Thai Scurry

From knits to kneads, you don’t have to wake up and smell the Thai curry to realise that Bandra has a whole lot of Bangkok in it. Taking it one step closer is Sawadee, a new Thai body spa that moved to Mumbai from Australia, and promises to open more branches in the city soon.

Just take a tuktuk to 33rd Road to treat your feet, as well as the rest of you to a whole range of wellness treatments. What’s great is that if you go between 10 am to 4 pm on any day of the week (before November 30), you can score a 40% discount. Chang My!

Red Light

We visited on Friday to find a maze of red-hued rooms sectioned with screens -  a reception area (with an unpleasant colour-changing fountain) leading to a spacious foot spa that further opens out into ten private cabins. Sprays of orchids, pools of water and Asia appropriate music set the scene. We got two treatments – a thirty minute foot massage and a thirty minute back-shoulder-neck rub.

The non-cabin section, we’re happy to report, has only two massage chairs unlike one of its competitors Sukho Thai that crowds a whole lot of seats into a small space. While the actual foot massage follows the usual drill – hot towels, a combination of cream and aroma oils (apparently made in-house), Thai ball compression and a happy ending of hot tea – we’re pretty sure it will find a satisfied customer in you. During this ritual, our competent masseuse (you’re given a choice between male and female) aided and abetted our escape into Anita Desai’s The Artist of Disappearance, occasionally bringing us back from lush Mussoorie landscape to answer questions about pressure and problem areas.

Cheap Thrills

If you’re stressed and pressed for time, we recommend getting the thirty minute back and shoulder massage that rids you of knots and reminds you of poor ergonomics at your office. Corporates, note: Replace Lady Boy with Lazy Boy. Other treatments on offer include full body scrubs, polishes and facials.

Our only grouse with Sawadee was that since we were paying separately for the shoulder-back treatment, it could have been longer and more elaborate considering even the most basic foot massage at Sukho Thai includes this routine. In the price department, Sawadee seems a bit more expensive than the other spas of its kind- a full body aroma massage (Rs 1,800) costs about Rs 200 more than the one at Aura.

But in the face of Sawadee’s super introductory offer, all comparisons should be put on hold. Make your next massage appointment here, for deep tissue and deeper discounts.

Getting there: Sawadee, shop no 12, ground floor, Corner View, 16th / 33rd Road, off Linking Road, Bandra (W), call 26484891, 10 am to 9 pm, Rs 900 for a 30-minute foot massage and Rs 1,800 for a 60-minute aroma oil body massage, plus 40% off on treatments availed between 10 am to 4 pm, until November 30 .

bpb reviews anonymously and pays for its own spa treatments.