Last winter some friend and I decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing spa day. While one would think that manis, pedis, and massages would be inexpensive  throughout Asia, Korea seems to have missed the memo on under-pricesd spa services. For that reason, some friends and I decided to take an Eastern approach on a spa day one weekend.

It started with a fish pedicure. Essentially you put your feet in a pool of water, and these little fish eat away any dry skin. While it feels really weird at first, once you get used to it, it’s not bad, and your feet are incredibly soft once your leave. I had the opportunity to have it done in Thailand as well where it’s a bit more common and the effects were, possibly, even better than a traditional pedicure.

The small spa we went to was especially sweet. It was very quiet for a Saturday. They had us put on shorts and oversized t-shirts, almost like how you would wear a robe back in the states. Then they gave us some tea and directed us to the pool with the fish. We got to sit and drink our tea while the fish worked on our feet and were only told once, and very politely,  to “shut up”. Love that language barrier.

After our fish pedicure we went for acupuncture. I’d never been to an acupuncturist before, but after hearing about this man from a friend I couldn’t say no.

Apparently in Korea, it is a sort of rule that acupuncturists should be partially or fully blind. While I don’t fully understand the rule, the idea of having acupuncture performed by an older, blind, Korean medicine man sounded like too good of a story to pass up.

And so, after our pedicure we taxied over to his office and walked into a small building with about 10 or so beds for acupuncture separated by curtains.  We had a Korean friend go with us who signed us in and helped us translate. While the acupuncturist  has assistants who help him do some of the work, he actually feels your energy and places the needles himself. He somehow managed to know the year I was born simply by holding my wrist. We left 40 minutes later feeling relaxed, and I personally was feeling very zen.

After our spa day we had purchased tickets to see The Nutcracker in Seoul which was another lovely experience. Overall, it was a much needed and wonderfully relaxing day completed with a Christmas touch.