against the sea wall lulled us as we tucked into spicy Thai coconut curries with mountains of seafood.
A trip into the township of Hua Hin obviously essential if we are to keep up the pretence of being tourists and not just pleasure seekers. After Thai seafood eaten on the pier we wandered through the streets admit the cry of "want to buy a suit - hand made, made to measure". The streets are lined with tailors, jewellery stores and surprisingly, of all things, opticians. Obviously if you need to get glasses this is the place to do it. However the lovely thing about Hua Hin was that no one really harassed you. Along side the many bars were Thai massage shops specialising in foot massages but we were keen to try something different. While by the ocean, why not partake in a Fish pedicure.
Flesh eating fish feast on your feet
What am I talking about I hear you groan. What on earth is a fish pedicure. For us it consisted of large fish tanks stocked with a small tropical fish called Garra Rufa or also known as Turkey fish, nibble fish or doctor fish. Apparently they can thrive in temperatures of up to 43 degrees Celsius and are a natural method for treatment of skin diseases. How does this work? The fish seek out any dead or damaged skin and basically eat it. As we dipped our feet into the tank, hundreds of fish converged on us and immediately began feasting. What an amazing sensation, ticklish at first and with a mild tingling sensation a little like having a light electrical current passed through your feet. But once you got over this initial feeling it was not at all unpleasant. As we were sitting outside on a busy tourist street we got many a strange look from passersby who enquired about what was going on and then walked off bewildered when we told them the fish were eating dead or in Richard's case - diseased, skin. Great for Athletes foot and psoriasis. Half an hour of tickling later we emerged from the tank with feet that felt like they were walking on air, impossible to describe but the feeling continued for much of the day. Would we have another one? Absolutely... in fact I have just found one in Hong Kong!!
Perfect pampering in paradise
There was no way we were going to let the fish pedicure be the end of our decadent treatments. Time for a Spa Date for two at the Imperial Spa which boasted that it was the exotic Thai way to relax your body and soul. A beautiful spa designed around wood and bamboo and our double treatment room was facing the ocean, frangipani flowers were scattered around the room and in the shower, even floating in bowls of water under the table so when you were face down you could see them. We emerged like butterflies from a chrysalis, blinking against the brightness of the sun, legs feeling a little wobbly and skin all plump, polished and glowing after 3 hours of pampering. We began with a full body exfoliation using traditional Thai black sticky rice crushed in sweet almond oil. This was followed by being coated in clay, then wrapped in plastic - admittedly a little claustrophobic and then the most relaxing massage that either of us have ever had. The final treat - an Imperial facial. Between each treatment we washed off in the shower that looked out over the ocean.
The Art of Eight Limbs
Chants of monks juxtaposed with the loud music coming from a myriad of bars behind the temple, ladies of the night patiently waiting on beer stools, the night still young. But we had something else in mind.
"Oooh Aaah" yelled the crowd, fingers jabbing in the air. With a nod of a head across the ring, bets were made. The smell of tiger balm filled the air making it difficult to breathe. Two well toned fit young men stood in the middle, undertaking a dance-come-prayer ritual, then the bell rang. With a touch of gloves, it was on. Around they danced in time with the music, lifting their knees alternatively, testing each other out. Kick, a punch, an elbow then a knee to the back. Ding ding, round over another touch of gloves , a smile and back to their respective corners to be rubbed down with ice ready for the next round.
We were watching one of the most exciting and popular Thai sport - Muay Thai or Thai boxing. Steeped in 3000 years of history, Thai boxing is also known as the "Art of Eight Limbs" because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial arts. Each match consisted of 5 rounds each round went for 5 minutes.
Check out the following National Geographic youtube link to get an idea of what it is all about, especially to get an idea of the strange music that they play throughout the match.
