Gail Herndon - The Spa Less Traveled. Discovering Ethnic Los Angeles, One Massage at a Time

By Gail Herndon & Brenda Goldstein

Photographs by Courtney Brillhart

Prospect Park Books

Copyright 2011 by Gail Herndon & Brenda Goldstein

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, web posting or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All information in this book was verified when the book went to press. Please forgive the authors and the publisher if the establishment you wish to patronize has changed or is no longer in existencethese things happen.

Designer & photographer: Courtney Brillhart

Editor: Colleen Dunn Bates

Assistant editor: Gina Magnuson

Assistant photo editor: Natalie Weinstein

Published by Prospect Park Media.

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Distributed to the trade by

SCB Distributors

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Special Sales

Bulk purchase (20+ copies) of The Spa Less Traveled is available to companies, organizations, mail-order catalogs and nonprofits at special discounts, and large orders can be customized to suit individual needs. For more information, contact Prospect Park Media

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011927388

ISBN: 978-0-9844102-7-9

First edition, first printing

Printed in China on FSC-certified, sustainably produced paper.

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We dedicate this book to our parents:

Christine & William Herndon
and
Bonnie & Marshall Goldstein

Whove traveled the world and birthed the spirit of adventure in us

With love,

Gail & Brenda

A portion of the royalties from the sale of The Spa Less Traveled will go to Oasis, a nonprofit that works to stop human trafficking. Find out more at oasisusa.org

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to our dear friends for their feedback and support: Didi, MLiss, Debra, Desiree, Akio, Yui, Brenda, Randi, Beth, Keith, Betty, Cherylnn, Deb, Sujata, Reuben, Mary Ellen, Jack, Sandie, Maria and Lisa.

Thanks to our cultural attachs who assisted with the vocabulary words: Su, Maria, Ginny and Akio.

Big thanks to Keith for his reviews of the mens Korean spas. Thanks also to Detective John Bonomo for his insights into regulating massage businesses.

To our creative designer, Courtney Brillhart, thank you for the energy and enthusiasm you added to this project.

To Steve, thank you for your spectacular gift with wordsand your mad Google skills.

To Colleen, Shepherdess of all Good Things, thank you for taking our project and creating something even better than we could imagine.

Gail & Brenda

Table of Contents

A typical Thai massage room

Introduction:
Cultural Exchange, the Spa Way

We Googled. We Yelped. And we found that most of L.A.s authentic ethnic spas werent getting a fair shake. Thats because theyre being compared to a different kind of treatment, the Swedish massage. Odds are youve had a Swedish massage; it is, after all, the most popular kind in the United States, a mild and completely relaxing treatment. But thats just one experience, and its definitely not the way all massages were meant to be. After all, were in Los Angeles! Theres so much more to experience. Not only is the county of Los Angeles home to 9.86 million people, it boasts the largest Chinese, Thai, Korean and Japanese populations outside their home countries. So many of these immigrants brought with them meaningful customs and rituals. Just as you expect their languages and foods to be different, so should the anticipation for massage. And have we got some surprises for you!

The goal of this book is to help you understand each treatment and whats in store for you. Theres nothing more enlightening than experience. Over the last several years, weve been privileged to be able to explore some of the purest ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles, rich in history and culture. And we were blown away. Visiting the places listed in this book is the only way to discover which spa treatments work for you. The more you try, the more you learn what you like and dont. Being informed about how a certain therapy may help you can make your experience more physically and emotionally satisfying.

Be sure to read the introduction page for each massage type, as well as the glossary.

Going to L.A.s ethnic spas will open you to new worlds. Despite soft-drink billboards and American fast-food restaurants just down the street from the majority of the spas listed, they really do offer a good look into other cultures. The people who work at the spas may have left behind a country, but they have, in large part, re-created it in their businesses. So please dont be put off by limited English and certain, shall we say, colorful habits. After all, you wont find eggs cooking or underwear drying in the sauna at Burke-Williams! (Youll have to read the book to find the place we saw that.) But your world will expand and your body will be transported.

If you picked up this book, you dont need selling on the many benefits of massage. But we do want to sell you on the rewards of exploring the diverse cultural neighborhoods Los Angeles has to offer and to expose you to their respective body treatments. Think of this as your own cultural exchange program, without the passport requirement or heinous air travel. Well be your guides.

Escape. Explore. Enjoy!

Gail & Brenda

Spa treatments are all about relaxing, and its hard to relax until you know what to expect. So heres our short list of whats in the book and how you can make the most of it.

Glossary: A good place to start, particularly if youre not sure which treatment youd like to try, or even what is actually involved in a specific treatment.

Spa Etiquette: Reference this section for spa pointers, advice on tipping your masseuse and the panty/no-panty debate.

Chapters: Each chapter provides an overview of a particular ethnic enclave, a brief history of the community, a description of the signature treatments and a guide to a great massage.

Keys: Icons quickly convey the information you want to know without having to read through the text. At a glance, for instance, you can see the price range, if the spa accepts credit cards, how authentic the facility is and if its co-ed.

Authenticity: You can start your spa explorations closer to home, and then well help you work your way to other neighborhoods for more authentic experiences.

Vocabulary: