One of my most anticipated aspects of the visit to Singapore and Malaysia was the abundance of expert massage services. Folklore (okay my brother) told me that the massages here are not only awesome but very affordable. And in addition, they even have the foot massages that claim to cure all kinds of ailments, real and imaginary. As an aficionado of massages and complainer of prices, I was very much looking forward to getting massages in both these countries.
And I am happy to say, yes the massages here are indeed plentiful and awesome. For the equivalent of USD 30, you can get full hour's worth of massage. Malaysia was even cheaper. My favorite one in Singapore was at Shaw Towers, in the shopping plaza area. Very skillful but a little talkative. I just like to drift off to la-la land while the massage is going on.
Word of caution though. If you've never had a foot massage, it can be INCREDIBLY painful, depending on how much pressure is applied. Apparently, there a zillion nerves there that you probably don't know about but which with appropriate pressure will SCREAM their presence to you. There was one massage place at Cameron Highlands in Malaysia where I begged the masseuse to stop but she glared at me and said "Can can. Look TV". So I watched a rerun of Rambo: First Blood with occasional yelps of pain. But after the massage, man, it feels really good!
So while in Malaysia/Singapore, do yourself a favor and get a foot massage. Worth it!
But there was one major disappointment for me - mens hair saloons/parlors don't offer shaving services. At least the ones that I saw. Now, I love me a good well lathered shave at the hands of an expert barber. But that just was not commonly available. Is this because facial hair is less common among the majority of male population in these countries??? I did find one after doggedly searching for such parlors in Kuala Lumpur. It was run by an Arab guy who made a great show of wiping my stubble clean. But later Ruksana pointed out to me that his work was highly incomplete. I tried to sink my face into my shirt collars as we headed back.
PS: India on the other hand offers expert shavers at every street corner and sidewalk. All of them well versed in the fine art of clearing the stubble in two passes. But massages are just not that widely available in India. Typically massages are always the Ayurvedic oil massages where you are basically naked except for a loin cloth around your waist, flat on a hard wooden bench and are manhandled by burly men with large moustaches. Scary! Surely, putting up a Chinese/Thai/Swedish style massage parlor will be great business? Or at least a chair massage? Somebody out there listening?
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