There are two different types of people: the massage lovers and the others. I belong to the first group and admit having tried almost every kind of massage one might have heard of…yes, wherever my wanderlust bug took me I thrived to indulge in my favorite pastime.
While the “Razzie award” belongs to the Inca massage in Agua Calientes, Peru (it triggered pain in my neck i.e. Brufen was my best friend for quite a few days ), some of the best experiences were in :
–Siem Reap, Cambodia – 25 February 2003 : advertised as “massage by blinds”, all the employees in this center were professionally trained visually impaired masseurs and masseuses.
–Sri Lanka : Ayurveda treatments
Spice Gardens in Matala, Sri Lanka – 24 February 2004
and the star of them all, the Shirodhara – oil dripping technique 27 March 2017
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29 March 2017
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-Bali – 22 August 2012 : yummy treat(ments) i.e. coffee scrubs, chocolate massages…
–Maldives – 10 July 2012 : the outdoor picture perfect spectacular setting
– Shanghai, China – 4/5 September 2011 : relieved me from a chronic back pain in only one session…like magic!
– Chiang Mai, Thailand – 15 November 2007 : Sleep inducing reflexology
– Chiang Mai, Thailand – November 2007 : the 2-hour body massage felt like seconds
– Bagan, Myanmar– 9 February 2005: Room-reflexology
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–Madagascar: much needed pampering between hikes
–Reserva Forestal Los Santos, Costa Rica – 22 March 2018 : excellent “surround sound system” reaching us from the surrounding rainforest…chirping birds, cascading waterfall… live, no CD.
However, the one treatment that left me with the strongest impact was closer to home…Yes, here in Abu Dhabi where I enjoy an established yet dynamic routine.
Honestly, I went to the spa at the Emirates Palace out of curiosity…understandably, it’s the most luxurious spa I’ve ever been to. I suspected the tag price to be associated with the lavishness, the splendor of the surroundings.
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I found out it wasn’t exactly true: the treatment was above my expectations…pure bliss is a cliché! Words fail me… I can’t describe the burst of emotions I never knew existed and caused my eyes to well up with tears towards the end of the treatment, once I felt, inch by inch, a warm blanket descending on my back before being left there and covering me like a warm cocoon.
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Heroin! It’s like heroin! Yes, well suddenly this particular article came to my mind…I read it twelve years ago in a Glamour UK issue while visiting my daughter Sara in Beirut. It was the addiction journal of a teenager who revealed that the first time she tried heroin it felt like she was being enveloped in a warm blanket. I still remember that I thought then and there why wouldn’t she simply envelope herself in a warm blanket instead of letting herself be sucked into the downhill spiral that could have cost her her life?! Strange how our memory works.
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Anyway, back outside sipping on my minted tea in the relaxing area, a smooth transition before exiting the enchanting “realms of the senses”, I inquired about the “heroin effect ” treatment. They don’t have it on the menu, it was bespoke! They came up with it when I asked for a “brain teaser” : a relaxing and energizing treatment.
Still under the spell, I left the premises with the feeling that the treatment I just experienced could really lead to a habit, a guilt free and harmless habit.
Checkpoint Charlie, a vestige of an unhappy period for pre 89 Berliners Berlin, Germany –5 June 2016
Who is he? No clue. A passerby in uniform…et voilà Moscow Russia – 9 May 2016
With the guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V- and his two sons Rabat, Morocco – 6 April 2016
This Mayan site has some of the best-preserved stelae and those vigilant men in uniforms are making sure it stays it that way Archeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua, Guatemala – 4 November 2015
Alpha female in uniform Todos los Santos, Guatemala – 1 November 2015
With the of our Paris➡️Havana flight aboard a Cubana Airlines’s Ilushin II-96 – 25 November 2013
With the “eyes” watching over the weekly Sunday march Huancayo, Peru – 30 October 2011
During a demonstration, probably a minor one as the Riot Police officers didn’t seem slightly worried, considering that one of them lent me his cap and the other one his shield Arequipa, Peru –18 October 2011
Historically responsible for safeguarding the Crown Jewels: a Beefeater, Tower of London UK –15 August 1989
The closest I could get to him behind the chain, Tower of London, UK– 15 August 1989
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Nat Festival, Mt Popa, Myanmar – 9 February 2005
Boun That Luang Festival,Vientiane, Laos – 24 November 2007
All Saints Day, Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Guatemala – 1st November 2015 
The Thimphu Tsechu Festival, Thimphu, Bhutan – 12 October 2016
Udaipur, India – 16 February 1998
Confessions of a Lady Sindbad 