The 411 on South Bay City Spa

Apparently, there is a spa frequented by many PLUs and this is South Bay City Spa (Friendster, Facebook). This spa is located in Parañaque along MIA Road near Roxas Boulevard. I was first made aware of the potential of this place when I read a comment in Migs’ blog a few years back (which I can’t find now) saying how the commenter had a really great time with another client one Sunday afternoon in the sauna. I made a mental note then to check the place out. Then earlier this year, CC and Lex both blogged about South Bay and those posts pushed me to try the place out.

In my visits to the place, I confirmed what I’ve read and I found out that the appeal of South Bay among PLUs comes in two parts. First is the possibly naughty nature of the massage. And second is how the wet area, which contains the shower cubicles, the steam room, and the sauna, is a really major cruising ground.

Before trying out South Bay, I had only visited a spa or a massage parlor three times. Two of them were at Wensha Pasay, and the other was at Hilom, which I blogged before. I’ve been to South Bay several times now and I must say that my experiences there were much more gratifying than at Wensha or Hilom.

Anyway, the standard massage costs 600 pesos (quite pricey) and is done in the common room pictured above, though with very little lighting (just enough for people to find their way around). You can avail of an executive room but this costs a further 250 pesos. Additionally, you can avail of a 1-year membership for 1,200 pesos and this gives you a discounted massage rate of 360 pesos. They also have this discount card where you can get increasingly bigger discounts with every visit (and the sixth one being free) but I don’t know when or how they give it.

The naughty massages

First off, I have to say that South Bay City Spa is a legitimate co-ed spa. If you want to relax and de-stress and get an honest-to-goodness massage, then South Bay is a good enough place to go. You can go and leave without anything sexual occurring. That said, the male therapists are quite aware that gay men patronize the place and so they discreetly try to satisfy their clients (to the extent possible given the circumstances) in the hopes of getting higher than usual tips.

Before we go any further, I just have to say that on my first visit to South Bay, I personally was surprised to find out that the massage was done while you are naked. In the common massage room. With only white sheets of cloth for cover. My only previous legit spa experience was at Wensha and the massage there was done while you are wearing a supplied pair of shorts for modesty. So getting butt naked in the presence of other clients was a little disconcerting, though thrilling at the same time. Hehehe.

Going back to the naughty masseurs, I’ve experienced them teasingly touch the groin area. While the therapist is massaging your thighs and legs, he sometimes reaches up to your butt crack or touches the perineum area. In a few instances, I was also given the infamous nipple massage, which Lex wrote about in his blog post (but it seems he has edited that out). There is really no therapeutic benefit to massaging the nipples and so this is a clear sign that the masseur is teasing you. And in my last visit, the masseur even briefly caressed my hard dick while massaging my chest and abdomen.

All of my massages thus far have been at the common room. So understandably, I did not get any “extra service” and I wasn’t sure if such things indeed do happen. I tried to get an executive room to find out but I was told that they didn’t have any available at that time. I guess these rooms are quite popular and you need to call them up to get a reservation. And if they’re that popular, then maybe even naughtier things happen? By the way, you can specifically request for a particular masseur if you want.

The cruisy wet area

If extra services or a sexual tease while having a massage is not your thing, then the cruising opportunities at the wet area of South Bay might interest you instead. If you’ve ever done the “dance” in the wet areas of gyms like Fitness First, then the one in South Bay should feel quite familiar. The wet area of South Bay is separated from the locker room via a glass door and it has a sauna, a steam room, a few shower cubicles, a urinal, and two toilets. There is also a jacuzzi there but it’s no longer operational.

I’ve noticed that the sauna there is the most popular place to have encounters and that’s because its location gives ample warning time. The door only has a small window so somebody can stand by it and act as the lookout. Well, the sauna is small enough that the lookout can still get some action! Hehehe.

As for the steam room and the shower cubicles, these two don’t provide as much opportunity as the sauna. The steam room, in particular, is visible from the locker area since its door is just a whole glass pane. Thus, it is not an ideal place to have sexual encounters. However, if the steam becomes thick enough, then some action can be had such as the time when I let this cute guy grope me down there.

Anyway, the most extreme sexual encounter I had at South Bay was when I found myself in a five-man orgy in the sauna. While I was kissing this muscular chinito who’s in his 40s, we were both getting blowjobs from two other guys. The fifth guy acted as the lookout and was jacking off while touching whomever he can. That was such a hot encounter that I’m getting a hard-on while writing about it.

Discreetionary: aquarium

aquarium [a·KWEH·ree·yum] noun 1. a designated room in a gay massage parlor where the masseurs stay, and where the room has a window through which a client views and selects his masseur.

Before coming to Hilom, I’ve only seen a massage parlor aquarium in the movie Masahista (featuring the cute Coco Martin). Heck, that movie was actually my first glimpse of how such gay “spas” operate. I can’t remember anymore where I first encountered the term aquarium but it’s definitely an apt word. The idea of choosing a masseur in a massage parlor is like selecting the fishes you want to eat from a tank in a fresh seafood restaurant. Hehe.

One notable feature of aquariums is that the viewing window is typically one-way: the client can see the masseurs but the boys can’t see the client. I guess this is to preserve the privacy of the client as much as possible. In the movie Heavenly Touch, the viewing window is not realistic simply because the window is two-way. In the particular case of Hilom, their window is actually the aquarium’s glass door.

I guess this aquarium business is one of the minor reasons why I didn’t really enjoy my stay at Hilom. I’m a torpe kind of guy and the idea of me doing the first move (i.e., selecting the guy) is one thing I’m not comfortable in doing, compared to guys simply hitting on me.

Trying out Hilom

Before this year, I had not tried going to a gay massage parlor. But since I see nothing wrong with trying something new that’s relatively harmless (so drugs are a no-no for me), I decided to go to one such place early this year. The lucky spa I chose was Hilom and the choice was because I read the blogs of the two guys that own the place and also because of the heavy promotion by their blogger friends, like Migs, CC and McVie. I was especially sold on the fact that the owners of Hilom tried to position their spa as an upscale version of the seedy places that I see in movies like Masahista.

My verdict? I don’t think I’ll be going back to Hilom anytime soon, or to any other gay massage parlor for that matter. After trying the service, I can tell that gay massage parlors are definitely not for me. If I want to have a massage, I’ll go to the “legitimate” spas instead.

If you’re asking, no, I didn’t avail of the “extra service”. I went to Hilom fully expecting to get a nice massage and maybe just get teased a little bit. The thing is, I find it very uncomfortable mixing money with sex. My personal view of sex is that it is most pleasurable when done between two consenting adults with no contractual obligation of any sort. Payment for sex is an obligation and so, I don’t like that.

My experience in Hilom, at least with the particular masseur I had, was that the massage was rushed and that he was fully expecting to get paid and to do additional service. Instead of haggling for the price of the extra service, we ended up haggling on whether there would be one in the first place with him cajoling me for it and saying that he needed the money among other reasons. I ended up just giving him a very generous tip (considering the forgettable massage that I received).

Furthermore, the managers (I believe they were Derek and Gardo then), performed their duties quite perfunctorily. I didn’t feel as welcome as I would have hoped and this certainly did not help alleviate my discomfort and apprehensions at visiting the place.

As for the facilities, Hilom’s interior decoration was pleasant enough. The shower room though is quite cramped (being under the stairway) and I really don’t like getting a body massage on my belly on a plain mattress: either you tilt your head to one side and possibly strain your neck, or you keep your head straight and suffocate on the pillow.

Have you tried Hilom? I’ve read tons of comments left at Hilom’s website or blog posts about Hilom from people who’ve gone there. The comments are decidedly mixed with some saying they’re looking forward to going back to Hilom after returning to Manila while others criticizing every shortcoming (there’s plenty such negative comments on Migs’ blog post).

Pinoy PLU Signal: Masseurs, Not Masseuses

There’s something really sensual about massages. It’s no wonder then that many PLU people would occasionally, if not regularly, have a massage. There’s actually a whole industry that provides massage services that cater specifically to gay men (these gay massage parlors are often named “spas,” even if there are no actual spas in the premises) and there are even a lot of freelancing masseurs that provide home services. Some local gay indie movies that depict the massage industry include Masahista and Heavenly Touch.

Well, here’s one thing I observed: when getting a massage, gay men generally prefer to have a masseur instead of a masseuse while straight men would prefer masseuses if they can help it. Why? well, if you’re going to have somebody else touch your body all over, then one would prefer to have it done by someone you wouldn’t cringe over because of the intimacy. Of course, men, whether gay or straight, can bend this “convention” to suit their needs. For example, I’ve read of straight men asking for a masseur in order to avoid temptation, or the impression that they’re after the “extra service.”

If you happen to peer inside a common room of a spa and see a man getting a massage from a masseur, chances are that that guy is a PLU. I guess this is why I had an encounter at a “legitimate” spa with another customer. I was sleeping after my massage and woke up to find this other client caressing my body. I’ve noticed him before during my massage (in a common room) and I did not give any hint that I was PLU except that I had a masseur. Go figure.