Poke me!

Although our off was quite relaxing and a bit boring, it was definitely a great one. We were able to see our old time friend Ate Tess (Centinales) who I haven't seen for 5 years since we've been away from Qingdao in 2002. We had late lunch in their house and we spent the whole afternoon playing with their hyper doggie named Tequila. Tequila is one of the first hyper yet lovable dogs I have come across with. She wore me out when I tried to play with her. At last, I found a match for my packed energy! We stayed in their house until half past 8 at night. We waited until her husband Ramon and daughter Roxanne have gone back from work and school.

We then proceeded back home and while we were in the taxi, we thought of trying out the massage parlor next to the building where we stay in Silver Gardens. It's a place called Stunt Massage. The place is clean and looked sanitized. At first what we wanted was a good foot reflexology. But then halfway through the foot massage, my masseuse detected that I have got illnesses as the pain went on whenever he tried to press some acupoints on the soles of my feet. He then suggested that I try acupuncture! I hesitated at first because I know it's the practice of poking stainless steel needles in your body and I was concerned about the sanitary measures. When they showed me that the needles they will be using are actually new and in an unopen blister pack, I was convinced. Jan couldn't look but Marl did, as they poked 4 needles on my both legs, my right thumb and my chin. He said it will help for the indigestion.

When the needles were poked on my legs (2 inches below the knees, on the outer side of both of legs), I felt a flow of current all the way to my toes. Yes, the poking part was like having an injection, but after a while, it felt nothing, almost a little numb. I just kept on laughing out loud as Marl and Jan reacted how long the needle was with their twitched faces. Then he poked my chin which almost felt nothing except for the pin touching my chin bone. When he poked my right thumb, I remember the feeling of having a blood test. It was almost the same amount of pain. The needles on my chin & thumb lasted for only 10 minutes, but the ones on my legs lasted for 3o minutes.

After the session, I felt relieved from indigestion. The hardness on my upper stomach was gone and it felt like a miracle. What's best was I only had to pay RMB30 (US$4) for the acupuncture and another RMB20 (US$2.50) for the foot massage. Despite of the relief, I was quite concerned about it's safety. Although the needles that were used were straight from the unopened blister packs, I was quite worried whether I got it from a licensed practitioner because of the cheap price. At least, I have tried it in an inexpensive way. But I'm tempted to try it again.