DALLAS: Letting live fish give people pedicures could transmit infections, say the authorities in Washington and Texas, and the spa treatment is now banned in the two American states.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation announced on Wednesday that fish pedicures - in which customers pay to have tiny fish nibble dead skin off their feet - are no longer permitted in the state, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The regulatory authorities in Washington state imposed a similar ban last week, said Seattle Times.

Ms Christine Anthony, spokesman for the Washington Department of Licensing, said it was impossible to sanitise live fish.

‘You can clean the tank, you can clean the water, but there’s no guarantee that the fish aren’t carrying something from the previous customer,’ she was quoted as saying by Seattle Times.

Officials also said the foot baths and holding tanks, because they are home to live fish, cannot always be properly cleaned and disinfected.

However, they said there had been no cases of anyone falling sick from a fish pedicure.

‘We are erring on the side of safety,’ said Ms Susan Stanford of the Texas licensing department.

This particular pedicure is a new entrant in American spas. It first gained attention after a Virginia-based spa told the media this summer about the benefits of using the fish instead of razors to slough away scales and calluses, the news reports said. Heavy media coverage followed.

The owner of Peridot Nail Salon, the only salon in Washington known to be offering the treatment, told Seattle Times she was ’shocked and surprised and disappointed’ by the ban.

Ms Tweety Bui said the salon started offering the pedicures only last month, charging US$30 (S$44) for 15 minutes. The phone had been ‘ringing off the hook’ with calls for appointments, she said, with about 20 sessions booked for last weekend alone.

‘I’m booked two months out,’ Ms Bui told Seattle Times. Her staff have been calling clients to cancel the appointments. ‘I am so overwhelmed with all this that it’s not even funny.’

At the Zen Luxury Nail & Beauty Bar in North Texas, co-owner Kate Caldwell told Dallas Morning News she shut down her fish tanks after being informed of the ban by the state authorities. The shop had bought 500 guppy-like fish for US$2,500.

‘I am pretty disappointed,’ Ms Caldwell said.

She claimed that her salon had a rigorous safety protocol to avoid putting customers at risk. After each pedicure, she said, the foot basins are emptied and cleaned with a disinfectant. During that cleaning, she said, the fish are transferred to a ‘hospital tank’, where they are treated with an anti-microbial agent and isolated for at least a day.

Both spa owners said they would probably keep the fish as pets for now.

‘We have fish food,’ said Ms Bui.

WHAT was supposed to be an hour of relaxation ended in tears, a bitter dispute and a police report.

Nora, 31, claimed that a masseur molested her during an hour-long afternoon full-body massage on 9 Sep 08. The housewife and mother of two young children asked that her real name not be used to avoid any stigma.

But the manager of the Chinatown massage place, Madam Jean Chia, 42, denied any wrongdoing on the masseur’s part.

She said she called the police after Nora asked for $2,000 as compensation. A police spokesman confirmed that Madam Chia called the police and investigations are ongoing. The masseur was not arrested and is assisting with investigations.

Read the full newspaper article here.

Phuket Town is an old town and the administrative centre on Phuket island. There are distinct Muslim, Thai and Chinese enclaves and it is clear that Chinese influence in the town is obvious with a good number of Chinese temples and Chinese old-time architecture houses.

Phuket Town is off the regular tourist route and the entire town was sleepy and quiet on the Sunday that we drove in. Tourists tend to spend more time in the beach where almost everything is available as well rather then to come to town. Tourists who do come to Phuket Town tend to congregate downtown where a few modern shopping malls, large bargain-price markets, fast food restaurants and souvenir shops were gathered.

Among these few busy streets were a couple of small but modern and clean spas. These spas offered almost similar type of treatments and prices were very competitive - even lower than those available at the beach.

I guess it was because there were only a few streets in Phuket town that tourists congregate so the local spa operators have no choice but to stay competitive. I was particularly attracted to one of the promotion package that Kim Spa, one of these small spas, offered. The spa and massage promotion package consists of a body scrub (60 mins), choice of massage (60 mins) and a facial treatment (60 mins) - a total of 3 hours treatment for the unbelievable low price of 900 Baht or US$30!

I was in Spa heaven and chose to try out Kim Spa immediately! Kim Spa has a nicely decorated reception and rest area. On the first floor, it has about 10 cosy massage chairs for foot reflexology and a small corner for a foot bath. The 2nd floor is for Thai massage (beds are on floor) and 3rd floor is for facial and other body massage treatments.

My hubby opted for a foot massage and Thai massage for 2 hours. I opted for the 3 hours spa promotion package. While waiting for my masseur to prepare the treatment room, I whispered to my hubby that I couldn’t believe a body scrub treatment can last for 60 minutes. I kept telling myself … how much time can one person scrub the body? Will my skin drop off??

Shortly, we were led by our masseurs to our treatment rooms. My hubby started his foot bath on the 1st floor which is an open area foot massage area. I was led to the 3rd floor which had private treatment room and en suite shower. My masseur greeted me with the traditional Thai way “sawadee ka” with both hands together and bowed.

Although language was a barrier, we had no problem “communicating” with each other by sign and body language. The masseur indeed did a thorough body scrub and for sure she took more than 40 minutes before heading me to to the shower. My choice of Swedish massage was, in my opinion, average but the facial treatment was indeed refreshing. The masseur went through 2 to 3 rounds of scrubbing and cleansing my face. She then placed many layers of cucumbers on my face that made me feel very “cool” and relaxed. The smell of the cucumber were so refreshing. The facial ended with a cold mask and facial massage.

When my treatments were completed, the masseur led me to the reception area to relax and enjoy their complimentary floral tea. Overall, I must say this place is value for money, environment is neat and clean and most importantly, the staff were friendly and not pushy.

However, my husband who is an addict of hard massage was not impressed with their Thai massage and reflexology skills. He claim that the Thai and foot massage here were “too soft” and obviously toned down to cater to the many farangs(Thai for Caucasian foreigners) tourists in Phuket. He feels that shabby run-down massage shops run by old ladies offer the most true and authentic ancient Thai massage with the accompanying body-distorting poses, back standing and bone cracking twists. He feels that this is the ultimate form of massage! Funny guy!

Location of Kim Spa
Phuket Town, Phuket, Thailand
Size: 3 storey shop units with massage chairs on the ground floor and individual rooms on 2nd and 3rd level
Facilities: Toilet, shower and rest area
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$20 for a facial, wrap, bath or body massage. Various spa and massage packages available and starts from US$60.

Some of you may have noticed the use of videos in some of my recent posts. Well, in order to work harder for my loyal readers, I have invested in a Creative Vado mini-cam to make my reviews more interesting. Why Creative Vado?

I’ve been including photos in as many of my reviews as I can but I thought that having videos will satisfy the desire for readers to ‘experience’ even more of the spa resorts or treatments. However, sneaking a normal size video camera is quite difficult into a spa and a better solution is needed.

In step the Creative Vado. Unlike conventional video cameras which are quite large and sometimes awkward to handle, the Creative Vado is small, compact and easy to handle. Some of the features of Vado includes:

• Small and compact - About 2/3 size of a conventional mobile phone
• Affordable US$99
• Easy one-hand operation
• USB cable is attached to camera for file transfer
• Battery is charged when USB cable is attached to computer
• Includes a slot to attach to standard tripod stand
• Removable batteries allow change of fresh batteries easily
• Software allows easy upload to Flickr or Youtube directly
• Drag and drop to computer

Check out the video quality

The Vado is one of the first few mini-video cams that are beginning to make their way to the consumer market. The most popular one is the Flipvideo which has gained a following by bloggers but which is not sold in Asia as yet.

Despite some of the obvious advantages of such small video-cams, there are some disadvantages too compared to conventional palm-sized video cameras. Some of the Creative Vado disadvantages include:

• Only 2X zoom
• Video quality not as good as conventional cameras
• White areas tend to wash out if camera is moved too fast
• Short 1-hour battery life
• Does not shoot well in low light conditions

Well, whatever it is, look forward to more videos of the massage and spa destinations I’ll be visiting. You too can pick up this small and light-weight video camera at the websites below.

I recently had a chance to try out it’s main spa, which is located at The Goodwood Park hotel, one of the oldest, grandest and most established hotel in Singapore.

I went with high hopes, not because of it’s grand reputation, but because the spa treatment was a birthday gift. I was getting a Jet Lag Riviver Spa package - which includes a hydro-massage dead-sea mineral salt bath, a marine and plant extract body exfoliation treatment and a Swedish body massage.

The Aspara is located on the ground floor of a double-storey side building away from the main Goodwood Park hotel building. Above it is a popular Thai Sharkfin restaurant.

My immediate impression of the spa was that it’s interior design was a wee bit passe - a cramp reception and rest area, lot’s of wooden furniture and furnishing (which you can’t identify immediately if it was Thai, Indonesian or local), the odd incense burner and candle here and there and plenty of shelve space for beauty and spa products.

It may have been grand and impressive design for a spa a few years ago but in the face of newer, sophisticated, well-designed and elegant spas that seems to be springing up all over Singapore and Asia, it does feel a bit dated.

The Malay receptionist was nice, eager and enthusiastic but obviously lack experience. She was quite nervous when she realised I was early by 5 minutes for my appointment as the room was not ready. She went bustling back and forth to get the room, hydro-bath and masseurs ready - but she forgot to tell us what was happening and left me and my companion standing and waiting like an idiot at the reception.

The massage suite is big - one of the biggest I’ve ever seen anywhere. Unfortunately, the large size also enhance the lack of sophistication in it’s design and ambience.

A large part of the room is artificial laminated wood flooring - the sort that goes clunk, clunk - no matter how softly you step and which reminds one of the office environment immediately. The floor and hydro-bath is lined with square white artificial tiles - not natural stones or wood that would have softened the room and add some coziness. The ceiling lights were on dimmer control - but it dim up or down together. There were no pockets of mood inducing light and shadow that many modern spa will play on to add to a spa’s warmness and fuzziness.

The hydro-massage mineral bath was pretty normal and nothing to shout about. Luckily, the following exfoliation scrub and Swedish massage save the rest of the session. Both the Singaporean Chinese masseurs were good and their confident strokes for the scrub and massage lull one into total massage bliss and relaxation very quickly.

The tingling tangy smell of the Orange scrub and the relaxing Lavender oil used for the massage did it’s part in adding to the relaxation for the body and this session at The Aspara rank as one of the most enjoyable massage I had in Singapore for quite some time.

If you are looking for a good quality massage in Orchard Road, the heart of the shopping belt in Singapore, this is a spa that you can certainly try. If you are looking for a mood inducing spa, a cozy place to relax and quality of massage - then there are certainly better ones along Orchard or Scotts Road and elsewhere.

The Aspara is currently running spa promotion packages with American Express (Amex) and OCBC credit cards. Both individual and couples spa, massage and facial promotion packages are available.

Location of The Aspara, Orchard
Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road (near Orchard Road), Singapore 228221
Size: Mid size spa with mostly private couple’s suite. Hydro-massage bath and jacuzzi available in most rooms.
Facilities: Large massage rooms. Small reception and rest area.
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$60 for a facial, wrap, bath or body massage. Various spa and beauty packages available and starts from US$140.

As a guest of the resort, we were given a 15% discount voucher if we take up any spa treatment within a day of arrival? Why only a day? I guess Phuket has a proliferation of good spas and if the in-house spa fail to capture your business within a day, you’re likely to have found a good spa elsewhere…

We were served a cold tea and towel upon walking into the spa. Typical of Thai spas, we were enthusiastically greeted with the Thai greeting of “Sawadeeka”. The spa menu indicate that the spa provides a wide range of treatment and some of the more interesting spa treatments include mud-wraps, cream bath, body masks, clay wrap, coffee scrubs to the usual facial, massage, body scrubs and manicure/pedicure treatments.

The massage rooms were reasonably big with a separate changing room and toilets. Some rooms also have a private in-house jacuzzi.I chose a Scent of the Ocean spa package which included a Mud body wrap and a Palm Spa Deep Pore Facial. Warm mud was applied to my body and followed by heated blankets. I was kept ‘under wrap’ for more than 30 minutes and was told that the wrap relieves body tension, aids in detoxification and helps to retain body fluid.

For the facial, I was put under the jet of a continuous stream of steam followed by a deep facial cleanse and a face mask. I certainly feel so clean and fresh after these two treatments.

I was also given a short shoulder and back massage before being lead to the resting area for tea and hot towels. All in, it was a nice and relaxing session especially having just landed in Phuket and checking into the hotel.

I must say that treatment prices are high in comparison to non-hotel or resort spas that are available around almost every corner in Phuket. As an example, my 2-hour spa package cost about US$155, which is pretty high by Thailand standard. However, the high quality of service, the spa’s ambience’s and the 15% discount voucher made it an acceptable choice.

Location of Twinpalms Spa
Twinpalms Hotel, 106/48, Moo3, Surin Beach Road, Cherng Talay, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Size: Mid size spa with mostly private couple’s suite. Hydro-massage bath and jacuzzi available in most rooms.
Facilities: Large massage rooms. Reception and rest area. Separate hair and beauty treatment room.
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$50 for a facial, wrap, bath or body massage. Various spa and beauty packages available and starts from US$160.

On my last trip, I chose to stay at Twinpalms Phuket Resort Hotel, located at Surin Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Twinpalms Resort Phuket is a luxury boutique hotel opened in late 2004. With only 76 rooms and suites, it is not too large and not too small either.

We booked the hotel via the internet. We chose TwinPalms Resort because it had very good web reviews from ex-guests who rate it highly for it’s modern and unique design, attentive service, large rooms and toilets, quiet and exclusive environment and closeness to the beach. Although a little more expensive than most beach resorts, we were prepared to pay more to avoid overcrowded or noisy beach resorts.

Upon arrival at Phuket airport, we were picked up by the hotel limousine (complimentary from the hotel). A very friendly Thai driver who spoke simple English greeted us at the arrival gate and we were served with chilled distilled water as soon as he drove the car over to pick us up. Twinpalms Resort, Phuket is located at a short 20 minutes drive from the Phuket International Airport.

(We were lucky; two days after our departure, Phuket airport was closed for 3 days due to political demonstrations in the airport @ 31 August 2008)

When we arrived at the hotel, the check-in was smooth. One of the nice thing about checking into Phuket beach resorts is that you sit at a sofa while the receiving hotel staff goes through the paperwork and will come to you when they finish. While waiting to go through the check-in process, we were served with a cool welcome drink and scented flowers.

Once the formalities were done, the hotel customer relation officer briefly explained to us the facilities of the hotel while leading us to our room. The hotel has a well equipped modern gym, a wine-bar, a cafe, a beach club and a library. The library also serve as a outdoor trip booking facility and has an excellent selection of books, magazines and games. There are also two 20 inches Apple iMac for guests to browse the internet in the library.

We were then led to our room which was located on the ground floor facing the pool. The room was spacious with a beautiful king-size bed and a equally large bathroom with a full wall of glass which looked onto an enclosed garden area with overhead rain shower and hand shower. Two separate sinks and fully supplied aromatherapy-infused toiletries add to the glamour of the bathroom. The hotel also offers free internet service within the hotel and rooms.

The resort is a short 5 minutes walk to Surin Beach. Hotels in Phuket are clustered around popular beaches and often ended up crowded, noisy and dirty. Surin beach, on the other hand, is not too crowded and is just nice for a relaxing beach holiday. TwinPalms Resort even has their own restaurant and beach chairs right by the beach.

We really enjoyed staying at Twinpalms Resort, Phuket and rate it as one of the better beach resort we have been to. The resort even has a complimentary 15-minute back and shoulder massage for arriving hotel guests. Try it and you will definitely want to book your next spa treatment at the TwinPalms Spa!

Note: TwinPalms Resort, Phuket is highly recommended by me personally if you want a quiet and pampered beach holiday!

THE latest health fad in town involves letting little fishes nibble your legs to get rid of dead skin.

These fishes are dubbed “doctor fish”, but two sisters who went for the therapy earlier this month ended up having to visit real doctors instead.

They claimed that that their legs became itchy and turned red and blotchy. They also said they had brown patches and scaly skin after going to a “fish spa” that features the Garra rufa fish, a Turkish spa fish.

Miss Jas Huang, 22, a manicurist, and her younger sister Min, 20, a hairstylist, went for one session at a spa called Dr Fish in Ang Mo Kio on 3 Aug.

The treatment cost them $28 each, for a half-hour session. Clients have to submerge their legs in a tank filled with the fish.

Stinging sensation

Miss Jas Huang said: “Our legs had turned red after the treatment. There was a stinging sensation on my legs when I took a shower after going home.

“But my sister thought it was part of the after-treatment process. We didn’t think it was serious until a week later, when the redness and itchiness still did not go away.”

They then went to see separate doctors who told them that they had fungal infection on their skin. They were given cream to apply to the affected areas.

Miss Jas Huang said: “I was very upset and angry at that time. It was supposed to be a treatment to rejuvenate our skin, but now our legs look so ugly that we have to see real doctors.”

She said she had tried asking for a compensation from the spa - $108 each for her and her sister. This is to cover their medical bills ($80 each) and for the refund of the treatment fee ($28 each).

But the shop declined to pay because she could not produce the medical bills. Miss Jas Huang claimed that she had thrown away the bills - hers and her sister’s - in a fit of anger.

She added: “I regret trying the fish treatment. It was fun and interesting at first, but now it has turned into a nightmare. I wouldn’t dare try such treatments in future.”

Her sister Min said: “I usually wear shorts and skirts, but now I can’t. Some strangers who walked past me even commented that my legs look scary and ugly with the marks.”

Miss Jas Huang said that they did not get any receipts at the spa.

When contacted, the spa owner, Mr Steve Wong, said that his shop issues receipts only to customers who pay by Nets and those who ask for receipts.

After a full meal
You should never go for a spa or massage on a full stomach after a heavy meal. You will feel extreme discomfort especially if lying on your stomach or if the masseur is pressing on your stomach or abdomen area. In addition, some people are known to feel nauseous on a full stomach if using the sauna or steam room.

It is generally advised that you should only go for a spa or have a massage about 2 hours after a meal. If you are hungry, then you should only have water or light finger food an hour before. However, you should drink water generously before and after a steam/sauna session and after a massage but never food.

Sick or unwell
Never ever go for a spa or massage if you are unwell with illnesses such as a fever, cold or cough. You are only exposing other people to your germs in a tight spa or massage space and a massage or spa is unlikely to make you feel any better. The hot and stuffy air in a sauna or steam room will cause you to feel even worse. Instead, adequate rest at home, plenty of liquid and medication will make you better.

After intensive exercises
Some people like to visit a spa or have a massage session immediately after intensive exercises such as tennis, squash, gym or kick-boxing. I certainly do not encourage having a massage session immediately after intensive exercises as your muscles tend to have tightened up and will not respond well to massage strokes.

Your muscles will be tight and relaxing massage strokes such as aromatherapy will not be effective on overly tight muscles. Hard massage such as Chinese Tui Na or Thai massage may even add pain to tight muscles and cause your muscles to become even tighter.

It is advised that you rest for at least half a day or soak yourself in a hot tub for a couple of hours after intensive exercises before going for a massage.

Menstrual period
This is quiet obvious for the ladies. It is not only uncomfortable but extremely unhygienic for yourself and others. A definite no-no.

New Spas/Under repair/Old spas
Try not to visit a brand new spa or if you know that a spa is undergoing or had just undergone repair or renovation work. There had been occasions in the past when a spa goer had died when the steam room he was in had the wrong gas pumped in just after repair works and another occasion when another man had drowned when the large but old jacuzzi pool he was in malfunctioned and he was sucked and stuck onto the suction hole at the bottom of the jacuzzi.

You can’t imagine there can be fatalities in a spa but it has actually happen before! Do resist the temptation and be sure to let new or recently repaired spas run a few days before visiting one.

Upper Thomson Road has always been a hip hangout popular with young people and families alike with a good mix of eateries, cafes, pubs, hairdressing, facial, massage/spa palors and other interesting shops on both sides of the road. A little bit like a Holland Village (a hip/yuppie enclave in the West of Singapore) for the northern part of Singapore. You can take a public bus conveniently or drive to this area although parking may be a little problematic during weekends.

Wu You in Chinese means No Worries. I believe the owner of this massage palor wants to give his/her guests the pleasure of relaxation when they visit this small massage boutique. The words Wu You is also a very Zen concept and philosophy (meditation with no objects, anchors, or content)

Hence, I was not surprised that this massage palor was nicely and simply decorated along the clean lines of Zen philosophy. In the reception area, there is a water feature placed in a corner. It is a Zen concept that the sound of trickling water adds peace and calm to one’s mind. The rest of the palor were also designed along clean Zen line with neutral, earthy or brown colors as it’s main color theme.

Although this is a small massage boutique, the owner did not simply divide the massage beds using curtains so common of other small massage palors. Instead, each guest gets his or her own individual treatment room. This gives each guest absolute privacy, quiet and peace.

If you want to get the knots out from your muscles in a calm, quiet and nice place, come and visit this palor. Wu You is a great place to go to relax and get a decent massage unlike some of the other massage palours along Upper Thomson Rd which seems to want to squeeze as many massage beds into a small space as possible.

Keeping along the simplistic line of Zen philosophy, the massage menu is also simple and minimal with a only a few massage choices unlike the varied and complicated choices that some small massage palors may try to impress onto customers.

The massage therapists, which were mostly Malay as far as I could tell, are professional and good at what they do. A Swedish massage is less than $50 for a 60 minute session. I remembered I was one of the last customer to leave for the day when I visited Wu You a couple of months ago. The friendly therapist never failed to keep the smile on her face after what must have been a long and tiring day for her.

While I certainly loved the zen concept of this massage palor, I doubt I’ll make the effort to come all the way up here again unless I’m on my way to the northern part of Singapore. Nevertheless, if you are staying around Thomson area, then, I’ll certainly recommend that you should not miss this wonderful place. What’s more…food and drinks choices are aplenty around this area once you’ve come out from your massage!

Note: Advanced booking is recommended. I had to go back more than once before I could secure a place. This is apparently a small but very popular massage palor for the Thomson Road vicinity.

Location of Wu You Lifestyle Therapy
235 Up Thomson Rd, 574366, Singapore
Size: Small massage palor with about 8 private individual and couple rooms done in Zen concept
Facilities: Small shower and toilet area
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$30 for a body massage. Discounted Spa and massage packages for members also available.