Forget the sleazy connotations about Bangkok massage parlours, Thai massage is serious stuff. Tracing its roots back to ancient India, it was apparently founded about 2,500 years ago by a close associate of Buddha, Doctor Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, as a means to heal sick monks. The technique is based on the theory that there are more than 70,000 energy lines, or sen, running through the human body, which frequently become blocked for various reasons, such as injury, illness, stress and an unhealthy lifestyle.
However, with a bit of blockage-busting Thai massage focusing on 10 crucial sen, your energy should flow freely again and ideally, you should feel better. (It is also said to increase flexibility and posture, relieve fatigue, muscle pain and swollen limbs, and stimulate blood circulation and energy levels.)
The Oriental Spa, which offers Thai massage in addition to everything from facials to pedicures, feels like part of a five-star hotel that wouldn't look out of place in Phuket.
Wooden-panelled and stone-floored, it has enough details - a backdrop of cascading water at reception, calming ambient music and trickling fountains - to make you forget you're actually in a tower in Times Square.
Split-level treatment rooms are large and self-contained with a good-sized massage area, a cavernous shower cubicle and ample dressing space - perfect for dealing with post-treatment dishevelment at leisure.
After a cup of ginger and lemongrass tea, I changed into pyjamas and lay on my back on a mattress on the treatment-room floor. Anticipating an hour of much-needed R and R, I shut my eyes, but my optimistic aspirations of attaining a semi-comatose state were dispelled in minutes.
In a nutshell, Thai massage is like a brisk cross between shiatsu, yoga and acupressure, and there is definitely no sleeping on the job. Your limbs are moved around constantly by the masseuse, kneaded alternatively with her palms, thumbs, elbows and feet, and stretched more than you'd think possible to release tension.
