SG/KL Chronicles : Fish Spa

Now, I first read about this 'Fish Spa' on Mich's blog and I immediately knew I had to try it out once I got to KL. To sum it up, the fish spa is where doctor fish (Garra rufa), nibble at the dead skin on your feet (and/or legs, whichever's in the water), to naturally 'exfoliate' your skin. Sounds icky right? A bit I guess... but it fascinated me so I just had to try it. :D

The Kenko Reflexology & Fish spa is located at the 5th floor of the Pavilion Mall, in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. This was our first stop after settling at our hotel. We had a hearty Satay and Thai dinner at Food Republic before heading to the spa.

First off, we were asked to clean our feet before proceeding to the 'fish spa' area. We would be submerging our feet and legs into the water and let the fish do their job. There were 2 types of fish, some were very small, and the others were quite big. Now, Maitz and I are pretty much 'at ease' with fish, so we chose the bigger ones, thinking they would be more effective, as far as cleaning our feet would go. But I was told the smaller fish were also quite effective, so if the pic of the bigger fishes scare you, don't worry, there are smaller ones available. :D

Let me tell you... it was ticklish as hell! I've always been ticklish, but this was bordering on torture! I guess there's also the thought that these fish were actually eating me up! No matter how you sugarcoat it... images of piranhas and flesh eating fish ran through my brain as I felt each nibble on my feet as I gingerly put each foot in, and then took each foot out coz I kept laughing.

It took about 10 minutes for me to tell myself to just get the hell on with it. It helped that Maitz was already calmly observing the fishes as they feasted on her toes. It didn't help that Tita Nina was screaming and laughing her head off beside me. But I just took a deep breath and plunged my legs in, and resisted the urge to take them back out. A mere minute later, I was already used to the sensation.

And it was very relaxing... the constant nibbling felt like a light current that stimulated the feet. And I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way the fish kept nibbling at me... it was really interesting... in a sick sort of way. ;)) I remember Louie saying she tried to catch a few fish with her toes... I did the same... and in some way, felt satisfaction that I was getting even, hehehe.

Afterwards, we also got a foot reflexology treatment...and on our way there, I slipped on the steps and landed on my knees! Geez! I'm not safe even in KL! Hahahaha! For those who don't know, I am incredibly clumsy... but it was really quite embarrassing to slip in front of all the other patrons of the fish spa. But hey, I'm so used to falling I just laughed it off. Thankfully, my reflexology therapist was very good, and she was able to soothe my bruised legs (but there was nothing to be done about my ego though). :D

The fish spa is also available at the Manila Ocean Park. I'll definitely do this again, just for fun. The fishes did a pretty good job at lifting some of the dead skin away, but I think you have to do it regularly to achieve noticeable and lasting results. Nevertheless, the sensation and the succeeding humiliation was more than enough to make this a memorable KL moment. :)

For more pics, check out my KL album on Multiply.
http://vanaque.multiply.com/photos/album/16/Kuala_Lumpur_-_June_2008