I've been battling a sinus/throat/bronchial infection for several weeks, and although I was feeling a bit better after I arrived, the dust and heat/aircon has knocked me back a bit. So I used this never ending illness as an excuse to try cupping therapy.
Cupping (Joop khyol in Khmer) is the practice of placing heated glass orbs on the skin to draw out toxins. It is a normal Cambodian treatment, used for everything from hangovers to severe sickness.
Because this is water festival week, many of the massage parlors that cater to westerners were short staffed, so we had to drive a short distance before we found someone able to do the treatment. The women were hesitant at first because they work in a very basic shack and usually only deal with locals. Their concern was that I would not be comfortable in their business, but I did my best to assure them it would not be an issue for me.
After negotiating the price, a whopping $5.00, I was led to a small room with a curtain door and a large, but very hard bed inside and told to strip to the waist. I laid face down, and was cooled with a powerful fan overhead. It was good, no aircon needed. Unfortunately in this position I could not watch the process, I could only listen and imagine what was happening.
Using a metal wand with what appeared to be gauze wrapped on the end (think large Qtip), the girl set the gauze on fire and fanned it under the opening of the orb creating a vacuum and then placed the orb on my skin just under my shoulder blade. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant at all. With the placement of the second orb though, I started to question whether or not I had made the right choice in doing this. It was way less pleasant than the first one. As she continued, and I tried not to hold my breath, the placement got easier. In about 5 minutes my entire back, sides and the tops of my arms were covered in 2 inch glass suction cups. Again, not an unpleasant feeling, more of a tight pressure. Similar to being in a wetsuit.
While the cups were in place and presumably working their magic, I was treated to a nice foot and leg massage. The whole process lasted about 10 minutes and then it was time to remove them. Breaking the suction makes a small whoosh sound, over and over again. Cups were removed and my back was dried off. Whew, that was easy peasy. Until I heard her say "Muy tiet" (once more). Shit!
The second application went as quickly as the first, but was a lot less pleasant. A LOT less pleasant.
Same routine, swish with fire and drop onto my skin. This time the fan was off and it was quickly warming up in the tiny torture chamber. I just kept thinking it was too late to quit, so I had to suck it up. This time the cups stayed for about 15 minutes, then whoosh whoosh removed again.
I figured I'd be in for a world of hurt when it was time to get dressed, but surprisingly there was no pain or irritation. Came back to my guesthouse (after a quick stop for "real medicine") and had a fabulous nap.
It's now 4 days later and other than some minor stuffiness I feel fine. I still have the purple markings left from the suction, but they've seem to have given me some street cred with the locals, and thats not an easy thing to achieve here.
Overall, if you get the chance to try this - Do it. If for nothing more than a good, relaxing massage.
Cupping (Joop khyol in Khmer) is the practice of placing heated glass orbs on the skin to draw out toxins. It is a normal Cambodian treatment, used for everything from hangovers to severe sickness.
Because this is water festival week, many of the massage parlors that cater to westerners were short staffed, so we had to drive a short distance before we found someone able to do the treatment. The women were hesitant at first because they work in a very basic shack and usually only deal with locals. Their concern was that I would not be comfortable in their business, but I did my best to assure them it would not be an issue for me.
After negotiating the price, a whopping $5.00, I was led to a small room with a curtain door and a large, but very hard bed inside and told to strip to the waist. I laid face down, and was cooled with a powerful fan overhead. It was good, no aircon needed. Unfortunately in this position I could not watch the process, I could only listen and imagine what was happening.
Using a metal wand with what appeared to be gauze wrapped on the end (think large Qtip), the girl set the gauze on fire and fanned it under the opening of the orb creating a vacuum and then placed the orb on my skin just under my shoulder blade. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant at all. With the placement of the second orb though, I started to question whether or not I had made the right choice in doing this. It was way less pleasant than the first one. As she continued, and I tried not to hold my breath, the placement got easier. In about 5 minutes my entire back, sides and the tops of my arms were covered in 2 inch glass suction cups. Again, not an unpleasant feeling, more of a tight pressure. Similar to being in a wetsuit.
While the cups were in place and presumably working their magic, I was treated to a nice foot and leg massage. The whole process lasted about 10 minutes and then it was time to remove them. Breaking the suction makes a small whoosh sound, over and over again. Cups were removed and my back was dried off. Whew, that was easy peasy. Until I heard her say "Muy tiet" (once more). Shit!
The second application went as quickly as the first, but was a lot less pleasant. A LOT less pleasant.
Same routine, swish with fire and drop onto my skin. This time the fan was off and it was quickly warming up in the tiny torture chamber. I just kept thinking it was too late to quit, so I had to suck it up. This time the cups stayed for about 15 minutes, then whoosh whoosh removed again.
I figured I'd be in for a world of hurt when it was time to get dressed, but surprisingly there was no pain or irritation. Came back to my guesthouse (after a quick stop for "real medicine") and had a fabulous nap.
It's now 4 days later and other than some minor stuffiness I feel fine. I still have the purple markings left from the suction, but they've seem to have given me some street cred with the locals, and thats not an easy thing to achieve here.
Overall, if you get the chance to try this - Do it. If for nothing more than a good, relaxing massage.
