Foot Massages

We walked quite a bit while Nick's parents were here visiting. At the end of the day I was always ready for a foot massage. Gail and I got 2 foot massages in the week they were here. The first was at a little spa across the street from my house. It is pretty convenient and I go there regularly when my favorite place is unavailable. They aren't my first choice, but they still give great, cheap massages.

The second time we made reservations at the spa on the first floor of our apartment building. It is sometimes hard to get in there since they specialize in facials, and the man who gives the foot massages isn't always around, but we were lucky this time. I had a massage from him about a month after moving to Beijing and my feet have never felt so good.

The massage ends with something called "cupping." I didn't have my camera with me the first time and I was excited that Gail got some pictures of it this time. Basically they use a flame to burn the air up in these glass cups, and then suction them to your feet. I had seen this done before when I've gotten other massages and was always curious to try it. It is supposed to help open up channels in the body. It didn't really hurt at all, and I have no idea how much it helps, but it was an interesting experience.