Uncategorized: Learning Chinese can help you relax

 

We pride ourselves on occasionally finding somewhat off the beaten path spas, but we’ve also found ourselves where we felt lucky that we spoke at least some Mandarin.  Luckily, even if you’re not taking classes, there are some useful resources and guides for expats living in Hong Kong and China to help you get around and find new things to do and tips for communicating.  One such, is learningchinese.com, which offers tips for learning Chinese as well as notes on interesting travel spots and cultural notes.  Go ahead, dive right in!

Here’s something of interest for those who may want to visit Queen’s or Maya Spa and then explore Shenzhen:

“Splendid China (Chinese: 锦绣中华, pinyin: Jǐnxiù Zhōnghuá) is an interesting (and easy) way to see all the sights of China…in less than a couple hours.  Located in Shenzhen, the park displays China’s history, culture, art, ancient architecture, customs and habits of various nationalities.   It’s about about a 35-40 minute train ride from Luohu Station of Shenzhen metro line, which you can get to via the MTR.

Scores of China’s major tourist attractions (including the Great Wall) are re-created in miniaturized form and laid out according to the map of China.  The entire park covers 30 hectares, so it can be quite a walk if, like me, you go on a hot summer day.  Luckily, you can rent little scooters or golf carts to get around in comfort!

The park also has shows depicting events in Chinese History, although some  are only performed on weekends.

When you get tired of shopping and eating in Shenzhen, Splendid China is a great way to learn all about China…really fast!

Admission Fee: CNY 120 (including the ticket for China Folk Culture Villages)
Opening Hours: 09:00 to 18:00
Recommended
Time for a Visit: Two hours
Mini Bus Route: 423,209,223,204,301,101″

Check out more at learningchinese.com

January 19th, 2011
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Reviews: Elemis Day Spa, Central

 

We’ve been seeing a lot of deals lately from the likes of uBuyiBuy, ValuUp and Twangoo. But how good are they? This week we took advantage of a uBuyiBuy deal for Elemis Day Spa in Central — we paid $288 for a 75-minute hot stone massage that normally would have cost $990. Apparently, 499 other people also bought this deal (which was good for a variety of services, not just hot stone massage). So, here’s what we thought. If you bought this deal, let us know about your experience too!

Waiting or "relaxation" area at Elemis Day Spa

Elemis bills itself  “a world of complete sensory heaven where time is left at the door and a new journey begins.” But I have to say, to me it felt more like an office suite that had been slightly redecorated. Which is what it is, in fact.  It doesn’t really have a “spa” atmosphere — the toilets are out in a narrow hallway, not in the “grooming room” where the showers are. There’s no whirlpool or sauna or steam room  to sit in, like you’d find at many a typical Hong Kong spa like Sunny Paradise.  And there are few amenities — don’t expect razors, hairspray or any of that stuff in the shower area. Even the towels were rather small.

Elemis Day Spa treatment room

The massage was done in a triangle-shaped room that was painted green. The ceilings were low and it felt kind of claustrophobic. The treatment began with a little exfoliation by means of a brush, and a quick foot rub. The therapist then asked me to do some deep breathing. When she started to use the stones, they seemed to be either too hot, or not hot enough. The frangipani scented oil, though, was quite nice. The massage ended after about 70 minutes, not 75.

I found the therapist considerate, but not particularly friendly. She asked questions and was responsive to requests. At the end, she tried to get me to buy some oil and body scrubs — all of which cost more than I had just paid for the massage.

Snacks in the Elemis relaxation room

Afterward, there was really no reason to lounge around Elemis, even though they have a “relaxation room” with snacks like fruit, nuts, and brownies, plus tea, coffee and wine and a tasty, hot ginger-honey  drink.

I left feeling like $288 was an OK price, but I was hardly blown away by the experience. I think mostly I was just relieved that I hadn’t paid $990 for a pretty basic massage in a rather underwhelming atmosphere. For that price, you can do much better elsewhere.

August 20th, 2010
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Reviews: Review: Oriental Spa, Landmark Mandarin

 

We here at The Rubdown live on a budget, but every once in a while we need a splurge. When the Oriental Spa at the Landmark Mandarin announced its “bring a friend for free” deal, we knew it was time.

Comparing a luxurious place like the Oriental Spa to your average storefront Hong Kong massage joint is tricky. Obviously, the atmosphere, service and amenities are going to be superior. But their rates — about $1230 for a 90-minute aromatherapy massage — are three to four times what you would pay at the typical massage parlor. Is the experience three to four times more enjoyable? Would you rather have one massage at the Mandarin, or four at a local place? OK, what if I told you the Mandarin has showers that smell like oranges? (Yes, they really do!)

Women's spa area, Landmark Mandarin

Luckily, the 2-for-1 deal makes the calculus a lot easier. I booked a 90-minute aromatherapy massage and the boyfriend came along for free. We showed up an hour early to take advantage of the spa facilities. These are separate for men and women, so if you’re expecting to relax side-by-side with your honey of the opposite sex, think again.

The spa, on the 5th floor of the hotel, is nicely decorated with light-colored woods and Asian accents. When you arrive, you’re given slippers, tea, and a questionnaire about your health to fill out. When the boyfriend told the staff that he had to take a work call right before his appointment time, they courteously offered to start the massage later so he wouldn’t have to cut it short.

Vitality pool, Landmark Mandarin

The locker room is stocked with all the amenities you need, from razors to plastic bags for your wet swimsuits and disposable undies to wear during your massage. In the women’s spa area, there’s a “vitality pool” (a no-too-hot hot tub) with metal “beds” you can lie on and get massaged by water jets. There pool also features a large arch-shaped spigot of water that’s about as powerful as a fire hose — use it to blast away tension in  your neck and shoulders. A “laconium” — a room heated to 52 degrees — is supposed to remove toxins; it was not unpleasantly hot. There’s also an amethyst crystal steam room, which was the perfect temperature and not gross or musty. To the naked eye, at least, the whole place is spotlessly clean.

You can alternate time in the hot rooms with special showers (a warm one  scented like oranges, and a cool one that had a somewhat minty smell). There’s a bowl of ice chips on hand, and special “tepidarium” lounge chairs that are kept at body temperature — 37 degrees. Or chill out in the relaxation room, where you can lounge to music on headphones, read magazines, eat complimentary fruit and nuts, and drink tea or flavored water — the lychee-rose petal concoction was unexpectedly tasty. You can also order smoothies for an extra charge.  Frankly, you can easily spend more than an hour enjoying these facilities, so come earlier or stay after your treatment to take full advantage.

Women's locker room, Landmark Mandarin

The massage itself was excellent. My therapist, a man named Vadi, homed in on my knots with amazing precision. The aromatic oils were not overpowering. A nice touch was a bowl of what seemed to be eucalyptus in warm water that he placed under my nose while I was lying face-down on the table. The massage ended with what felt like a mini-facial, as he applied a cream to my face and gently rubbed until I drifted out of my dreamlike trance.

Click here for more details on the spa’s offerings.

Our total bill for two 90-minute massages came to $1353, including gratuity. Would we pay that much for a single treatment? Probably not. Would we do the double deal again? In a heartbeat.

July 29th, 2010
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Reviews: Blind Massage in Central

 

There’s a certain mystique to blind massage, at least among the sighted — a hunch that perhaps people who are especially reliant on their sense of touch will be especially gifted at identifying and fixing all our aches and pains.

Last weekend I finally got the chance to experience my first blind massage at Accupressure & Foot Reflexology Health Care Centre of the Blind in Central.  The atmosphere is clinical — the decor seems like a dentist office from the 1970s — and there are a few special quirks that come with the place. But the massage was a solid value.

The waiting area of the blind massage center.

The place bills itself as “the first massage therapy centre set up by a Hong Kong blind person.” The woman at the front desk (who was not blind) said it’s been in operation for 10 years, and it’s recommended by guides like Fodor’s. It’s located in an office tower not far from Central MTR. Take the elevator to the 2nd floor, turn left, go up half a flight of stairs, and you’re there.

The hands of Alex, my therapist at the blind massage parlour.

Prices are reasonable: Body massage is $130 for 30 minutes, $190 for 45 minutes, $240 for an hour, $360 for 90 minutes and $480 for 2 hours.  Foot massage is $160 for an hour, plus you get a 15 minute foot bath. 90 minutes of foot massage plus the foot bath is $230. There are discounts for sessions of 10. When I was there, a number of regulars, including a man well past 80, arrived for what seemed to be their usual Saturday afternoon rubdowns.

I arrived without an appointment and had to wait about 15 minutes for the masseuse, Alex, to arrive. My treatment was conducted in a small private room divided from another treatment room by an accordion door — occasionally I could hear the octogenarian man next to me talking to his therapist. The  fluorescent lighting in the room stayed on the whole time — I guess because Alex didn’t realize it was on, or that I might want it off. And his watch or cellphone spoke to him every 15 minutes to announce the time.

The time announcements — plus at least two phone calls to Alex’s cell phone, which he answered during my massage (a typical Hong Kong annoyance)  — meant that there was little chance of drifting off to sleep. But Alex did really go after my problem shoulder, and his technique — which used finger pressure mostly, rather than knuckles, elbows, etc. — was nice and firm, without being painful.  I felt as refreshed after 45 minutes as I have after many 90 minute massages. He spoke enough English to understand my requests, and was very friendly.

Open 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday -Saturday, closed Sunday. Call ahead to make sure a masseuse is available at the time you want to come.

Acupressure & Foot Reflexology Health Care Centre of the Blind. Tung Mung Building, 40-42 Des Voeux Road Central, Room 205. Map. 2810 6666.

July 7th, 2010
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Reviews: Evergreen Health & Beauty (青龍門)

 

Strolling around Tsim Sha Tsui last week, I and my sister decided to go for a foot massage. My sis — a foot massage virgin who’s somewhat squeamish about feet, pedicures and the cleanliness of salons — was not up for the cheap, sketchy places tucked up on the upper floors of walkups along Canton Road. We sought out a recommendation from one of the local hotels, but it seemed too pricey. Finally, we picked up a tourist map and found an ad for Evergreen Health and Beauty in Knutsford Terrace. The photo looked nice and the $50 voucher sold my sis, who’s a coupon queen, on the idea. Off we went.

Entrance to Evergreen Health and Beauty

Evergreen is up on the 8th floor of a building at the top of the bar street. When you get off the elevator, you’ll see a carved wood door. The reception area is nicely decorated and the reception staff speak English. If you don’t have a tourist map, look for one on the counter, so you can get your coupon. We opted for the 60 minute foot massage for $238, but with our coupons that made it $188.

Although you are indoors in a windowless room, Evergreen’s decor — fake bamboo and other plants, dim lighting and comfy chairs — gives you the feeling of being on a terrace or patio after the sun goes down. We were the only customers in the large foot massage area, which seems to hold about 25 people. The chairs recline and my sis was happy to see that they were draped in coverings that presumably are changed regularly. There was a TV projector in the room, but it wasn’t turned on when we were there. The music was Hawaiian slide guitar, at a reasonable volume. The restrooms were clean.

After a bit of a wait, we were served tea and our masseuses brought out buckets with a plastic lining for our foot baths. We were also served bowls of vegetable soup, which was unusual but also sort of nice. Me being a foot massage veteran, my masseuse took a firm approach, and when I winced in pleasure-pain at her knuckling my arches, she informed me that something was amiss with my intestines. My sister’s masseuse seemed to take a gentle approach, and didn’t even try to crack her toes by pulling on each digit (like my masseuse did — ah, refreshing).

In addition to foot massage, Evergreen offers body massage. It seems like a good place to chill out if you’ve been pounding the pavement shopping all day in TST, or if you need to relax after throwing back many drinks down at the bars below.

Evergreen Health and Beauty, 1 Knutsford Terrace, 8th Floor, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Map. 3904 3888 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              3904 3888      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

June 27th, 2010
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Reviews: Queen Spa, Shenzhen — a Wal-Mart Size Spa!

 

Mind-blowing! Queen Spa in Shenzhen must be experienced to be believed. America may have invented Wal-Mart, but it took China to super-size the spa!

Wrap your noggin around this: A spa that’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, takes up a city block — and sprawls over seven (yes, 7!) stories, or 480,000 square feet. You could spend days here, literally, and people do (they have designated sleeping areas, and wake-up calls). With few windows, the place has something of a casino-like atmosphere, where you can easily lose track of what hour, or day, it is.

Here’s how it works: You take the Hong Kong MTR to Lo Wu, cross the border, and enter the Lo Wu shopping center. Queen Spa has a small shopfront there, where the staff will direct you to a free shuttle bus that will transport you to the spa in about 5 minutes.

Upon entrance, you can check your large parcels with the concierge. Then proceed to the reception, where you check-in and are given a special bracelet that has an electronic chip and an account number printed on it. The entrance fee is 98 renminbi for 24 hours (but this will be waived if you spend 168 renminbi on massage or other services, and believe me, you will). [Note, 98 renminbi = 14.34 U.S. dollars, or 111.2 Hong Kong dollars. This is not a typo.]

Head to the changing room, where you’ll be outfitted with a set of pajamas and a robe. Stash your clothes and valuables in a locker, lock it with your bracelet, and you are off to explore 7 floors of entertainment, dining, spa services and more. Everything is charged to your bracelet account, and you settle your bill when you leave. The facilities seemed fairly clean, although the showers could have been cleaner.

A quick orientation (see website for photos and more details):

Level B1: Reception, spa pools, changing areas for men and women, sauna room, steam room, ping pong and VIP areas.

Level L1B: Rest area, massage area, Chinese medicine shop.

Level 1A: Thai massage rooms.

Level 2: Aromatherapy massage areas, Thai massage rooms, business rooms.

Level 3: Business and reading center, snooker hall, coffee bar, game zone, fresh fruit bar, restaurants, drink bar, football and movie bar, rest areas, private rooms for couples.

Level 4: Seafood and hotpot restaurant, VIP restaurant, VIP rooms, deluxe rooms, coffee and snack area, “Seafood display.”

Level 5: Gym, swimming pool, manicure zone, pedicure area, hair salon, power room, rest area.

After checking in, we scoped out the co-ed swimming pools, whirlpools and hot tubs on Level B1, then headed up to Level 3. We ate at the Chinese restaurant there (where we ordered sushi as well as Chinese food). Satiated, we waddled over to a rest area, where we plopped down in giant lounge chairs arranged in a giant semi-circle amphitheater facing a huge screen showing a Chinese movie. We also could have chosen to sit in another rest area, where each seat is equipped with its own television with dozens of channels offering everything from cartoons to horse racing. Men and women of all ages were relaxing and enjoying themselves. Kids were there too, many of them playing video games.

Using an electronic push-button system embedded in our lounge chairs, we summoned a waitress, who brought us service menus (in English and Chinese). We each decided on a foot massage (45 minutes for about 58 renminbi, and an ear cleaning for about 30 minutes, about 58 renminbi). We also requested the staff to bring us chocolate soft-serve ice cream from the free fresh fruit and ice cream bar, and it was promptly delivered to our seats. As we enjoyed our cones, two young women from Jiangxi province soothed our tootsies while an older man used a variety of strange instruments to pull every speck of wax and dust out of our ear canals. I’d never had another person clean my ears before, but when he was done, the world seemed 20% louder. Guess I had some stuff built up in there!

With our ears cleaned, our bellies full and our lower legs soothed, it we decided it was time for a full body massage. We wandered over to an electronic touch-screen kiosk where we were able to look through pictures of various masseuses and pick which one we wanted to give us a massage, and what kind of treatment to to receive — Thai-style, Hong Kong-style, Chinese-style, aromatherapy. (There were seemingly hundreds of perky, attractive 18-year-old masseuses to choose from, though I’m not sure that the ones that ended up giving us our rubdowns bore much resemblance to the ones we picked on-screen. No matter.) For 168 renminbi, we each opted for a 90-minute full body Chinese massage and were led down one floor to a giant maze of tastefully decorated and dimly lit treatment rooms. (The entire complex has about 800 massage rooms.) After a quick stop in the restroom, we were led into a large massage room with two beds. For the next 90 minutes we were rubbed into a state of relaxation so deep my companion fell asleep.

After our massages, we went back up to the rest area, where we decided to avail ourselves again of the free fruit bar (and yes, we had more ice cream). We sat and chatted and browsed through magazines and looked at brochures for the spa, considering other treatments and seeing what other services were available. Some of the offerings: hot stone massage, hair treatments, slimming treatments, facials, cupping, pedicures, hand massages and back scrubbing. You can also get your laundry done, charge your mobile phone, play mahjongg, and use the Internet at the business center or via wi-fi. We even found out that next time, we can arrange for a Rolls-Royce to transport us from the Lo Wu to the spa, if we are feeling too fancy to take the shuttle bus.

Before we knew it, we had been at Queen Spa for six hours and it was time to shower and head back to Hong Kong.  We cleaned up, changed, dried our hair and reapplied our makeup (the helpful attendants will even assist you with a blow-dry, if you like). Then it was time to settle up the bill. Our total charges, including massages, food and tips (10-20 renminbi per masseuse) came to about 500 Hong Kong dollars each. You can pay by cash or credit card, in Hong Kong dollars or renminbi. The free shuttle bus took us directly back to the train station, and in under an hour we were back in the heart of Hong Kong.

Final thoughts: Queen Spa is a jaw-dropping place that must be experienced to be believed. While Westerners may find some aspects of it more hyper-stimulating than calming, it’s a cross-cultural experience not to be missed, and it won’t blow the budget.

Queen Spa, B1/F-4/F, Golden Metropolis Building, Chunfeng Road, Luohu, Shenzhen. +86-0755-8225-3888

www.queenspa.cn

email: queenspa@queenspa.cn

June 10th, 2010
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