Trouble Afoot

Wouldn't it be ironic if, after four months in India--a place where I fell desperately ill on a biweekly basis--my first attempt to pamper myself in Boston ends with raging infection?

Your correspondent is not usually the pedicure type, but down the road from her guesthouse in Delhi there was this teeny ladies-only salon.  Scalp massages (which were actually head, arm, back, shoulder, neck, shoulder, arm, back, and head massages and which could put a girl to sleep they were so good): $5.  Manicures and pedicures (accompanied by hand, arm shoulder, foot, and leg massages): $3.  Deep conditioning hair treatments (accompanied by head, arm, back, shoulder, neck, shoulder, arm, back, head massages): a hefty $5.50.  It wasn't a difficult habit to fall into.

Then there was the company trip to Thailand, where at 3 a.m. me and twelve other editors trooped into the cleanest massage parlor we could find on Pattaya's "Walking Street" and promptly fell asleep while our Thai masseuses gave us the most heavenly foot massages.  It was unfortunate that several of my coworkers happened to also be on Walking Street, and I look particularly goofy in every photograph, but sometimes you just have to take your lumps in the name of happy feet.

My patronage began to falter when the salon incrementally raised their prices from one day to the next, then pretended they had no idea what we were talking about.  As a result, the quality of my toes went strongly downhill.  A few weeks in the mountains rendered that last metaphor literal.  By the time I got home, I had only half a scrape of polish on each toe, and too many pairs of new $3 Indian sandals to let that fact go unremedied.

So, I made the difficult decision to continue the tradition when I was back in Boston.  I chose one of the salons lining Newbury Street, the fancy shopping area behind my office building.  Madame takes a few swipes at my toes and--whoops!  Slices me right open.

My trip to Asia was not in vain, however.  I went into immediate haggle mode and forced a discount on the poor lady (although I wasn't heartless enough to withhold her tip).  I am, however, sad to report that my pedicure days look to be over.