Saturday, March 28, 2015

I Was Fish Bait in Thailand: And Got Shot Down

For our honeymoon, Nick and I spent a wonderful month in Thailand. Once we had booked our flights and hotels, I knew it was time to research what I wanted to do while we were there. Of course, relaxation after a long hockey season was #1 priority for us. Because of this, I was quite excited to learn how cheap massage and spa treatments in Thailand were! A 30-minute foot and leg massage was a mere $3 per person. After several of these, I knew I was ready to try something new…and elected to try out one of the fish spas!

first time at the fish spa
What is a fish spa exactly? A fish spa is where you submerge (most commonly) your feet into a tank full of toothless garra ruffa fish (essentially, mini piranhas!), whom then nibble off the dead skin. Of course, if you so elect, you can choose to do an entire body cleaning. However, for my first time, I figured I would stick to just my feet! Now, compared to the $3 foot massages, the fish spa can be quite expensive- $10 for 30 minutes of feet cleaning. Nonetheless, I was quite excited to try this out and see if it was really as awesome as I had heard it could be. So, I happily paid my $10, washed my feet, and prepared myself…


And, bam! Just like that, approximately 400 little fishes swam away from me as fast as they could. And proceeded to cower in the corners of the spa, refusing to come near my feet. As I sat in confusion, Nick and the three little Thai workers were cracking up and could not stop laughing. Nick asked one of the workers what was going on, and she stated that this had never happened before. We had just washed my feet, so they should be clean…but apparently, there was something about my feet they did not like! We decided to try the fish spa next door, so I hopped over there….same thing. So, that was the day where I got completely, 100% shot down by about 1,000 fish. After failing to get my fish fix at two spas, I called it a day. Perhaps I would try again later…

success a week later!
A week later, after my ego had time to recover, I decided to give it another go. We went to a different spa, and fortunately this time were successful! I even convinced Nick to hop in the fish spa with me…but he only made it about one nibble before deciding it wasn't for him. It is a strange feeling at first, having little fishes nibbling at your toes, but over time you get used to it. After my 30 minutes were up, I hopped out of the fish spa and you could see a visible line on my calves were the fish had eaten off the dead skin up until.

The sensation was definitely weird at first, especially when the fish would nibble in between your toes. It was nearly impossible to look at my feet, because if I did I would burst out laughing! During the experience, I realized that I was actually fish bait- every time I pulled my feet out of the water and then resubmerged them, a cloud of fish would come swarming! While the fish spa was fun to try out, I'm not sure if I would do it again. But hey, when in Rome, right? Have you ever tried a fish spa or other unique treatments while abroad, and what did you think of them?

24 comments:

  1. Definitely something I have to try, although with my luck the fish would probably shoot me down too lol! Also I am in LOVE with that blue dress!

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    1. Thanks! I got the dress while I was in Thailand- in two colors!

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  2. Aha love this story! I'm curious as to why the fish didn't like your feet though! Maybe something you ate? Who knows, but what a story to tell! I want to try this, but like you will probably end up laughing in hysterics!

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    1. It was definitely an interesting experience! I'm not sure why they didn't like my feet- I mean, they aren't the most attractive feet in the world, but fish aren't supposed to care!

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  3. Your blog is really nice! I never tried but I was reading about it... :)



    anjasjoyful.blogspot.com

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  4. Oh my gosh that is so weird the fishies didn't want your feet the first time! Maybe if you got a pedicure too recently before, they didn't have enough to chew on? Who knows. I've been curious about trying this if I ever get the chance.

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    1. I'm really not sure what was going on, Amanda. I was definitely curious to try it, and happy that I eventually was successful!

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  5. A month in Thailand? Now that's a honeymoon!!

    I was cracking up during your story! Maybe your feet were just TOO clean the first time. I mean, they like feet with lots of dead skin, right? Maybe you were just too exfoliated. ;) I would def try this sometime. My feet are awful!!

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    1. Thanks Sarah- it was a great honeymoon. I'm not sure what was going on with my feet, but I'm happy I was eventually successful!

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  6. What a great honeymoon! I would love to visit Thailand one day, and this will be on my list if we ever get there.

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    1. As it should! It was an interesting experience, and definitely a great story!

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  7. We are planning a trip to Thailand and I've been wanting to try this ever since a friend of mine did it in Greece. Also, with those massage prices- looks like they will be a daily treat!

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    1. Courtney, you will love your time in Thailand! Do you know where you will be going? And massages were definitely an almost daily treat!

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  8. The fish are such a strange sensation - and so hard to describe to people!

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    1. Definitely strange, Emma. I was expecting to be a lot more ticklish, but eventually I got (almost!) used to it.

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  9. hahaha that is too funny! I've always wanted to try this!

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    1. I was so disappointed the first time, but luckily the second time was the charm! It was an interesting thing to do once.

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  10. How interesting! I never heard of that kind of spa!

    I wonder what was wrong the first time?!

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    1. Christine, I would love to know why they wouldn't nibble the first time. Fish spas are really popular in Asia, so I knew I had to try it out!

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  11. How odd! I'd love to try it. I would have been really freaked out if the fish didn't want to chow down on my feet. I would have immediately gone to that hypochondriac place. LOL #sitsblogging

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    1. Haha I felt so bad when they didn't want to chow down- especially when the little Thai ladies started cracking up and laughing at me!

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  12. That is hilarious! I think just regular pedicures are odd enough with regular humans working on your feet, but having little fishies nibbling on you, that would just be weird. I might try it, just because I'm that little bit adventurous.

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    1. It was definitely a weird feeling! Something I knew I wanted to experience once though.

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