The magic of massage (December 2008)

Hi, this is Ant – I was stripped naked, thrown onto a mat with a guy hanging on a rope massaging me with his feet for an hour. This may not be new to all of you, but it was for me. I am always up for a local massage and so was happy to be in Kerala, the home of Ayurvedic medicinal massages. Knowing that Ayurveda can be a little bizarre, I had opted for a ‘foot massage’ – expecting my feet to be massaged, when the above happened - once I had overcome my surprise it was actually a really good massage and I had a few more as we moved south along the coast. Always interested in novelties, the hour long pouring of hot oil onto forehead was the next to grab my attention. It promised to be a cure for insomnia and anxiety, and as I suffer from neither, it wasn’t an obvious choice but being the most bizarre on that particular menu, I did spend one afternoon In Kovalam enjoying the weird but strangely calming effect.

Gill is really bemused by the fact that at the start of each treatment the masseur dresses me in thong of toilet paper, which lasts all of two minutes (together with my modesty), as the massage shreds it to bits, You will all be glad that there are no photos accompanying this blog.