It's Saturday evening and Express Avenue Mall is teeming with people. Noisy kids at Fun City, dreamy-eyed couples, disgruntled college-goers discussing weekend assignments over steaming cups of cappuccino, bags-wielding shopaholics, window shoppers and mall hoppers… It can be quite dizzying.
But, take a turn at this corner on the second floor, and you enter a completely different world at the Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa. A Buddha statue with a blissful expression welcomes you. Calm and bathed in dim purple light, with soothing music and the scent of aroma oils, the spa is inviting. And, surrendering to its charms after all the ambling and shopping is a great idea.
What's interesting is that Kenko is said to be Chennai's first International spa. It is headquartered in Singapore and popular in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. That probably explains the interiors that draw heavily from Oriental influences. Though reflexology is the spa's signature treatment, it also offers head, back, shoulder massages, harmony body massage, ear candling and fish spa. There are separate areas for head massage and foot reflexology and two rooms for body massages.
An aquarium-like apparatus occupies much of the room. It can accommodate around 20 people at a time. You just have to dip your feet in and let the Doctor Fish exfoliate them. “We are strict about hygiene. The water is continuously recycled, is UV sterilised and also passes through carbon, mechanical, ozone and biological filters. And, we also maintain a standard temperature,” says Ajit Menon, COO of Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The quick-fix 20-minute reflexology is gratifying. First, a stop clock is set, and then the masseuse dabs a fistful of powder onto your feet and begins the procedure. She massages the feet's reflex points, helping improve blood circulation. By the end of the treatment, you feel like you are gliding on clouds. And as you leave the spa, you end up sporting the same expression as the Buddha statue.
Kenko Spa is located at S289, Second Floor, Express Avenue
