Something’s Fishy

I found MaiThai Massage as I was walking from Sukhumvit Road to Baiyoke Sky Hotel the tallest building in Thailand  to take pictures.  Massage places are a dime a dozen in Bangkok but  MaiThai Massage had something I have only heard about on TV news broadcasts and seen on the internet.   The advertisement in the front (pictured above) said it all.  I had to pass up the fish foot massage the first time I saw it because I was late for my Thai language class but I really wanted to check it out so I ended up going back the next night.

Fish Started from the Surface and Proceeded to the Toes

Did it Hurt?

Whether it hurt or not is the first question out of most people’s mouths and the answer is of course not.  Getting stung by a bee and even a deep tissue shiatsu massage hurts.  The salt water was lukewarm room temperature and the tank was lit with a fluorescent light.

It felt weird when I first put my feet and lower leg in the water but I soon got used to it and it felt good.  It was interesting that when I first put my feet in the water, it seemed the majority of the fish swam upwards and attacked my mid, lower leg around the surface of the water (picture above).  After a couple minutes the fish began moving down and even got between my toes.

I don’t think massage is the right term as it feels more like scraping or exfoliating.  The bottom of my feet are extremely ticklish and to my surprise the attack of the “doctor fish” didn’t tickle.  I noticed some of the fish were sucking on the side of the tank like the “sucker fish” which you put in your fishtank to prevent scum from accumulating on the glass and I assume these fish are a type of “sucker fish.”  I asked the lady at the reception and she said they were from Turkey which I found was true.

Lunch time for the "Doctor Fish"

Location

I found MaiThai Massage as I was walking towards the Baiyoke Sky Hotel from Central world.  I had to cross Ratchaparop Road which is the same busy road in between Central World shopping center and Big C.

To cross I had to use an elevated crosswalk as I was in the shadow of the 80+ story Baiyoke Sky Hotel when I saw MaiThai massage which is literally right on the top of the steps across the street from the Indra Hotel.  I have heard there are a few different places in Bangkok where you can get the fish massage but this was the first place I saw.

MaiThai massage seemed to be a very busy.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Bangkok, you should know that most massage places do not offer a “happy ending” and are not even private with many people in the same room, often seperated by curtains getting massages.

I was there from about 9:30 til 10pm and there were at least 10 people who came in to get massages.  I was sitting in the opening room where the fish and the reception was alone for the first 15 minutes then shared the fish tanks with a few Dutch tourists as many people walked by to get massages while others were waiting in line.

Overall Impression

For me the fish foot massage was nothing like anything I’ve ever felt before.  There is no real way to explain how you feel during the 15 minutes when the 1.5-2.5 inch long fish are eating your dead skin cells but afterward your feet feel extremely clean.  For a price of only 150 baht ($4.48USD) for 15 minutes or 250 baht ($7.47) for 30 minutes it is definitely worth trying once.

Personally I plan to go back some day and do it again.  I have read the fish are known to help people with psoriasis and excema releive and even remove symptoms which makes me think how remarkable these little fish are and I can only imagine what types of uses these little “doctor fish” or “nibble fish” will have in the future.  Fish facial anyone?

Last 5 posts by Mike Behnken

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