Terrific lady day

International Women's Day took place on Saturday March 8th this year.  In the States, never really meant much (I didn't even know there was an International Women's Day), but Asia it's kind of a big deal. Which is great, because women here are still way worse off then men, in terms of rights and how society views them. It also meant that we got a holiday on Monday (it was supposed to be Friday but there's a lot of mis-communication here), which is why Nick and I got to go to Bangkok. 

Due to the holiday, Nick dubbed Saturday "Terrific Lady Day" (a reference to The League, which is one of the funniest TV shows airing right now), which meant that I got to choose the schedule and he had to grin and bear it. 

So we got a couple's massage at "Urban Retreat" (at Asok). I use the term "massage" loosely, because I got a "Fit and Firm" package (aimed at firming up skin) which was really more of a physical assault than it was a massage. 

For 2000 Baht (about $65) I had a 50-minute body scrub (using Matcha Green Tea, which the spa claims is skin-firming) and an hour long "Fit and Firm" massage. Nick signed up for an hour long Swedish massage. 

The body scrub was nice- it was the first one I've ever gotten, and while I liked it and my skin was noticeably softer afterwards, it didn't strike me as anything special (good or bad).

The massage was another story. 

When I initially signed up for a "Fit and Firm" massage, I thought it would be like an intensive sports/ deep tissue massage. It was not like that AT ALL. 

Nick and I started our massages at the same time, and the first five minutes were pretty much the same, with our ladies climbing up on top of the massage table and massaging our backs. 

The next 55 minutes were nothing like this. Apparently, the "Fit and Firm" massage involves vigorous slapping of the victim's back, stomach, thighs, calves and chest. So every few minutes or so, my masseuse would just go to TOWN on my poor, unexpected body, slapping in quick successions then massaging out my now incredibly tense body. Every time she did it, I had to fight the urge to laugh at how un-relaxing the massage was. 

Nick couldn't relax much, either, since the slapping drowned out the nice spa music they had pumping into the room. 

After the massage, we changed back into our clothes and I asked him how he liked his Swedish massage.

"It was good," he replied. "I mean, a couple parts she was really digging in, and it hurt."

"YOURS hurt?! You just heard my lady beat the sh*t out of me for the last hour!" 

"Yeah, I have no idea why you would sign up for that."

He had a point; I should have researched what a "Fit and Firm" massage was before agreeing to it. 

Before the massages (it's an awkward pic because (a) Nick didn't want to take it, and (b) I had to hurry before the lady got back in the room)

Follow up to "Fit and Firm" massage: It's supposed to tighten skin, but I didn't really notice a difference. I did notice that my legs were killing me for the next two days. Maybe the firm-ness really would have worked, but whenever I travel I usually replace my Insanity videos and workouts with delicious food. Bangkok is no exception.

But anyone who really knows me knows that my favorite thing is food. Specifically, chocolate. So Nick and I went to CHU's Chocolate Cafe and Restaurant, which was next to the Urban Retreat at Asok. The menu had some salads and sandwiches, but mostly consisted of sugar-y breakfasts and desserts, which is exactly how I want every menu to be. 

This is the Chocolate Lava cake, which I ordered with the Parisian hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was disappointing (I expected it to be thicker) but the lava cake was incredible.

(Side note: does anyone else remember the Chantico that Starbucks had? The "drinking chocolate"? They only had it for one season, in 2005, but it was still the most amazing thing in the world)

Chocolate desserts for daysssssssssss.