The best pedicure in the world

Not long ago someone asked me how many countries I had visited, so I made a list. Turns out I have been to over 40 countries. I haven’t had pedicures in all of them, but in many of them. I would have to say in at least half of them I’ve had a pedicure. And in each country a pedicure is a little different.

In Hungary I had a pedicure at the famous Gellert Spa and Bath. I had to get a pedicure that time in an effort to recover from my rather horrifying first experience in a Turkish bath. After waiting in a line (I just followed what everyone else did) in nothing but a towel, my towel was violently ripped from my body and I was subsequently beaten with lots of reeds and then my entire body was scrubbed with some sort of brillo-pad type of thing. I was amazed I had any skin left on my body after that event. But, silver lining, the pedicure was quite nice.

The pedicure I got in China was not so nice. I went to Queen Spa in Shenzhen, directly over the border from Hong Kong on the suggestion of my friend Sonya who has lived in HK for several years. If you are ever in Shenzhen I highly recommend Queen Spa. It is a 24 hour spa, which was great, because I had jet lag and couldn’t sleep, so at 3am one night I hoped the train to Shenzhen and arrived at Queen Spa before the sun was up. You could spend an entire day there, and get half a dozen different treatments, but your bill won’t go over $100. However, the foot massage which was part of my pedicure was agonizing. Afterward it was all I could do to put my shoes back on and hobble back to the train station. I think my feet hurt for about three days.

Two years ago I took my students to Switzerland. They had a free afternoon and I took a stroll down some of the streets adjacent to our hotel in Lausanne. And then I saw it! A fish pedicure boutique! I have ALWAYS wanted one of those, and they are illegal in the U.S. so this was my chance. Essentially you put your feet in water and the little fish swim around and nibble the dead skin off the bottoms. Some people said they could feel it, but I really couldn’t. If you need a visual, here are my fishy feet:

 

But, after pedicures in easily two dozen countries, I have found my favorite, in Kenya. The day I left Kenya I had a late flight, but my hotel could only allow me to stay so long. They gave me a late checkout, but I still had several hours in which I needed to entertain myself. After wandering around town for a bit I found a nail salon. I would have to say the environment, ambiance and additional amenities were absent. They didn’t offer you water or a complementary beverage, there was no soothing music, relaxing scent of lavender in the air, or massage chair (my favorite part elsewhere), but the pedicure was great. Unfortunately I can’t quite articulate why I enjoyed it so much, but suffice to say it was wonderful. Here are my new toes, complemented by the beaded sandals I bought at the market in Nairobi: