"The Massage is the Medium"

[Hi, George posting here]

OK, I apologize for contorting Marshall McLuhan’s “the Medium is the Message”. But that phrase popped into my head then everted while a prison inmate twisted me this morning into a tighter and tighter pretzel. All I could say to her was “ouch and aahhh”. 

Prison inmate? Massages? Young Thai woman? As my Southern Baptist pastor would say “Renounce those thoughts!”

In Chiang Mai, one can find a massage establishment every 50 meters, and in the Old City probably every 10 meters; in Bangkok, everywhere. And at 150 baht (US$4.59) for an hour, it’s always tempting to step right in, or at Chiang Mai’s Saturday night Wualai Walking Street Market, step right over to the parking lot. But I don’t recommend it.

Rather than talking about those kinds of massages, I’ll tell about where you must visit in Chiang Mai. It’s near the center of the Old City, and it’s not only a great place to get refreshed (and realigned), but also a wonderful way to help young women.

“A chance from your giving

Is begin a new life.”

The vocational training subdivision of the Chiang Mai Women Correctional Institution ทัณฑสถาน หญิงเชียงใหม่ has a Thai massage and spa training center for selected women prisoners. The criteria include being a first-time offender of a minor crime (usually non-violent drug trafficking), having less than a year left of their sentence, demonstrating good behavior in prison, and having desirable character and manners. Many of these young prisoners are from the surrounding Hill tribes who became involved with drugs to earn money and support their families. The center and its patrons provide a way for them to learn a marketable skill, develop ease with the public, and earn some money from work and gratuities. Hence, through the center, the massage is the medium…of hope and a better future for these young women.

Interestingly the center is in Ruean Pathammarong, the residence of a former prison warden. The center is one of several Royal initiatives by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol who is an international advocate of rights for women prisoners and especially beneficial integration into society.

The center (with café and gift shop) is very popular, especially with tourists, and all slots for the day quickly fill up soon after it opens at 8am. With so many patrons, the prisoners experience all kinds of people, languages, cultures, and behaviors while improving their massage skills. However, before starting at the center, each prisoner finished 180 hours of language classes (English and Chinese – a later blog about Chinese tourists) and 300 hours of traditional Thai massage. Then she must pass the Skill Standard Test to be certified as “Thai Massager level I” by the Ministry of Health's Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine. As a certified masseuse she can earn 30,000 baht/month ($950/month) in Chiang Mai - a good income. There are several massage establishments founded by and employing former prisoners, but this is the only center run by the Correctional Institution.

What’s it like? Wonderful and different! And literally a world apart from where I got my last Swedish’y massage at a “soul and mind spa” in Sausalito, Marin County.

How many establishments do you frequent with the WiFi user name “inmate_massage”?

The first task is deciding whether you want a body or foot massage, like deciding whether sprinkles or Oreo pieces on that froyo. Oh, sure, you could order everything on the menu but then you’d have to explain that to the Director.

Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Institution director Arirat Thianthong

After removing your shoes you respectfully approach the Center Director and ask if you can please have an appointment. If you’re lucky, then you get a time slot written on a small slip of paper. “ขอขอบคุณ Kob Kun Ka”

While waiting, you can browse the prison shop or visit the café. Christine will tell you that the café’s coconut smoothies are divine!

The inmates have a very different schedule. They must be ready at the prison by 6am. After a body and possessions search, they are transported by secured vans to Ruean Pathammarong. About 25 prisoners provide massages while others work in the prison gift shop and café. Several wardens (and multiple security CCTV’s) watch everyone and everything. The center closes at 4:30pm, and the inmates are returned to prison and searched again.

Simple rules for patrons so don’t ask “Can I have a 10am with Sirikit next Tuesday?” See Rule #1.

I know Rule #3 is no photos but here’s a surreptitious pic of my masseuse and me (although my ponytail still needs shaping, with the tats I got my swag). By the way, with traditional Thai massage, unlike Swedish massage, one is dressed in loosely-fitted pajamas, there are no oils or lotions, and massages can be in a communal room (or street market parking lot if you’re that kind of person).

Traditional Thai massage is a confluence of Chinese and Indian health philosophies: unblocking invisible energy pathways (“sen”) - you have 72,000 sen lines so yeah, it’s more than sinus congestion - and realigning one’s life energy (“qi”), while also releasing tensions through hatha yoga positioning. Let me say that this major tune-up doesn’t happen with gentle stroking and New Age music. Your ever-courteous 5’, 90 lbs. masseuse will press her powerful thumbs deep into your numerous blocked energy pathways, her elbows around your scapula, her knees into your buttocks while you’re on your back and bending your spine backwards into an impressively painful Cobra pose. Hence Rule #4 “Please do not make noise”, e.g., no groaning, whining, muffled screaming.

Using this diagram of sen lines, you and your Apple watch can perform self-diagnostics. Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, a physician from northern India and physician to the Buddha, created the principles of traditional Thai massage over 2,500 years ago. All physicians, by the way, have that cerebral glow. Christine asks me to turn mine off so she can sleep at night.

After you finish the massage, your masseuse gives you a cup of relaxing hot tea.

And because no one can (or should) fix 72,000 blocked up sen in one session, you want to come back right away. In fact, the Director recognizes Christine and me because we’ve returned so many times. The Director considers it the good kind of recidivism.

หวัดดี, George