When you come to Thailand do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a massage.

There are different types of massages to choose from. Before I explain the different types I would like to stress that anyone having muscle injuries, problems such as thrombosis, varicose veins, arteriosclerosis, skin disease, heart conditions, cancer, wounds, cuts, ulcers, diabetes or arthritis should consult with their physician first before getting a massage. Once you get the physicians blessing and you have decided on the practioner you should let them know of any conditions which you may have which they should be aware of. You don’t want someone pulling on your fingers if you suffer from arthritis. Some of the more established massage salons will have you fill out a form before your massage so that they will know more about you and how best to massage your body.

Also before the massage remove body rings, watch, bracelets, or other items which might interfere with massage or restrict the circulation and movements. And the best time for the massage is when you are in a good frame of mind.

There are many types of massages but rather than detail each and every one we will concentrate on the more more popular types.

1) Swedish Massage:

Massage therapists use long smooth strokes, after applying massage lotion or oil on your body.

2) Aromatherapy Massage:
Aromatherapy massage is massage therapy with the addition of one or more scented plant oils called essential oils to address specific needs.

The massage therapist can select oils that are relaxing, energizing, stress-reducing, balancing, etc. One of the most common oils used in aromatherapy massage is lavender. Aromatherapy massage is particularly suited to stress-related conditions or conditions with an emotional component.

3) Deep Tissue Massage:
Deep tissue massage targets the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue. The massage therapist uses slower strokes or friction techniques across the grain of the muscle. Deep tissue massage is used for chronically tight or painful muscles, repetitive strain, postural problems, or recovery from injury. People often feel sore for one to two days after deep tissue massage.

4) Shiatsu:
Shiatsu is a form of Japanese bodywork that uses localized finger pressure in a rhythmic sequence on acupuncture meridians. Each point is held for for 2 to 8 seconds to improve the flow of energy and help the body regain balance.

People are normally pleasantly surprised when they try shiatsu for the first time. It is relaxing yet the pressure is firm, and there is usually no soreness afterwards.

5) Reflexology:

Although reflexology is sometimes called foot massage, it is more than simple foot massage. This type of massage works the internal organs of the body through manipulation of pressure points on the soles of your feet, applying pressure to certain points on the foot that correspond to organs and systems in the body. Reflexology is very relaxing, especially for people who stand on their feet all day or just have tired, achy feet.

6) Thai Massage:
You will have to decide between Thai traditional massage or Thai oil massage. The Thai traditional massge will likly be a little bit more strenuous with stretches, and utilizing the fingers, thumbs, knees, elbows and feet of the person giving the massage. This type of massage may be performed on a mattress on the floor to give the masseur or masseuse the ability to move around your body to apply pressure where required. Note that when I have received this type of massage the pressure has been firm but not excessive. I suffer from bad circulation in my legs and after a long flight my legs are particularly sore and in need of exercise or massage. The Thai oil massage may be performed on a table and be a bit more gentle.

Massage can be done for the purpose of relaxation or for relieving the symptoms of certain ailments. So first of all decide if it is your body or the mind that needs the massage the most. If it is the body then your best choices are deep tissue, shiatsu, relexology or Thai traditional massage. If it is the mind that needs the massage then go with Swedish, aromatherapy or Thai oil massage. Then decide if you want all or a part of your body massaged. It is possible to obtain a masssge for just the feet, or neck, shoulders and back, or a facial massage

For full body massage and where lotions of oils are applied it is best to shower before and after the massage. Otherwise your clothes will have the scent of the oil or lotion.

Should you come across a massage table where there is a whole at one end of the table then that is the end for your head. Yes your head fits into the hole.

There are also what some term as “dirty massages”. This is a massage salon which may offer more than a massage. Attendants may be selected from behind glass partitions and one of the offerings may be that of a “soapie massage”. Here the masseuse gives you a bath first followed by a massage. These types of massages are often found in what are called men’s clubs, or called health clubs. The premises may be considerably larger than that of a traditional Thai massage and much more decorative. The establishment may offer snooker, dining facilities, and karaoke besides massage services. You should understand that even though these establishments exist they should not be confused with the establishments which offer traditional Thai massage. For every large establishment that offers soapie massages there are probably another fifty that offer Thai traditional massage, oil massage, facial or foot massage.

The costs here in Thailand and downright cheap compared to most parts of the world. The hotel where you are staying may charge 50% to 200% of what the massage salon next door will charge. The surroundings may be a bit more opulent but other than that the massage may be identical. If you were here in Chiang Mai you could get a 2 hr. Thai traditional massage for only 400 baht or $10 US. So I would highly recommend that when you visit Thailand to find a good massage salon and treat yourself to a relaxing, comforting experience. The massage is very affordable, and the skills of the masseuses/masseurs is second to none.

Be sure to leave a tip for the person giving the massage if it met your expectations. The wages these people earn are very low and a decent tip can make someone’s day. If you want to save a buck or two on your vacation do it by booking cheaper accommodations rather than not tipping someone who deserves it.

In reality there are many legitimate massage facilities in many countries around the world where the masseurs or masseuses are required to have adequate training and, in some cases, even licenses before they can practice. Thailand is no different. Many of the staff performing massage in Thailand have completed massage school where they have undergone the training required for this specialized field of endeavour. After your massage you should experience either relaxation throughout the body or tranquillity of the mind, depending on which type of massage you selected. Tensions and concerns will evaporate, tight muscles will relax, and sometimes you may even fall asleep during the massage. With relaxed muscles, the blood circulation is improved. The body will receive more oxygen and nutrients and the immune system will be more efficient in fending off disease agents, thus lessening the chances of becoming ill. Pleasant surroundings are crucial. The most important factors are cleanliness, privacy, minimum noise level, a comfortable temperature, and good ventilation.

When the massage has been completed you should not get up immediately and get involved in strenuous or serious activities, but rather rest quietly for a few minutes in order to fully absorb the effects of the massage and appreciate the feeling of well-being and tranquillity.

You only live once so as I said earlier, treat yourself to a relaxing experience, you deserve it.

Open daily 10 a.m to 10 p.m. and if you Telephone 053-895571
you can get one of the lovely ladies to pick you up and bring you to the spa by car “for Free”.

Only a 5-7 min. walk from Central Mall (Huay Kaew Rd. location), 4 minute walk from H.S. Condotel 4 and 3 minute walk from Amari Rincome. So a great Spa and in a convenient location.

Included as part of our Chiang Mai Retirement services is a complimentary 1 1/2 hour massage at Doi View Massage & Spa. We want our clients whether they are male or female or couples to be relaxed after their long journey to Chiang Mai and how better to relax than with a soothing message

We selected Doi View Massage & Spa for three reasons.

1. The spa is set on the sixth and seventh floors in esquisite surroundings with a fantastic view.

2. For those people wanting entertainment or a meal before or after the spa there is a restaurant on the main floor and also the roofop Loft Pub & Restaurant which features fine dining with a panoramic inner city scene and the spectacular view of Doi Suthep at one glance.

3. And most importantly because of the attentive masseuses.

So if you visit beautiful Chiang Mai, Thailand and you are tired from your flight to Thailand call Doi View and book an appointment. Just say George sent me and get a 20% discount on your 1st Massage/Spa treatment. You deserve it.

For advice or assistance, accommodations or more view our website :

http://www.retire-on-550-month.com

We help people vacation in and retire to Chiang Mai, Thailand, a city that is unknown to many in North America but yet home to thousands of foreigners who liked it so much they moved here.

Can you really get pizza in Pattaya, Thailand? Absolutely. Is it any good? Superb! Does this sound strange to you? It shouldn’t. Some of the finest chefs in the world have made their homes in Thailand and have set up shop cooking some of the finest cuisine in the world.

I love Thai food and eat my share of rice and noodles with all the other spicy goodies that go along with them, but I also like to sample food from around the world. Pattaya is the perfect place to do this.

You can go to Don Joe’s on Walking Street for an excellent pizza, The Sportsman Club for a superb “Full English” breakfast, or to the Big Horn restaurant for a 1 Kilogram steak.

If you have a craving for American food, it is readily available at Bob’s BBQ and also at the New Orleans Café – ribs that will make your mouth water all the way home.

German, Swiss and Belgian foods are readily available too. It seems like there is another fine restaurant every 10 feet in Pattaya. Mexican food can be had at the Tequila Reef and also at the Blue Parrot. You would never know that you are in Thailand with all the fine choices at these great restaurants.

And, if it is seafood that you crave, just walk along Beach Road or Walking Street and you will find quite a few restaurants with seafood on ice or swimming around waiting for you to make your catch. King’s Seafood is one of the better restaurants with excellent tiger prawns and a beautiful view of the Gulf of Siam.

So, don’t go to Thailand if you are planning on losing any weight. Go there to have a great vacation and a fine sampling of some of the culinary arts of Asia.

After I arrived in Chiang Mai and lived here for several months I never even considered driving here and never had any thoughts of buying a motor vehicle. Why? Because the traffic seemed just too busy with vendors with carts, bicycles, mortorbikes weaving in and out, drivers of cars and trucks not adhering to the rules of the road and with dogs laying out in the streets reluctant to move. And this is from a person who has driven a car since he was 18 years of age.

My means of transportation when I first arrived was the tuk tuk (or touk touk) which is three wheeled motorcycle with a small bench seat at back covered by a canopy. Either that or a red taxi which is pick up truck with two bench seats placed in back and also a canopy. It was red taxi or tuk tuk at first and then on the back of my girlfriends motorbike. It may look at bit odd but it isn’t uncommon here. A lady weighing 40 kilos driving the honda motorbike powered by a 100 cc engine with a big farang “foreigner” sitting on the back of the motorbike.

But then the time came where we needed to rent a car. We wanted to go to Myanmar and this gave me a chance to get my retirement visa stamped close to the one year period of it’s issue date. As the drive would commence at about 4 a.m. in the morning and be primarily highway driving I agreed to rent a car. The car was remted from North Wheels. As usual in my meticulous ways I checked every rental place I could here in Chiang Mai. Prices were close and North Wheels won it. They had the largest fleet, the best insurance, free pick up, and 24 hr. service in case of trouble. Some of their competitors had marginally lower prices but I think it is because there cars are older.

Well it took a little getting used to. First of all where I am from the steering wheel is on the left side of the car and not the right side and the shifter on my right hand side and not on my left as is common here. Also I have to drive on the left side of the road. But off we went and we made it there and returned in once piece. It was about a 4 1/2 drive there and same coming back. Not that much traffic but what you will find is that for half the trip there is nowhere to pass. You will witness reckless drivers passing on turns and up and down hills where they shouldn’t because they cannot see far enough ahead. The trip is up and some hilly terrain- very hilly.

Will you need to rent a car?

The climate here in Chiang Mai is either warm or hot during the day and warm or cool at night. I arrived on November 23 and during the first 3 months I did not see a drop of rain. It was sunny every day, warm during the day and pleasantly cool in the evenings and at night. If you were sleeping with the window open you would require a blanket.

My girlfriend told me that the time would come where we would get rain every day. Hmmm. She must be exaggerating I thought to myself. Perhaps rain every 2 or 3 days but not “every” day.

Well I was proven wrong. Starting in May we got rain every day. At times a quick shower during what seemed like the same time each day and ocassionaly a continuous rainfall. It was at this time that I realized that we should buy a motor vehicle. The drive on the motorbike at the time to here beauty salon was just too far and with rainfall it took even longer. The other consideration was that when we went shopping for groceries we were buying for 4 of us. Her mother, her daughter, her and me. A fair bit of groceries to carry by a big farang on a motorbike. So I went to look at cars or should I say trucks. Motorbikes outnumber cars here about 3-4 to 1 and trucks outnumber cars here by about 7-8 to 1 reason being is that they are taxed less than cars and therefore more affordable.

First of all I went to Nissan to look at their new trucks. The prices ranged from about 360,000 baht or $9,700 U.S. for a truck with one row of seating for 3 people. For seating front and rear for 5 people the price was approximately 460,000 baht or #12,200 U.S. Excellent prices if you are used to buying vehicles in North America. The price gets even better once you take into consideration that the price for the larger vehicle with seating for 5 ncludes first class insurance for one year, it includes a front bumber, rear bumber, includes the alumiunum castings on the side that you would step on to get in and out of the vehicle and a liner for the turck body and also an attachment where someone inside of the body of the truck could hold on to when they are standing up. All in all lots of extras and a great price.

I almost went ahead with that purchase. Now keep in mind that the most popular vehicles makes here are Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, then Nissan and then Ford way down the list. We decided to look at used vehicles probably because I thought either I or Wan who had yet to learn to drive and would be driving the vehicle may bang up the truck. At one of the dealerships they did an impeccable job of preparing the vehicles. They were cleaned inside and out and including the engine and engine compartment. The color was good as was the mileage which was only 17,000 km. at a price of 400,000 baht. We added the front and rear bumpers for about 4,000 baht and we were ready to cruise. /p>

The truck is mainly used to drive Mommie to school and for grocery shopping. On ocassion we make a trip to the hot springs or reservoir.

So what have I learned that I can pass on:

1/ If you come here on vacation you will probably not need a rented car unless you plan on seeing the sights out of town. If you come here to live long term you may want to buy a vehicle and probably a pick up because of the price. But chances are you will need it that often and you can get by on a motorbike and renting a car on ocassion. That is the case if you live here alone. Should you meet a lady then things change and you may want to buy a vehicle.

2/ Buy a used pick up as the driving will take getting used to and it may get banged up by you or by your girlfriend who may want to learn to drive it.

3/ Buy a popular make as it is easier getting service. So a Isuzu, Mitsubishi, or Toyota pick up or a Honda car. The driving is alot easier for you and the girlfriend or wife if you have an automatic. Hard to find but keep it in mind.

4/ Stay with a small engine as most of the driving will be city driving and you do not need the horsepower. Keep the money in your pocket as the oil Sheiks have enough of our money.

5/ I decided on getting auto insurance and it cost me about 19,000 baht or about $500 U.S. for a year. After one year the insurance contacted me and said if I wanted to renew the rate would be 30% less as I did not have any claims. What? Are they nuts? Don’t they know that in North America if you do not have any claims and have an impeccable driving record for SIX YEARS that the insurance companies will still increase your rates. So this is your call. If you do not feel that comfortable with the traffic then get the insurance and especially if the girlfriend or wife will also be a driver. After a year you can decide to renew or drop. There is a mandatory insurance here for motor vehicles. If I remember correctly it costs about 1-2,000 baht or $30-$55 U.S. and doesn’t cover much but it is mandatory. And should you decide to sell your vehicle and if you have insurance remaining you will not get a refund from the insurance company but rather the insurance is carried forward to the new owner. So that being the case you can ask more for vehicle.

6/ I have written an article about driving here in Chiang Mai. If you want to rent a car or thinking about buying a vehicle I suggest you read the article over.

7/ The driving here some getting used to. But once you do it is reasonably easy. You have to watch for vehicles running red lights VERY COMMON here. You have to watch for vehicles passing where they shouldn’t and expecting you to move out of your lane- VERY COMMON here. You have to watch for vendor, dogs, motorbikes, and more but I have faith in you. If I can do it anybody can do it.

8/ I am recommending North Wheels Rent A Car. Largest fleet, best insurance, newer vehicles and they know how to treat their customers. Recently I decided to recommend a few of the service providers in Chiang Mai. If you are a visitor you can spend half of your time checking out hotels, car rentals, restaurants, and the like. Best to spend it on having a good time and take my recommendations in good faith. My goal is to see that you have a good time here. Good enough to decide to return here in your retirement.

If you are interested in vacationing in, retiring to Thailand or Chiang Mai then you should visit a website designed to help people by providing interesting and essential information and also deals on accommodations and vacation packages.

Just visit:

http://www.retire-on-550-month.com

You have decided to visit Asia for your next vacation and have decided to go to Pattaya, Thailand. Your flight is booked but you are still looking for a hotel. But, how do you decide which hotel to stay at?

Your decision should be based on what you plan to do while you are Pattaya. Will you be spending most of your time sightseeing, shopping or enjoying the nightlife? Most likely you will be enjoying the nightlife and will want to be located in the heart of it.

There are three main areas in Pattaya – North, South, and Central and all three have their plusses and minuses. Getting a hotel in any of the three will boil down to a personal preference.

North Pattaya is in the Soi 2 area or even a little further North called Naklua. Most of the tourists here are from Europe and the nightlife is adequate but not spectacular. I rarely go to the Naklua area but I do enjoy the Soi 2 nightlife area.

South Pattaya is very good and includes the area around the infamous Walking Street. There are many hotels available from Soi 13 to Walking Street and also along the side streets between 2nd Road and Walking Street. Many are small pubs with a handful of rooms above the bar.

To me, Central Pattaya is where to stay. The location is perfect as I can walk or catch a baht bus to anywhere in a matter of minutes. Beach Road, 2nd Road or even down to Soi Buakhao are perfect locations as long as the hotel is between Central Road and Soi 13.

Most of the hotels in Pattaya are in the 2 – 4 star range with the occasional 5 star (Marriott) but a 2 – 4 star in Pattaya is definitely a cut above similar hotels in the states. I prefer the smaller, pub places that have a handful of rooms upstairs. Most are owned by a couple and really do their best to make your stay a great one.

Do your research, and look for a discount Pattaya hotel, and enjoy your stay in the Land of Smiles. It won’t be hard to find your Asian hotel in Pattaya at all.

You have decided to visit Asia for your next vacation and have decided to go to Bangkok, Thailand. Your flight is booked but you are still looking for a hotel. But, how do you decide which hotel to stay at?

Your decision should be based on what you plan to do while you are “Krung Thep”. Will you be spending most of your time sightseeing, shopping or enjoying the nightlife? You don’t want to waste valuable time in a Bangkok taxi inching along Sukhumvit Road.

Siam Square area is a good place to stay if you want to have some fun shopping. There are hundreds of small shops at street level and the Siam Center and the Siam Discovery shopping centers have many up-market brand label shops. On the top floor of Siam Discovery Center there is a cinema complex with some of the most comfortable seats to be found in the world. After a hard days shopping, relax and lie down as you watch a movie!

Another great shopping mall nearby is Mahboonkrong (MBK). It will take only 10 minutes to walk there from Siam Square and you will find literally hundreds of smaller shops and stalls, selling many goods at bargain prices. Electronics and clothes are the specialties here. Both of these areas are on the Skytrain routes and are easily accessible.

If you plan on seeing other parts of the country, taking ½ and full day trips, I suggest you book your hotel near the Bangkok Airport. Make sure that you stay near the new Bangkok Airport – Suvarnabhumi and not at Don Muang. Only stay in this area if you do plan to go to Bangkok proper. Bangkok Airport hotels are conveniently located and easy to get to from Suvarnabhumi.

If soaking up the Bangkok nightlife is your reason for visiting, there are a few different areas you can stay. If Patpong Road is your destination, stay either on Silom or Suriwongse Road. The Nana Entertainment Plaza is on Sukhumvit and Soi 4 (or Soi Nana) and there are a variety of hotels – everything from the JW Marriott to the Majestic Suites or the Dynasty. In the Soi Cowboy area, you can stay anywhere near Soi Asoke, Soi 22 or anywhere along Sukhumvit Road and just catch the Skytrain.

Probably, your hardest decision will be selecting your hotel since there are so many 4 and 5 start hotels in Bangkok. For the budget traveler, there are also cheap hotels in Bangkok. Some hotels that I recommend are: Windsor Suite Hotel Bangkok, Viengtai Hotel Bangkok, Radisson Hotel Bangkok, or the Amari Airport Hotel Bangkok. Another solution is to do a search for Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit in any search engine. Or visit my Thailand Link Directory.

Do your research, and look for a discount Bangkok hotel, and enjoy your stay in the Land of Smiles.