Chiang Mai, Thailand
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2006
1
38
55
Trip End
Ongoing
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Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Thursday, May 3, 2007
the next day we rented bikes and made our way to some of the massage schools in town. we had decided to take a 2 week thai massage course and there were quite a few options. we narrowed it to 3 schools which fortunately or not were located on opposite corners of town. after a good cycling tour of the city and the schools we made our decision. 'sunshine school of thai massage". we decided to take a massage course after receiving our 1st massages in bangkok soon after arriving in thailand. we weren't sure what to expect but what we experienced was an combination of a relaxing and therapeutic massage. we were surprised at the yoga like stretches and benefited from the pressure points that were worked. thai massage is over 2000 years old and its origins come from india and china. india is responsible for the yoga elements and china for the acupuncture/acupressure components.
amy and massage teacher puk
sunshine like most schools in chiang mai teaches the northern style which has good mix of both methods.the few days before class began we enjoyed all the city had to offer including several markets. chiang mai is known for its night market which goes on every night. it also has several other markets including a very eclectic market on sundays. we cycled quite a bit and got caught in some unbelievable deluges. it seems the rainy season was making an early appearance. we also found a new place to stay right on the river and nearer to our school. we moved in and prepared ourselves for what was to be an challenging and amazing experience.
we arrived at school the next morning and met our classmates and teacher. it was the beginning of the slow season so there were only 6 of us which was great in terms of teacher-student ratio. our schedule was 9-12 lunch 1-4. a description/theory was given by our teacher "puk" first, then a demonstration, followed by our practices sessions. we rotated partners which was very helpful in terms of experiencing a range of body types, flexibility, injuries, and pain thresholds. we were a little overwhelmed the 1st week but with practice at home and a good teacher we were in a good groove by the end of the week. we punctuated the end of the week with a class trip to a nearby hot spring for some needed r & r. the celebration continued into the evening with a jam session at a grotto made from paper mache
we got along well our class (massaging each other for hours each day will do that i guess) and spent lots of time together outside of class. our classmates included a northern irish lad named kenny, julie, a lady from newcastle, alex a german frohline, and leo a brazilian. we became a well oiled machine and by the end of the week all did well on our end of the course test which consisted of performing an 2 hour massage under the watchful eyes of puk.
that nite we celebrated with our classmates. the next day we rented a moto and rode all around town including a trip up to doi(mt) suthep national park. the trip up afforded great views of the valley and chiang mai. we stopped at a well known buddhist monastery. what a nice spot to meditate. we continued up to the park and enjoyed a short walk, views of the nearby moung village and the visitors center. when we got back town it was a nice walk at the arboretum. then we met up with our friends one last time for an evening of hanging out.
the next morning we got up and caught our bus to pai (pronounced bye)
