Money from massage
- June 6, 2005
Masseurs and masseuses looking
to fill their wallets with tourist cash have discovered paradise has an
address on Koh Chang.
Pan moved to the island from Surin two years ago to work as a traditional
masseuse. She anticipated business would be brisk and could not be more
right.
She came to the island at the onset of its bustling commercial development.
Foreign and local tourists attracted by Koh Chang's pristine conditions
arrived in droves, keeping her busy.
Pan follows strict work ethics. The massage business, looked down upon in
days gone by as a ``grey'' profession, has reinvented its image through
certified occupational training. Nonetheless, Pan has had to put up with
customers making indecent advances.
She earns money massaging customers at various resorts on Koh Chang. She
leaves her telephone number with the resorts which call her to provide the
service on their premises at the customer's request.
She gets 200 baht per hour after the resorts take their cut. She charges
Thai tourists a cheaper rate.
Pan has worked with more than 40 other masseuses. Some massaged and then
offered intimate services afterwards, making more than 100,000 baht a month.
Others met foreign tourists, fell in love and went overseas to start a
family. It was clear they entered the profession to find wealthy foreigners
to marry.
Pan said some customers were interested in sex or asked the masseuses to
apply bizarre contortion methods. She recalled the wives of foreign tourists
offering to pay her friends a lump sum to be their husband's ``travelling
companions''.
Pan insisted that sex was out of the question. She had met many tourists
trying a pick-up line. ``I am now used to meeting them. I have to live with
it,'' she said.
Pan said her monthly income from massage topped 30,000 baht during the peak
tourist season. She loved her job and earned her keep without hurting her
pride while supporting her parents in Surin.
Another masseuse, Orn, is also no stranger to Koh Chang. She has been
massaging since giving up dress-making in Nakhon Sawan three years ago.
Divorced, she spent 10 years doing menial jobs before stumbling on her pot
of gold on the island.
She trained at the occupational skills office in Trat before obtaining a
massage certificate. She said most hotels on Koh Chang refused to employ
untrained masseuses and masseurs, afraid they may injure customers.
``The days of masseuses carrying a bottle of oil, a mat and a basket,
soliciting services from tourists on the beach are over. We need to maintain
standards,'' she said.
Nattha Thongpan, a massage instructor from the Skill Development Department,
said more people had applied for training than there was space for them.
Most masseuses and masseurs on the island are natives of the North and
Northeast. News about the training spread through word of mouth. Classes are
kept small to maintain quality. Students must complete 280 hours of training
before graduating.
The department limits each class to 30 students although a few extras are
accepted. Demand for training is growing.
Ms Nattha said the certificate would be issued along with a massage standard
recognition paper. She said the ground rule was that masseuses and masseurs
must ask customers about any health problems before performing their
service.
Individuals seeking to open a massage business had called in to ask to buy
the certificate and the standard paper. The department had refused as the
papers may only be issued on completion of practical training. Latest
estimates put the number of masseuses and masseurs on Koh Chang at more than
100 and they are in short supply. Those with experience are sought-after by
hotels and resorts.
Siriluck Pinkesorn, director of Bangkok Bodiwork Training Centre, a company
contracted to set up massage training, said Koh Chang was suitable for a
health rejuvenation holiday. She owns a chain of Bodiwork Spa outlets, one
of more than 10 spa outlets on the island, which are popular with tourists,
especially foreigners. Massage and spa treatment were a lucrative business,
combining art with science, she said.
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