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By
: Ann Creevey, Picture by : Jon Bugge.
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In the large
airy room on Norodom Boulevard which houses one
of Phnom Penh's most innovative therapeutic massage
centers, Tath Nigah is limbering up for another
day at work.
New age music pipes softly in the background. She
has already donned her white coat and now she feels
her way to the waiting client.
"What would you like me to concentrate on?
Your back? Shoulders?" she asks her client,
and soon begins to work with strong, confident strokes.
Nigah is one of the blind masseurs who manage the
independent business, Seeing Hands,
as a co-operative one of a growing number of professional
therapeutic massage centers visitors can now enjoy
in Cambodia. Her office is in the NCDP Center, near
Wat Phnom on Norodom Boulevard. |
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More and more
visitors to the Kingdom want comfort and relaxation during
their stay. Along with luxury restaurants, sports facilities
and gyms and five-star hotels, leisure pursuits like massage
and beauty therapy have become booming business here.
Seeing Hands was the first, and is totally Cambodian-owned
and managed.
It began life as a Non-Government Organization (NGO) funded
project to give visually impaired and blind Khmers a chance
to live and work self-sufficiently in a country that traditionally
regards the blind as dependents who must be supported
by their families. They are widely considered uneducable
and unemployable.
Seeing Hands was born out of fortunate chance, when Father
John Barth, Project Director for Catholic Foreign Missionary
Society of America's Cambodian branch, Maryknoll, met
a blind Khmer called Sous Sothi who ran a massage business
in Montreal, Canada. Sous Sothi had returned to Cambodia
to visit his family.
Maryknoll's mission is to help the blind in Cambodia.
Father Barth made him an offer to stay on longer than
he had planned and train staff for a blind massage centre.
He accepted.
It was 1996. Tath Nigah, then 20, was a member of that
first class. Seeing Hands, as the project became known,
was a chance to live independently that she never thought
she would have.
"When the people from Maryknoll came to my village
and found me, I had never been to school. I did not think
I could do anything with my life. I was like a frog
in a well."
Today she is a member of a thriving business, one of several
quality massage establishments springing up in Cambodia
and perhaps the most successful. Seeing Hands now has
three branches, has been financially independent for nearly
three years, and is currently looking to expand again.
The 13 masseurs at Seeing Hands' three Phnom Penh branches
are kept very busy with a constant stream of expatriate,
Khmer and tourist clients, enjoying an hour of firm massage
in the Shiatsu and Anma styles for US$4 for foreigners
and 10,000 riel for Khmers.
The masseurs believe they are positive role models for
other blind and visually impaired Khmers. Regular customers
of Seeing Hands, and there are many, swear by them as
great masseurs with a very special touch.
"We are blind. We feel the world. I believe that
makes us good masseurs," Nigah agreed.
But if the strong strokes of Shiatsu are not what you
are looking for, there are other choices.
Across town, Indonesian Endang Hasthowati and her half
dozen Khmer staff are also preparing for the day. The
massage treatment Endang's In Style spa offers is unique
and luxuriant _ US$15 will buy an hour-long full-body
massage and scrub, followed by a steam and herbal bath
using traditional herbal ingredients to a recipe she learned
from her grandmother.
Milk-and-honey scrubs, foot massages and facials are among
the treatments where clients can luxuriate in various
traditional, homemade Indonesian blends of aromatic herbs
_ as exotic and relaxing as any massage and beauty treatment
available anywhere in the world.
Endang, 37, painstakingly prepares and grinds the natural
ingredients that gointo her therapies herself. The essential massage oils
come from Bali.
"I practice a sort of massage called Pijat Urat.
Indonesia is very famous for its massage and Pijat Urat
is a deep muscle massage which is at the same time very
gentle _ not like Thai or Shiatsu," she explained.
"It is very soothing. My customers often want me
to tell them how to do it but it takes a special touch
and time to train properly."
Call In Style on 023 211 173.
Today tourism is booming in Cambodia and massage therapy
is a thriving industry, to the delight of visitors wishing
to unwind while enjoying their tropical Asian holiday.
Whatever style of massage visitors wish is available
in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, from Ayuvedic to aroma-therapeutic,
Swedish to Thai.
Sapor's, (023 217 581) famous for many years as Cambodia's
leading modeling agency, has branched out in recent
years. Sapor herself offers courses in make-up, hairstyling
and communications, but also employs Australian masseur
and aroma therapist Maggie Counihan by appointment only.
Ms Counihan, 53, works her magic with her own style
of massage _ a hybrid of the various styles she including
Swedish, reflexology and Reiki techniques. The key ingredient
is her range of healing, aromatic oils.
Treatments cost around US$20 for an initial individual
assessment, an hour and a half of massage, and aromatherapy
involving fragrant, healing oils selected according
to each client's needs.
"I suppose I've been in massage therapy for 10
years now, and aromatherapy for about six of those,"
Ms Counihan said.
"I'm a firm believer in what I do. Aromatherapy
is incredibly powerful and I can make a long list of
the benefits of massage it improves sleep, replaces
vital energy, improves circulation, releases nervous
tension, its an important tool in preventative medicine
the list is endless."
Ms Counihan said she has already attracted a loyal following
and as well as continuing to work with Sapor is launching
her own business, Living Health (012 985 175), which
will also offer massage and aromatherapy as well as
sell essential oils including lavender, rosemary and
genuine Cambodian lemon grass..
But Phnom Penh is not the only centre for healing massage
therapy in Cambodia.
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"I
am almost certainly opening a center in Siem Reap
within a year," In Style’s Endang revealed.
"We will offer the full package of massage
and beauty treatments, and accommodation in Balinese
and Khmer style luxury bungalows will be included.
It won't be too expensive. The aim is to keep it
affordable," she said.
But if top end is what you are after, you don't
have to wait.
The luxurious Angkor Spa at the Sofitel Angkor Royal
in Siem Reap and The Spa at the Grand at the Grand
Hotel D'Angkor are both five star massage and spa
facilities.
The Spa at the Grand, for instance, offers scrubs,
body wraps, balneo therapy and thalasso therapy as
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well as six styles
of massage, including Shiatsu and Swedish, and classifies
itself as a spa resort.
Angkor Spa specializes in Thai-style massage and the masseurs
there have been brought in from Thailand to ensure that
authentic touch.
So when the hectic pace of Phnom Penh gets too much, or
a hard day touring the temples of Angkor has left your
muscles aching, Cambodia has plenty of help on hand. Relax. |
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