one fish two fish red fish doctor fish

i'm a big fan of pampering - give me massages or back scratches any day, any time. at home (when in the money) i was a regular client at the cheap pedicure place by my house. now that we're in korea, finding such luxuries isn't as easy. but one thing we knew we had to seek out while being residents of sk was dr. fish.

unfortunately, i can't recall what i'd heard of dr. fish before making the trip to the other side of the planet. apparently oprah did some coverage of its benefits, but that could be wrong. i've also heard mixed things about the hygienic side of such a procedure, but i vetoed doing any research - and potentially finding gross results - before going through with it.

dr. fish is a sort of pedicure/relaxing foot bath that involves hundreds of little fish eating the dead skin from your feet. shanna and dave had done it multiple times while here, so we were reassured by their review. and to be honest, i was just really curious about what it would feel like to have little creatures nibbling at my toes. and heels. and ankles. ok, and calves.

s & d had recommended a place in gangnam, a swanky area of seoul, south of the han river. i was expecting a salon of sorts, something with white walls and uniformed dr. fish practitioners. instead, we were greeted by a posh second-floor coffee shop. the rule was: you buy an overpriced beverage of your choice and only pay ₩2000 (less than $2CDN) for the fish. then lounge, enjoy your free toast and jam, and wait for your turn. the fish were in small trough-like tanks by the windows, and the area around them was raised to allow for comfortable floor seating while your feet dangle.

after waiting about 30 mins, it was our turn. we were required to hose down our feet, and then the four of us shared one communal fish pool (or trough, for lack of a better word). at first, it was seeming near-impossible to even get a foot in with the fish - it was soo ticklish. the sensation is hard to describe. sort of like pins and needles meets dr ho's electric massaging pads (you know, if you've ever tried those ...). nevermind the huge mind-over-matter factor. part of me didn't like the idea of little creatures on my feet. i kept having to erase from my mind what was actually going on. it was also nice that the pool had jets that kept you from actually seeing the fish on your feet.

one trough of fish for four, coming right up ...

bird's eye view of what we were in for.

zoom in on them hungry little fishies

they weirdly remind me of baby birds, with their hungry open mouths. you can see the ones that have already attached themselves to madeline's foot.

at first i was a bit repulsed, but i was won over by the experience in the end. seventeen minutes later, i suppose my feet did feel a little post-pedicure-y. though, it was hard to tell after having to wear flip flops in the post-rain streets of seoul and on the subway home ...

my dr. fish experience gets 4.5 dead-skin-eating swimmers out of 5. overpriced beverage included.