Emily Spa is one of the many massage parlors in Ho Chi Minh City that could very easily be lost in the crowd. Those ladies look like just some of the many Vietnamese people who hang around on sidewalks around the country drinking coffee or tea and having a chat. In fact they are basically touts who are quick to approach any likely looking subject to ask if they want a massage in relatively clear English for the area.
Guys who relent and ask for more information are then asked what kind of massage they want. If they agree to either they are quickly whisked down a yellow hallway lined with various types of handbags that are ostensibly on sale.
Any customer that follows a tout without negotiating or at least asking for a price in Ho Chi Minh City sets themselves up for being vastly overcharged at the very least. The asking price for the full package is double that or more. Various other options can be offered too depending on any number of circumstances. As with most things in Vietnam prices are negotiable and different customers may pay more or less than what is mentioned here. The touts tend to ask guys who agree to a massage for money up front though they will also accept money after from experienced clients who are firm in their stance and understanding of the way things typically work.
After customers agree on payment and the type of session they want they are led by the touts down the aforementioned hallway and up a flight of steps. There sits an entrance to a massage parlor completely with name sign and more details that no one passing on the street would ever see. Customers take off their shoes in front of the shop before entering. Then the touts explain to one of the available staff members what has been agreed upon in Vietnamese. The touts then leave and the customers are led to one of several small cubicles.
Those cubicles contain massage tables and not much else. They are surrounded by a combination of long dark curtains and decaying block walls. The handful of women who work at Emily Spa are surprisingly warm and cheerful despite their day to day drudgery.
