An Ode to my Feet

I think it's fair to say that my feet have taken abit of a battering over the last 12 months. Having not seen the inside of a shoe for near on 8months, they have stoically padded their way around the assault course pavements in Hanoi, skirted rice paddies in Sapa, templed at Angkor twice, danced the Heads, Shoulders Knees and Toes approximately 300 times, and paced the shopping malls of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Saigon, not to mention powering my bicycle ALL over the city in the pursuit of work (I once memorably crossed water to go into Hanoi's *Gateshead* for a job worth $10, but thats a story for another day). And to do all that in beach flip flops? I decided it was time to thank them with abit of TLC.

I got a perfect opportunity for some foot-appreciation in the Siem Reap night market, when we tried out the Fish Foot Spa.

[disclaimer: the experience was alot better than the following explanation of the process will make out]. Brave tourists are invited to plunge their feet into a pool of cold water and have their skin 'nibbled' by hundreds of tiny hungry fish!
It's a sensation quite unlike any other and occupies a hazy grey area somewhere between the feeling of pleasure and pain. After some initial public humiliation by shrieking when my feet first went in the pool, I found the whole experience really enjoyable. And I cannot deny that my feet felt fantastic afterwards. All the pavement bashing of the last year seemed to melt away.

So there you go guys. I let fish eat me, but it was all for you!

SarahHeadsEast xxx