Surviving a Hangover at Helen Massage, Kota Kinabalu
My body has never handled alcohol well, so I've always suffered. It's fine when I'm drinking, but the next day, a massive headache and full-body fever make normal life impossible. Nowadays, I've found my own cure: 1.5 liters of Pocari Sweat, a multivitamin, and a hangover drink like Condition to get my body moving as much as possible. But what should I do when I'm traveling?
The answer is: "Just stay passed out in bed."
Today was exactly one of those days. It was too hard to even go out to buy a sports drink, let alone take vitamins or eat a proper meal, so I had absolutely zero energy. My foreign friends with amazing stamina...
"When did you get in yesterday? We were looking for you but didn't have your number, so we were worried. See you next time~ Bye~"
...said this and went their separate ways.
It must have been a little past 4 PM? Finally, my fever broke and my head felt a bit better. I threw on some clothes and stepped out, feeling like I'd been beaten all over. I didn't think I could stomach any food right away, so I went to get a massage.
After traveling around Southeast Asia a few times, I've made it a rule to get a massage at least once every two days. It feels incredibly refreshing, and it's the most perfect cure when my body is exhausted and muscle aches or pains start kicking in. I've been getting massages every other day in Kota Kinabalu too, but Helen Massage is the best. It's a bit pricey, but unless you're so broke that you absolutely have to go somewhere cheap, I highly recommend getting one here. Last time, a male masseur did it, which was really firm and comfortable, but today there were no male staff available, so I had to get a female masseuse. Since Malaysia is an Islamic country, I thought there would always be male staff on duty, but maybe because it's a tourist area, that wasn't the case at all.
I booked a two-hour massage, but I completely passed out before I could even feel how refreshing it was. I've never heard that massages are good for hangovers, but it perfectly restored my body to the point where I could finally put something in my stomach. Ah, I really wish I could live in Seoul getting a massage every other day.
Expenses (Conservatively calculated, multiply by 300 KRW to get the amount in Korean Won)
- Gifts RM 106.15
- Dinner (Udon) RM 37.6
- Transport to massage RM 4.04
- Two-hour massage RM 280
Daily expenses: RM 427.79
Total travel expenses: 2,875,000 KRW + RM 3062.67