Cable guy, China Spa experience

March 23 – I experienced something today that I thought was just a US phenomenon, but obviously it is not. Our cable for the TV has not been working, so I called & the guy was supposed to come between 9am and 1pm today. They were very specific about that & usually things in HK are very punctual. When it got to be 1:30, I called and they said he would call before coming. So when it got to be 2:30 and he still had not come or called I just left. I had more money to count & Chinese to learn at Heifer today. At 3:30 the cable guy called to say he’d be there in 20 minutes. I explained that he was supposed to be there between 9 & 1 and that I had to go to work so I would not be there. He sounded very sorry and said someone would come on Saturday (the next day). The women at the office laughed & said that is always how it is with cable, they never come when they are supposed to. It is a joke in HK. Glad to know some things are universal!

At 5:30, I headed to the Cadmus office as I had a date with Karen, the receptionist. Karen & her boyfriend, Pat, had invited me to join them for the evening to go into China to a spa. John was also invited, but having just returned from Thailand, he was just too tired. Going to the spas in China (just across the border), is a very popular pastime with Hkers. I guess the prices are so much cheaper than at HK spas. Karen & Pat go every few months & had promised to take me along the next time they went.

Karen’s brother picked us up in the family car. We drove to meet Pat & the brother left & Pat took over the driving. We drove a fair distance to a train station that is just before the border & parked the car. This all took about 2 hours so now it was about 8pm. The train was packed full, it being a Friday night I guess many Mainlanders heading home & Hkers going up for a cheap night out.

At the border, Karen was very protective of me. It was funny, I felt like a little child. She held my hand & told me to keep my backpack in front so not to get robbed. I felt very safe, but she made it seem like we were crossing into a terrorists zone or something. The crossing was easy, but at one point I had to go to a different section to show my visa & passport. They pointed out exactly where I should meet them on the other side & gave me strict orders not to talk to anyone. It was so funny. I kept my mouth shut & eventually they showed up (many more people going through their line). We went to the parking garage where the vans park for the spas. Each spa has a van & a certain place that it is parked. We got in along with a few other people & off we went into Shenzhen, China – my first trip to Mainland China!

The city looks a bit like HK, but not really. There are the neon signs all over, but not as many taxis & buses. As hectic as HK seems, this seemed more hectic. It was a bustling place. The spa was not too far. We were greeted by men in long gray coats, very much the classic doormen look. We were escorted into the large and elegant lobby and greeted by women in long flowing white gowns with high collars. All I could think of is that they looked like they’d come right off a Star Wars set or some futuristic movie set. I’m not sure what we told them, but we were next taken to the main area & Pat went to the men’s locker rooms & we went to the ladies. We were each given a bracelet with a key & number on it. This is the key to your locker & the number is how you are charged while you are there.

We were escorted to the locker area and given a huge towel. We undressed, put our things in our locker, wrapped up in the towel & were escorted to the showers. We took our shower then were escorted to the exfoliating area. This was optional & cost about US$6 for 30 minutes. We said sure. We lay on a table & a woman pours warm, oiled water over you & then rubs your entire body with a glove that is rough, but not too rough. It was glorious. When you get up you see all the dead skin that has been sloughed off in the procedure & it is kind of horrifying. Makes you feel like you should do this once a week. When you are done, a woman brings you a little clipboard with a paper on it, verifying the treatment & allowing you to leave a tip. According to Pat, the only income the workers get is the tips. But he also was very specific not to give too much. He told me exactly what to give for each thing. I think for this he said this to give only about US $3. I felt badly leaving so little, but Karen concurred that that was plenty.

We were escorted back to the showers for another shower. I was told not to use soap this time as it would destroy the exfoliation I’d just enjoyed. We were offered a sauna (free), we declined. Karen showed me the very large Jacuzzi which we got into for a few minutes. She said the men’s side has about 5 pools (warm, hot, cold, & 2 others for who knows what). I guess the women’s side will have more when the renovations are done. At this point I needed to hit the ladies room, so we were escorted to the toilets. Imagine my surprise when I sat down onto a hot seat. Well it was really warm, but very surprising. I let out a little yell & Karen laughed from outside the door & said, don’t worry, they are heated for your comfort. WOW! And they were covered as well. All very hygienic.

We were next escorted to the dressing area (can you tell by now that there are loads of people working here, you never go anywhere without an escort & each different job has a different outfit, and the locker room was huge). We were issued spa clothes to put on. The clothes were bright pink baggy pants (calf length) and a matching baggy top. Very comfortable. You are also issued paper underwear & bra. I thought this extremely funny, but Karen explained that they want people to be comfortable, but with the oils & things you wouldn’t want to be in your own clothing. Makes sense. Oh, we also had been wearing spa issue plastic sandals to protect our feet.

We went out into the main section of the spa to meet up with Pat. We had planned to meet for dinner. It was probably 9:30 by now, so I was certainly ready for dinner. We had an excellent meal of fish & pork & rice & veggies and of course tea. Pat did the ordering. After eating we went out into the main rooms. This area had 3 huge rooms filled with gigantic leather recliners. You could get lost in them they were so big & comfy. In 2 of the sections each recliner had a TV attached to it & they said you get 40 channels. We tried to get into the non-smoking area, but there were not 3 seats together. So we ended up in the theater area. Here the recliners do not have individual TV’s, but are stadium seating with a huge screen in front. They have movies running all of the time. The movie that was on for us was in Chinese, but it was really funny & pretty easy to tell what was going on. So you sit in your recliner & you can just enjoy the entertainment or you can have some treatments. The choices are many, but I decided on a foot scraping treatment (this is what Karen was getting also) & a foot massage. Karen said she doesn’t get the massage because it hurt too much. The foot scrapping was amazing. It was about 30 minutes long & the guys got lots of dead skin off of both of us. They scrap the calluses & get your foot really soft & smooth. Then he did the reflexology or foot massage. I can understand why Karen doesn’t like this. WOW did it hurt, but afterwards felt good. Pat had a head massage. You can also get pedicure, manicure, all sorts of things.

Next it was time for the full body massage. We had to go to a different section of the spa. At the entrance to the full body massage area there were a couple of video screens & they were surrounded by men. I took a look & what they are for is to pick out your massage therapist for your session. There was a photo of each along with a short bio. The only thing I could read was the age & they all looked to be early 20’s and very attractive. Karen & I went to a double room that was Indian style. I guess you can choose the décor if that really matters to you. We disrobed & lay down. We chose 2 essential oils (Pat’s suggestion) & were treated to at least an hour massage. It might have been longer, I really didn’t’ keep track. Mostly it was wonderful, except when she got to the legs. That really hurt. I didn’t understand when she asked if it was too hard & didn’t know how to tell her softer. She finally realized it I guess when I let out a wince at one point & she said something to the other woman & they both laughed a little. It was not a mean laugh, more sympathetic. She was gentler after that.

I felt like jelly after this. We looked at the clock & realized it was 1:30am. Karen had told John I’d we be back by midnight. Karen was very upset that John would be angry that she had kept me out so late & that he might be worried something had happened to me. I assured her John would be fine & we could call him as soon as we got back to our phones. We enjoyed some of the free fruit & juices they had available to guests, then decided it was time to leave. On the way to the locker rooms I noticed there was an area with pool tables & ping pong tables. There was an entire floor devoted to hair & beauty treatments. I guess the place I s 5 floors, so we only scratched the surface. The only thing I could compare this to would be like a casino, but instead of gambling you get spa treatments. I really can’t think of any more superlatives to use to describe this place & experience. I’m just glad that I went with someone who spoke Chinese, as I don’t think you could negotiate it all without that. Not many people spoke English here (we’re not in HK anymore).

We took another shower & got dressed. There were area with makeup & hair dryers to get beautiful if you were so inclined. We called John & he was fine, but wondering when I might get home, so he was glad to hear from me. We settled up the bill. Actually Pat had a prepaid card, so he settled it up. Since it was so late, the train station was closed so we took the van to a bus station instead. We had to take a few buses to get back to the car, but it was easy since they knew just where to go. There were a lot of drunk people on the buses though, so I guess not everyone goes up for the spas.

We found the car & Karen being the wonderful person she is, insisted on driving me home. This was totally out of their way as we had to go past where they lived on Kowloon-side & through the tunnel to get to HK-side. I managed to steer them to our place without a problem. When slid into bed I looked at the clock & it was exactly 4:00am. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed up that late, but it was well worth it!!