Foot soup

After a delicious Italian dinner hosted by the producers, Jim, Mark and I enjoyed a traditional foot massage. Tony led us to one of his favorite spots and left us with a "take care of them" to the desk lady.

Here is the run down of Beijing massage:

1. place feet in boiling water.
2. while sissies whimper--that would be me--10 minute shoulder massage.
3. pummel, jab, pull, knead, twist, scrunch, fillet, pop and sooth feet with skin cream.
4. repeat step 3 for 60 minutes.
5. massage begins to feel good when flesh surrenders to tenderizing.

Because of 5,000 years of considering feet as nerve keypads mapped to your entire body, massage therapists will tell you where you have problems. For instance, while exorcising my big toe I was told I was having trouble sleeping. True! While I writhed in tickle-torture as arches assaulted by 20 finger bayonets, I heard my guts were in disorder. Also true (see older blogs on Genghis Khan revenge).

I took a photo of Mark's feet, which, like a lobster, had turned as pink as his masseuse's gown.

Mark had never done anything like this before. He LOVED it and declared it was like crack, instantly addicting. He couldn't wait for his wife Kelly to come to Beijing and share this experience. And she did, and loved it just as much as he did and accurately had her headaches and breathing difficulties diagnosed. There is something to this...especially when it costs a fraction of what it would in New York.

It felt terribly wrong to put shoes on my feet after, like trapping clouds in leather buckets.