This past Sunday we headed for another of Phnom Penh's bizarre offerings: a fish "massage." Popular in Malaysia, recently opened in the Washington, DC area and, oddly enough, of Turkish origin, the fish massage entails sticking your feet into a pool with several hundred garra rufa fish or "doctor fish" which nibble at your dead skin, essentially giving you a pedicure. We knew of several people who had been before - a few in Malaysia and a few in Phnom Penh - each of which found the experience worthwhile.
So it was on Sunday morning that we headed to Monorom Professional Massage with a group of five other friends. We were welcomed by a staff of several and ushered into a unisex changing room. Once inside, we were given lockers and issued our outfits. The girls were given bike shorts and sports bras and the guys were given incredibly small and tight bike shorts. The only time I'd ever worn something so tight was when I was too young to dress myself and was issued a Speedo as a bathing suit by my parents. In addition to our "swim" gear, we were given silk robes and shorts which made me feel as if I were prepping for a kickboxing fight.
Once changed we were shown into a small chamber with what looked like a ten person hot tub. We removed our silk robe and shorts and, one by one, we crawled into the pool so that we were sitting at ground level with our legs out straight. The doctor fish immediately flocked to our feet and began nibbling at our callouses and dead skin. It tickled tremendously. To ease the tension a bit and help us relax, Wes and Savin mixed champagne and sugar cane juice cocktails and turned on their iPod docking station. After a few minutes of uncomfortable ticklishness, we settled in for a half hour of munching.
I'm not sure that I can say that it was relaxing, but it was certainly a unique and enjoyable experience. Throughout the process, the fish continued to nibble and did not seem to be satiated even when we left. During our time in the pool, they did make more room in their bellies so to speak, relieving themselves in the pool and revealing what looked like miniature onion strings. After a half an hour though, my feet and the other areas in which I got attention from the doctor fish - hands, legs, even chest - were indeed much softer. Putting our silk robes back on, we hit the showers and changed out of our hot pants and back into our clothes.
I can say quite confidently that I never thought that I was going to pay to have my feet nibbled by fish. But I can also say quite confidently that I have come to expect the unexpected. For $5, it was certainly a worthwhile experience (I wouldn't shell out the $50 they're asking for for the same amount of time at the spa in DC) and one that I will repeat with visitors to Phnom Penh.
So it was on Sunday morning that we headed to Monorom Professional Massage with a group of five other friends. We were welcomed by a staff of several and ushered into a unisex changing room. Once inside, we were given lockers and issued our outfits. The girls were given bike shorts and sports bras and the guys were given incredibly small and tight bike shorts. The only time I'd ever worn something so tight was when I was too young to dress myself and was issued a Speedo as a bathing suit by my parents. In addition to our "swim" gear, we were given silk robes and shorts which made me feel as if I were prepping for a kickboxing fight.
Once changed we were shown into a small chamber with what looked like a ten person hot tub. We removed our silk robe and shorts and, one by one, we crawled into the pool so that we were sitting at ground level with our legs out straight. The doctor fish immediately flocked to our feet and began nibbling at our callouses and dead skin. It tickled tremendously. To ease the tension a bit and help us relax, Wes and Savin mixed champagne and sugar cane juice cocktails and turned on their iPod docking station. After a few minutes of uncomfortable ticklishness, we settled in for a half hour of munching.
I'm not sure that I can say that it was relaxing, but it was certainly a unique and enjoyable experience. Throughout the process, the fish continued to nibble and did not seem to be satiated even when we left. During our time in the pool, they did make more room in their bellies so to speak, relieving themselves in the pool and revealing what looked like miniature onion strings. After a half an hour though, my feet and the other areas in which I got attention from the doctor fish - hands, legs, even chest - were indeed much softer. Putting our silk robes back on, we hit the showers and changed out of our hot pants and back into our clothes.
I can say quite confidently that I never thought that I was going to pay to have my feet nibbled by fish. But I can also say quite confidently that I have come to expect the unexpected. For $5, it was certainly a worthwhile experience (I wouldn't shell out the $50 they're asking for for the same amount of time at the spa in DC) and one that I will repeat with visitors to Phnom Penh.
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