I have been flown overseas before, once to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and twice to Paris, France and once to Vietnam from Vermont, the US. However, it was easier to just book a flight and hotels and go back then because I was by myself. These days, whenever I travel over night, I need to bring my daughter and a nanny- her grandmother. Costs started to double and will triple when my daughter is a bit older, but hopefully by the time she is old enough to attend kindergarden full time; I would be able to fly solo again for work. Before Covid, my clients’ businesses were good; they could just put me in a hotel for at least 4 days, pay for my transport both ways and give me some allowance for each day that I ddn’t work. Now it is a bit different, flights are more expensive and one could not simply shoulder the costs alone. My regular French client was tempted to fly me to Cambodia many times but he couldn’t justify flying my mom and my daughter. Luckily, on a beautiful day, I received an email from a Cambodian client . He was cleaning up some space in his email and he saw his previous correspondence with me back in 2019. 5 years ago, he bought a royal package which took 3 days to finish. A few months later, he then visited HCMC for a conference and had another massage session with me. We both reminisced our sessions and he wondered if I would ever visit Phnom Penh again so he could do a similar package, but since his business has been slow; he couldn’t afford to fly two people and foot the hotel bill all over again. I tentatively told him if he would consider a joint effort to bring me to Cambodia. He agreed. The only thing I had to do was to talk to my regular French client if he entertained the idea. And I got a go ahead. So we hatched out a plan among 3 of us with me as a liasion. The plan was like this: each client would pay for one round trip ticket and the French client would pay for the hotel while the Cambodian client pay for transport and a room for his session with me at a nearby hotel. I went on and booked flights and the same hotel- Katari- where I stayed last time, which is 8 minutes’ walk from the former and within a close porximity to the latter’s shop. However, a few days later, my French client decided to upgrade my hotel to a garden resort-the same one where he is a regular guest because according to him, his schedule would be tight those days to arrange logistics to meet me. When I tried to book the hotel myself on Agoda, I couldn’t because it was all sold out. My client had to pull some strings to get me a nice room; mine was on the first floor and his on the second. I updated the Cambodian about the changes in our plan without forgeting to tell him that the hotel was fully booked. At first, he wanted to book the cheapeast room in the hotel and save me a walk to anywhere. On hearing that the hotel wouldn’t have any more vacancies, he assured me that he would find one close by. Apparently, the hotel rooms are only sold out for people with children; for others, there are always options. To my surprise, my Cambodian client booked a double room and he was assigned a room right next to mine. All I had to do was to wait for him to check in and the housekeeping staff to finish cleaning my room then walked over and knocked on his door. He booked a 90 minute massage- my specialty- the one that people are willing to fly me half around the world to get. I asked for his feedback after the session was over. He said it was different and much better, just what I expected and wanted to hear because all of my energy was channelled to him. He hadn’t had it for a long time and I didn’t give this special massage to new clients for a while. There was more moves that he could ever imagine and I felt like I was a snake slithering my hands and feet on his body. All the sexual energy that I accumulated for months was finally released on him. He checked out as quickly as he checked in to the staff’s amazement since it wasn’t a cheap hotel. We exchanged words before parting company. I flew in on Sun and expected to have my first massage with the Cambodian client on Mon and dined with the French client the same evening and maybe a massage that night or Tue morning. During dinner, my client broke the news that he had adhesive shoulders and it would be best to wait till the next morning. However, the next day, he was called away for a meeting with his client and a VIP; therefore, he wouldn’t return on time for our session and told me not to wait for him. I checked out on Wed evening. Although I did not give massages to both clients, it was a wonderful work-staycation. Thanks to the French client, I got to know a hotel whose staff and services are excellent. The owner- a Japanese and his staff would come to greet you personally and see you off at the door when you leave. He would talk to guests every morning when he sees them at breakfast and offers advice when asked. The hotel has a wonderful chef and a nice a la carte breakfast menu. The food was amazing and the price was very reasonable. I had a toddler and an old mother with me, so it was breakfast, lunch and dinner in the room. The staff would come back and forth to bring us extra food, utensils, collect dishes and bring us water at one point, for the pipe was broken somewhere, which affected the premises, always with smiles on. Their services are comparable with those of Swiss hotel resorts. I feel blessed for having met such people like the owner and his staff and above all, my clients. I am grateful to my job for the opportunity to meet with wonderful people. I am not sure if my services only attract nice people or I am lucky that only nice pople that have come to me. Either way, I know I bring values to their life and year after year, if they can, they always come back.
