Last night’s foot massage turned out to be quite an ordeal, as our masseuses crushed, ground and scored our bodies with their steely fingers. All the while, they were laughing and trying to teach us Vietnamese phrases, while informing me that, “She vely bootiful, you vely lucky!”
Foot massage turns out to be quite a relative term around here, encompassing the head, back, legs and feet. There’s nothing quite like having a Vietnamese woman stand behind you, stick her knee into the small of your back, grab hold of your nipples and pull you backwards, arching your back over her knee.
I didn’t so much feel massaged at the end of it all, as having just completed my first visit to a sadistic dominatrix.
Today, we went to the Perfume Pagoda. The pagoda itself turned out to be a little disappointing, since it took a two hour bus journey, followed by a one hour stint in a very uncomfortable rowing boat (my arse bone is still complaining about the ride), topped off by a two hour hike uphill to get there.
The trip by boat was pleasant, though, with high mountains covered by lush green foliage looming ominously in the background.
We’ve just had dinner and will be settling down in our pit soon, as we have to be up early in the morning to check out and head off on our three day tour of Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island.