A Fishy Birthday!

A surprise birthday trip! I love a good surprise.

As Trevor planned we hopped on a bus and headed to the southern city of Icheon. Arriving at a spa I was ready for a relaxing birthday treatment. Tea baths, herb baths, mud baths, amethyst heat rooms, and then there were the fish...

The relaxing day came to a sudden halt. "Good for your health," I was told. "Good for your skin," I was coaxed. Apparently these fish are supposed to nibble away any and all dead skin which may be on my body. Nibble. My skin!

'Alright,' I thought. And then I stepped in. It was a sight for the Koreans... but then again I usually am. Squiggling and squirming with thousands upon thousands of these little thumb sized fish tickling me, eating me. It was terrible. I laughed and I curled into a ball as to cover as much exposed skin as possible. It felt like little vacuum cleaners sucking and pulling. I closed my eyes, grabbed Trevor's arm and thought like a true Andrus, 'I can't waste my five bucks."

An hour later, a considerably calmer and more relaxed me would tell you that the experience was worth the money and time. I am not sure about the healing powers of the fish, but I am sure that I will never have another experience like this.