I had my first experience with Thai massage. It was incredibly intense but left me feeling so relaxed and stress-free. The style of it involves applying deep pressure with the fingers, elbows, and forearms, as well as stretching and pulling. Tonight, my hour-long massage was given by an excellent masseuse- she was the teacher for all of the masseuses at the spa that I went to. Ma told me that her monthly base salary is 500 baht (that is less than $20 per month) in addition to 20 baht per hour of massage (less than $1!). I asked her if she wanted to come back to the US with me as my massage therapist. She laughed kindly.