Fish Spa

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

My husband and I love spas. Especially spas in Asia - for their quality and affordable price. While wandering through a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, we came across Kenko, a delightful spa outlet for feet. We've had foot reflexology before and whilst it has its merits, we are not fans. My threshold for pain is really low. But we were intrigued by the fish spa. Seen it, never tried it.

Here's the deal. The Fish Spa is supposed to naturally exfoliate dead skin from the feet and promote blood circulation. I mean, really, these tiny fish were being marketed as "little masseurs" giving micro massages.

Okay, our curiosity won over our trepidation. John decided we had to do it. After paying, we were taken to an area where we had to clean our legs thoroughly. I'm guessing these fishies were fussy about they eat.

After the cleaning, we entered the spa zone which was a raised platform with a series of fish tanks below. We chose a small tank (a four-seater). There were larger tanks that could accommodate a group of people but we preferred private massages. We sat down on the platform and slowly dipped our feet in. The water was lukewarm.

The moment our feet was submerged, these little 'piranhas' swarmed around them, busily attacking our dead cells. At least that is what our mind tells us. The sensation was that of having a million cockcroaches crawling all over our feet. It was excruciatingly ticklish. John had a whale of a time taking pictures of my face, all scrunched up. I could hardly bear it.

I took my feet out a number of times and was amazed at how those little monsters just slipped back into the water. But when my feet were in, it was like an "all-you-can-eat" buffet. They nibbled everywhere including between my toes.

Half an hour later, we were drying our now soft and supple feet. Yes, it was pretty effective. Yes, we don't know how hygienic it is. Yes, it was quite an experience. No, I won't do it again. For John, the jury is still out.