Bangkok’s Luxurious M2M Spas: Blue Lotus

 

The Spas in Bangkok are a world away from the one’s we find in the Philippines.  I’m including pictures of the Blue Lotus Massage in the Chatuchak area for all of us to drool. Not even the “straight” massage parlors in Manila look like this. The Blue Lotus can be found at  81/9 Soi Ladprao 41, Chatuchak, 02-939-0821, 08-6319-4196,  their site describes the place as a “Gay-owned massage for men, by men, located in the quiet and peaceful surroundings of garden-themed home.

The Blue Lotus Reception Area

Providing first class massage and premium service. Each guest is treated like a friend.” A typical massage room below:

Scrub at the Blue Lotus Bangkok. Not even Suriya or Sanctuario can compete with this, ano pa ang Hilom o Mondiale?

 

More M2M Manila: UMA WATU

I love a good massage and I usually have one about three times a week. From past experience, I noticed that a number of massage establishments plant comments in various blogs either to boost client visits or to counter negative comments about their clinics.

After reading one of these comments, I went to UMA WATU at Aurora Boulevard a few weeks ago. The place is located at the tip of Aurora (Cubao End) in a seedy and dark area that is not well lighted. Its supposed to be right in front of the Partas station  that goes to the North (Ilocos) but is not directly in front of it.

Before going to the place I called their number (which I got from one of the positive comments about UMA in another blog) to ask for directions. A guy called Gilbert answered the phone and assured me that there were about 7 masseurs available at 6:30 pm. Since I was nearby, I was there within three minutes.

When I arrived, the place was not quite the place described in one of the comments here (obviously a planted one). The decor was tacky and the rooms were small damp and dirty. Worse, there were only three masseurs in the place, not seven. Gilbert turned out to be a masseur himself as at that hour the receptionist (if there was one) had not yet reported. The massage was bad and it was clear the Gilbert was in a hurry to go to the “extra service” part. After an unsatisfying service I gave him a tip of PHP 1,200. He started asking for more and said the regular tip given to his colleagues is about PHP 2000, quite steep for the bad service that I got.

To make the long story short, UMA WATU was described as a clean and well appointed place with a good ambiance. A good ambiance is important for those might just want to have a massage because it adds to the sense of relaxation. I didn’t get it at this place – from the bad looking to dingy interiors, there is no attempt to create a soothing atmosphere.

The moral lesson, take some of the comments in many of the blogs on M2M, including this one,  with a grain of salt since they may have been planted by the staff or owners of the massage parlors themselves. If you just want a massage, go to a regular spa with masseurs, if you want one. In QC there are a lot of these well appointed places, including the fairly new Sanctuario near Morato, the Pinnacle Spa, City Life, etc. there’s also one at Rembrant, though I’m not sure if they have male attendants.

Beyond a “normal” massage, Spartacus along West is a good place and the receptionist, Alma, who used to come from D’ Friendship is quite friendly and honest. Holywood and BodySpec are also good, though not quite as well appointed as Spartacus. The guys are generally goodlooking and the receptionists honest. They’ll point out to you the qualities of their masseurs and they have a strict policy against their attendants demanding extra tips from customers. I’ve been to Hilom and its clean and well appointed, I got a regular who transferred from Big M, so I had no problem there. I also had no problems with the one at Roosevelt (forgot the name – good well disciplined masseurs) and I’ve had good times at Magic although its geting to be an old, tired place, with little effort to bring new masseurs in as I stated earlier

The worst? Hilom, Mondiale,  Blue Palm (because of a very bad experience I had, but it may have changed since then) and now, based on my experience yesterday, UMA WATU. 

Many massage parlors imposed strict disciplinary rules for the convenience of their customers. Unless the tip is un reasonably low for a good service, the boys do not ask or extra. However, customers should be reasonable and give a good tip for a good massage and even better extra service. I’ve heard about a few customers giving PHP 250 for good service. Ask the receptionist – he should be able to assure you on pain of penalty that his masseurs will not charge extra beyond what you voluntarily hand over as a tip.

Any comments about XTreme massage near Shaw, Blvd and Kalentong? How about Blue Palm, since its been over a year since I’d been there.

Having said that the owners of m2m massage establishments do not seem to want to invest in a good place. I have yet to see an m2m establishment putting up facilities like the the good ones in Boracay, the SPA in libis or Wensha Pasay. Even the best m2m places are a far cry from these place.

Not quite Bangkok or Pattaya or Chiang Mai. Nothing in Manila or Davao quite compares to the ones they have in Thailand. Anyone who has been to Albury Spa in Bangkok (Sukhumvit Soi 11 turn right at the end) or to Hero (Also Sukhumvit but turn left at the end and go straight at the next street till you see Hero) would know what I mean. The m2m places in Bangkok are a world apart from the best we have here (Sanctuario in QC, though a good place is not an M2M massage establishment).

Take Albury, for instance. Albury spa is located in a bungalow off one of BKK’s main commercial districts. You enter a driveway with a vast, well- manicured garden. The reception area is huge compared to waht they have in Manila. Past the counter, there is a coffee-shop and in front of the coffee shop is a gym where you can oggle at the masseurs. You take your time to pick while sipping a beverage and there are about 20-30 guys to pick from – all of different types. At peak hours there are about 35-40 guys. After picking a masseur you go down to the shower rooms and lockers (not just one, there are about a dozen) just like the ones you find in good regular Spas in Manila. The rooms upstairs are very clean and well kept. The masseurs will wait for what you give and will not make a fuss about it. For those who want to try the Bangkok scene, just surf the internet. There are over a dozen of these first rate places in Bangkok and they’re easy to find by surfing the web.

The Dave Rebolledo Pictures

I chanced upon this picture in one of the blogs and there are even bolder, fully nude ones. Rebolledo denies the nude pictures and claims the nude pictures were photoshopped. Try to find the fully nude pix and you be the judge. Personally, the proportions and the consistency of the pictures belie the denial. Double click the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures. 

Bangkok: Meals between massage and Chatuchak

          Even on a budget, I always make it a point to have one meal in an excellent restaurant that serves the best cuisine of the country. In France, although I may not be able to afford three star Michelin restaurants, I would go to a highly recommended place, perhaps with one or two stars (the stars don’t matter), to have a gastronomic feast.

Thailand is considered to have one of the five best cuisines in the world (arguably, France is No. 1 but to me excellent Chinese cuisine for its variety is No. 1 given that media is Western-oriented) so it would be advisable to look for a place that serves excellent Thai food. Reading the travel blogs and the guides, one must not leave Bangkok without tasting its enormous selection of street food. For shoppers, the food stalls at Chatuchak are great. As a rule of the thumb, however, always make sure you don’t drink tap water – the rule applies anywhere in the world where you’re not sure of the quality of the water – take bottled water or a soda. For street food anything boiled in front of you is ok, anything grilled properly is also ok. Look at the surroundings and the general hygiene of the food stall proprietor. He shouldn’t be mixing raw food with cooked food (a source of staph), the hamds must be clean and he should not handle food directly unless he washes after holding money, etc. Bangkok the rest of  Thailand are a foodies paradise – apart from being a shopper’s Mecca and a massage afficionado’s dream city.

Any suggestions of favorite places to eat in between forays to Chatuchak, Hero, Albury, Babylon and Silom are highly appreciated.

One suggestion, the Japanese sashimi and sushi at the Oriental in Bangkok – first rate blue fin tuna sashimi and other treats. Also try its lunch buffet at least once!