Pamper Me In to a State of Bliss

Have you ever been so relaxed it feels like you walking on sunshine or floating in the clouds? If you have not eve had this experience I have found the place for you. Hidden on Jianguomen outer Street in Chaoyang District is a place for anyone to have a relaxing day in style. Especially, after your long flight on China Eastern Airlines to Beijing. It is called the Shuangjing Foreign Beauty Spa. However, if you can't read Chinese the only English word on their sign is spa. Regardless of this it is a great place to go if you want to spend a day being pampered or even an hour or two getting a back massage. Upon walking in on their first story there is a salon for hair and even a bar that sells top shelf wine. Can you believe it…A bar in a hair salon? I don't think it gets much nicer than that. In addition the spa offers pedicures, manicures, facials and even sells underwear. My destination on this visit to the spa was to their massage parlor because I was still sore from my China flights. Upon arriving you are presented with white tea which is quite tasty. Then after a short wait a girl in what looks like a stylish flight attended suit with an ascot comes to direct you to your room. And for anyone who is interested the masseuses in this place are all very attractive. I don't know about my friends who came with me but my room was unbelievably nice as well. They even have a shower for you to use before hand with Dolce and Gabbana soap and shampoo.

During the massage masseuse applied a variation of techniques that had my whole body feeling better from the start. The only awkward part about the whole thing was that she spoke maybe three words of English and if you have never tried to pantomime while laying face down let me tell you it is a challenge unlike another. However, it was still a pretty fun experience and today I feel great, it is as if she made me 100 pounds lighter. And when I left she even helped dress me which was nice since I was feeling a little lazy after a sleep inducing massage. If you don't want to find this place though there are spas all over Beijing and I promise they will be just as good. If for example you are staying at one of the many China hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton you will find superb spa service. You can also go to massage parlors were the masseuses are blind. I have heard they are both inexpensive and higher quality than the Ritz so I am hunting one down to get my next massage. "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." — Martin Buber