Chinese Massage

I went to one of those Chinese massage places the other day-- kind of rough, but cheap. I go there quite often, but mostly I come away a bit disappointed with my 'pampering experience'. There are certainly some things they could work on. Ambiance and customer service are my main gripes.

If they could get rid of that damp-towels-that-have-been-left-in-the-machine-too-long smell, that would be great. And if your masseuse did not walk out three times during your 15 minute massage, without warning or apology to answer the phone-- this would also help a lot. On each return, I could sense them pause, while they thought 'now... where the heck was I up to? Oh well, I'll just do a bit of elbow in the shoulder blade action again.'

Another suggestion I would make is that if you are going to give someone a head and face massage (I tried this once, out of curiosity), it would be pretty nice if those hands that were pressing your cheeks and thumbing your eyelids (I know--eyelids. I was surprised too) smelt a little less of stale cigarettes, and felt a little less like sandpaper.

But all criticism aside, my main problem with these massages, is that I want to be really relaxed, but I can't help feeling strange and uncomfortable about the fact that I have given some random bloke money to press my eyes. And I don't know what correct protocol is for me. Am I to keep quiet and then say thanks at the end, or am I supposed to be one of those 'ooohh, yes... oh, that's good..ohhhh' people that I hear in the next cubicle?

I really don't want to be one of those people. But I am getting sick of hearing my masseuse ask 'is okay?' every two seconds while I'm trying to go to my happy place. Maybe I should just save up for one of those massage chairs and be done with it.