Genky is a Japan – Myanmar Physiotherapy Clinic providing a no-frills body and foot massage service. The difference between them and the other massage places is that all the massage therapists here are blind; and the only thing Japanese about this place is its name.
In essence, it was set up to reach out to the blind community in Yangon to provide them with a means of employment and be self-sufficient. Now at a new location at downtown Bo Aung Kyaw Road, yours truly went there to suss out this new premise.
Located in the block next to Myanmar Times and facing the Minister’s Office, the new Genky is now a two-storey outfit where the massage beds are upstairs and the foot massages are done on the first floor.
I am a semi-regular at Genky. I like going there because they are efficient, clean and cheap; cheap is good. It took a while to find the right therapist that suits but after a few visits that’s all sorted out now. My man is No. 41. I still don’t know his name- it never occurred to me to ask. Duh!
Let’s call him Mr Cool. Usually when I come in, I will ask if he is available and I will then brief the receptionist on how I would like the massage to be done – in my case it’s usually to focus from the neck to the hips only; forget the hands and legs. And I want it hard (yes I bet some of you are chuckling right now, you cheeky buggers) Next, I will be lead to a bed. By the time he turns up, I’m all ready for my massage. I would like to think that Mr Cool recognises me by now. I’m sure I’m the only chick in town who has knots as hard as cement. No matter, this man has the Midas touch. He applies different levels of pressure, sometimes spending more time on certain areas, especially on my upper back. He uses the finger pressure and elbow techniques. By the end of the session I am usually putty in his hands.
The only thing that annoyed me – after going through a few therapists there – was that they tend to ask if you’re okay quite frequently. I remembered one of them wouldn’t give up when I didn’t answer. I thought if I was silent she would take the hint that perhaps I was sleeping. Instead, she went up real close to my ear and whispered rather loudly, “ARE YOU OKAY?” I was sure folks three beds away could hear her. I called her Un-subtle.
VERDICT
Let’s be very clear that Genky is not a spa. There’s no Richard Clayderman and his piano music playing in the background. No essence of lavender aromatheraphy oil lingering in the air. No hot towel. No shower and no after-massage tea. This is probably why it’s called a clinic – you come in, you tell them what is your problem, they fix it and out you go – simple as that.
And that, to me, works just fine.
GENKY CLINIC
Address: 285, Bo Aung Kyaw Road (middle block), Kyauktada Tsp.
Tel: 098 615036
Opens daily: 9am to 9pm
Special Promotions
Body Massage (45 mins) + Foot Massage (45 mins) = 12,000Ks
Foot Massage (60 mins) = 7,000Ks
Body Massage (60 mins) = 8,000Ks
See the details listing here: GENKY PHYSIOTHERAPHY CLINIC
