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Ten years on and everything felt the same. The white sandy beach before me was still as tranquil as before, rid of the typical tourist crowd that was replaced instead with frolicking children and dogs. It felt great being back in Hua Hin. This beach was accessible by residences staying in the apartments by the Cha-am shore and we were lucky enough to stay in a friend’s holiday home. As usual, we looked around for the massage hut where my parents used to spend hours receiving affordable Thai massage while my brother and I would play in the sand. A decade and a three-hour drive later, all four of us were looking forward to the smell of aromatic oils and a therapeutic massage. “I hope we can eat the delicious stir-fried vegetables we had for lunch last time,” my brother exclaimed. Where it used to be a small, disheveled hut that encompassed the entire family kitchen, that plot of land now stood a palm tree. Confused, we walked ahead and asked one of the masseuse ladies sitting under the tentage that housed the massage beds. “No more already. Stop when mama die(d),” the middle-aged lady smiled politely, as she strung up the minimal English words she knew to answer us. Turns out, the massage shop that we used to have our lunches at stopped serving food when the head chef – aka mother of the household – passed away five years ago. The masseuse we talked to was her daughter, who later told us that her father couldn’t manage the cooking side of the business and so he decided to pass down the business to her, solely focusing on providing traditional Thai massage. We were bummed but at least, there was still some good ol’ Thai massage to look forward to! Alright maybe not as cheap as before. It used to be a 100 Thai Baht for an hour’s worth of a full-body massage, but considering inflation and many years’ worth of difference, I guess 250 Baht was still decent. Of course, having faith in the wrinkled hands of a probably different elderly masseuse from the ones before, my father immediately asked for two hours and plonked himself on the bed to get ready. Myself on the other hand, well this was my first time having a Thai massage, so I opted for an hour instead. The ladies were very professional, quickly lining the beds with fresh towels and oiling their hands to prepare for the session. We were in our swimsuits so we could begin immediately. The massage started from my legs, to my back and ended at my arms and neck. Lots of pulling, stretching and pressing of pressure points went through and I had a close call to kicking the masseuse if she hadn’t held me down since I remember it being more ticklish than relaxing. Nevertheless, I came out of the massage session a renewed person with my tension headache gone and body feeling much lighter. What I remembered most throughout the arduous hour though were the smiles and laughter from the owner as my mother showed her old photos of our family sitting on the very same light blue chairs that lined their shop’s ground. Likewise, she showcased pictures of her children growing up along these very shores as well. Fusing hand gestures, simple English words and many repetitions of both, we managed to have a fruitful exchange of stories of our time at the Cha-Am beach. We exchanged numbers and told her we would call her if we ever came back. Three hours passed quickly and we ended up walking away with new friends, relaxed bodies and a good 100 Baht discount off our total bill. The discount might not be much, but the warmth and comfort of the people definitely made our decade-long wait worth it.