This is the guide to Asia massages that I'd always looked for online before visiting a new country, but never found. It might sound random, but whilst traveling I've always wanted to know if I could even find massages in my next destination, as I'm hunched over a computer for most of every day.
But all that searching was around and , when all you'd find were some individual comparisons on Reddit. So I spent many hours researching each country while I was there, and then getting dozens of massages over the years. I did it for you! And for future me. But I did write out all this info on massages in Asia for you all, because I know that backpacking Southeast Asia can be more tiring than it looks.
Note that this guide will not be mentioning anything about so-called "happy ending" massages because that is exploitative of people who have no other choice and it has absolutely no place in this post. This isn't a top ten list of spas in Asia or any other type of roundup, but simply a primer on what to expect from massage spots in each of the following countries. So if this guide helps you, please save it for your next trip and send it to a friend!
I'll be keeping it updated as I travel back to each of these locales. Also, as I get massages in other countries I'll add them to the post! Upcoming locales include Japan, Korea, and Cambodia β now on the the relaxing. Massage therapy is an integral part of the traditional holistic system of Ayurvedic healing, which was started in modern-day India more than five thousand years ago. From India, the practice of massage as a part of medical treatment spread to ancient China and Egypt and then Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Once it hit Europe, it was only a matter of time until it reached the US, where it's slowly become an expensive treatment only common in short bursts at the chiropractor. Well, the defining factors are both cultural and economic. Almost all Asian countries have some historical cultural influence from either Indian Hinduism or Chinese Buddhism; the Balinese island of Indonesia is known for Balinese massage, which is heavily influenced by Balinese Hinduism.
