The main reason I’m in Thailand is Thai massage.  Sure, the cost of living is low here, but there are a few other delightful places I’ve visited with similar low-cost options. The food is better here than in most places I’ve visited, but after a while you can even get sick of eating Thai.  Nope, it’s not money and it’s not food, it’s the massage that keeps me here.

There’s nothing like it anywhere else. It’s at such a high level here that with a little effort you can find multiple providers in any price range you find acceptable.  Thai massage is so affordable here that even a slob like me on social security can afford three two-hour massages a week.

Receiving a good Thai massage is a more powerful and profound experience than most drug trips.  Unlike drugs, there’s no hangover.  Nothing to recuperate  from.

It’s not just for foreigners. Thais dig Thai massage and men and women alike avail themselves of it.  In touristic areas they offer oil massage because there’s a demand for it, but oil massage doesn’t hold a candle to Thai massage.  Oil massage can also lend itself to the “happy ending,” so that fits with a tourist clientele as well.  Plain old prostitution is alive and well here, and Thais in search of that don’t mess around with oil massage.

Thai massage is a highly developed and refined art form.  Anyone who teaches it should be commended and handsomely rewarded.