Massage service goes online for real business

“Huong, a home masseuse, with attractive appearance, 1.62m tall, weighing 52kg, understanding people, expecting to be a friend of older men who are serious and like massage.”

Surfing local Vietnamese websites, one can easily find many advertisements like the one above, offering door-to-door female massage services. The information provided often includes a phone number for contact, and more often than not, a description about her physical attractiveness and pleasing personality.

Massage, the ancient art of kneading and touching to promote relaxation and well-being, has gone online, seeking to meet the needs of an untapped, undeveloped market segment.

Massage: extra service anyone?

A masseuse offering home service via text message

When we called a masseuse on her contact number, we immediately received a message on our cell phone: “I’m Xuan, 20 years old, doing the relaxing massage for VND500,000/hour.” We sent her a message asking how she would massage and got her reply: “20-year-old little Xuan performs massage from A to Z.”

If you are not familiar with this special vernacular commonly used in the flesh trade in Vietnam, A represents the basic standard service in any catering profession, while Z implies the illegal act of sexual engagement in return for money.

When we called D., another “home masseuse,” she replied: “The ordinary massage price is VND500,000/hour; if you want to go to Z, that costs you one million; for an overnight session, the price is one and a half million. Sleep on it and let me know! Tell me your place and I’ll come.”

Earlier in March this year, we met M., an avid customer of home massage, to learn more about this type of service.

M. phoned D., a home masseuse, and received her message saying she would arrive in 30 minutes. She came on time – a girl about 22 years old and a bit fat.

Seeing her appearance not fitting the description she gave online, M. refused her service and handed her a VND200,000 banknote as payment for the cost of gasoline she paid to get to his place.

After she left, M. called T., another masseuse, who, by her appearance, looked about 21 and was simply attired. He paid VND700,000 for her service.

Home massage, M. said, is very attractive and consists of many steps: entering the room, saying greetings, bathing together, massaging, and going to Z (having sex).

Masseuse cum thief

N., a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, hired the same girl to massage him at his home and tipped her VND100,000-200,000 for each visit.

What he did not realize is that she had been watching his every movement and studying his house. Once, he felt asleep during the massage and woke up finding all his savings and valuables were gone. He went to find her at the given address but found it belonged to someone else.

Like N., many clients were careless and became victims of swindlers and thieves operating the mask of “home massage.”

But not everything is bad about home massage.

Ngan, a mobile masseuse who lives on Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, says, “I like to work as a home masseuse because I can control my time and take care of the family while my husband is at work during the day.”

Clients of this service, too, can save time and money as they can stay home to enjoy the service. Ha, 24, a construction engineer, says, “I need someone to give me a massage at my home, for I am very tired after working eight hours a day. I don’t want to go far out of my way after work for the service!” 

Another person with the nickname TuTu admits on a website forum: “Sometimes I’m very tired but I am lazy and don’t want to go out for the massage. I only want someone to serve me at home. I don’t care about the price.”

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam