Buying Out For A Night In....

Today we planned to go to the shopping centre called Central Festival for a look around, I also wanted to call into the alternative medicine centre at the hospital where Helen works to see them about cupping. We finished off the thai fish cakes and pork sticks left over from last night and watched some asian food channel shows before we headed off as the shopping centre doesn't open until 10.30am. I swear that channel is awesome and I love spending the evening watching food shows. Central Festival is filled with cool shops and especially food shops like cupcake and ice cream places. There is a central food market which is like a supermarket but they sell pre cooked food packages there that you can sit and enjoy. We have found the coconut milk curries to be the most expensive thing on most menus but here it is about half the price at just under $2.00 so we couldn't pass it up. We shared a penang curry with red rice and it was delicious, who would have thought huh. I also tried the sweets from a special section just dedicated to them and again was not disappointed by the price or the taste. We found a coffee shop that has chai latte and soy milk so indulged in that too. Ahhhhh heaven. After eating our fill we headed to the hospital and after a quick visit with Helen went to the alternative medicine centre where I found out some information about my neck/back issue and the ways it can be treated. The doctor was right on the money, she knew my symptoms and suggested a combination of acupuncture and cupping which normally wouldn't be done on the same day but seeing as though she will be out of town from tomorrow she made an exception. She was very informative and told me about everything she was doing to me and why, I had a lot of questions so didn't make it easy for her but she had answers that made sense to all of them. She began with the acupuncture which I have had before but she did it a little different. Firstly she put the needles in and then tweaked them until I could feel strange sensations in areas that the needle was nowhere near but she continued to explain to me where I would feel them and why. She then hooked some of the needles up to a machine and told me that she was going to run a current through them.....oookkkkk. This I had never had done before but was confident in her treatment. It felt like tiny electric shocks into my muscles, kind of strange but surprisingly good at the same time. Before she left me for 20 minutes I asked her if I could have Alvo in here and she replied "of course, no problem" so Alvo took a few photos so I can show mum and also a Chinese doctor in Tamworth if I need future treatment. My machine timed out after 20 minutes and the Docs assistant was right onto taking the needles out and then in came the Doc announcing that it was time for cupping. For those of you that have not heard of this technique it usually involves little glass bulb like jars that get a flame held inside them to create a vacuum before being placed on your body to draw out toxins and release muscles. Here the doctor used plastic jars with a suction pump that allows her to regulate the amount of suction being administered, it also prevents burns due to hot jars. She placed the first one on my neck as Alvo watched on intently, my skin was then drawn up inside the cup which did not hurt but just felt.....well.....a little but sucky I guess. She continued with a few more cups of varying sizes and then told me that I would only need this for about 10 minutes as my blood was rising to the surface very quickly. Alvo continued to take photos and tell me that it looked a bit weird. She explained to me things about wind, heat and water in the body and some of the issues that arise from imbalance in the elements. She told me that her husband is a specialist in chiropractic and Chinese medicine and that if I had longer in Phuket that I would benefit from seeing him for a treatment plan....damn you end of holidays and both the doctors going to Bangkok tomorrow for a week. Oh well, wasn't meant to be but I told her that her advice will help both my mum and I and I would look for a good doctor back home. She told me to see her if I come back to Thailand again so she is definitely on my "to do" list for our next trip. After the treatment one of the suction sites was quite puffy so she gave me some herbal heat patches that I have used before and sent me on my way. I have spent our budget for the day but it was worth it, I will make it up to Alvo by getting her to treat herself at the spa when we get to Nai Yang next week. Off home for a drink or two before going out to the market to buy food to eat in tonight as we have eaten out soooooo much. The market is only a short walk around the block from where we are staying and there are food stalls lining the block before you hit the actual market. Anything from fairy floss to noodle soup is on offer and man does it smell great. I love seeing the vendors cooking their food fresh right there in front of you. Of course I had to stop at the lady who had the sweets, she let me try one and I bought a few delicious coconut and syrup filled ball thingys from her for a snack later. At the market there is a ton of different types of produce from screwdrivers to fresh fish and seafood, it is all up for grabs here. We decided on a few different types of dishes for our night in feast. Candied pork and sticky rice, fried chicken, salad, rice paper rolls and some sort of pork and rice concoction. We left the market with all our goodies just as the rain started but made it home in good time and laid out the spread on the table. It looked so good and we worked out that everything cost $7.00 all up. We ate our fill and there is left overs.....yay, breakfast. Relaxing on the couch with the asian cooking channel is in order before bed....did I mention that I love the asian food channel, I did oh good...just checking. Tanya xxx.