Traveling from Helsinki to Stockholm was way more tiring than expected. Even though flights between the capitals of Finland and Sweden take less than one hour, we arrived in Stockholm to yet another disaster Airbnb. This time, after rolling our bags from the airport to the train, from the train station to the metro, and from the metro to our Airbnb address in Sodermalm, we entered what was supposed to be our home for the next month.
But our home only had a bed for one person! With no host in sight we called Airbnb, got a refund and moved to a hotel. No, this was not our happy ending…. In one place they had a single bed advertised as double. In the next place, the mattress was so flimsy, even the weight of a barbie doll would make it sink. So we arrived at the only logical conclusion possible. A couple that has traveled in Asia so much would naturally think of this:. A quick search on Google Maps indicated that there were actually an unusually high number of spas in the area around our hotel, most specializing in Thai massage.
This is actually cheap , for Stockholm. And so we dragged our tired but eager bodies a mere meters and reached the spa. The strange thing was that the door was closed and we had to ring the bell. Without thinking too much about this, we pressed the button and a Thai lady with a generous amount of make-up on her face opened the door with a surprised expression.
We are here for a massage! We could tell that she felt pretty awkward. Oh well, we made our way to the next massage parlor, just down the road. Upon arrival to spa 2, we realized that the door was also locked and we had to ring the bell. I rang the bell and pressed my nose against the semi transparent glass door, to understand what was going on inside the establishment. Another Thai lady came to the door and, once again, we were given very weird looks.
We walked away thinking that this was all a little strange. How come there are so many massage parlors in Stockholm? How come they are all full? How come they all look at us prospective customers with such weird vibes? Apart from being closed-door businesses, these places had something else in common: they all had big Thai flags by the entrance.
