Where it comes from
Massage has been sold beside harbours for as long as there have been harbours, and every port city has had its own vocabulary for it. What varies is the plainness of the words. Bangkok wrapped the trade in spa language and other capitals in classified-ad code, while Amsterdam, which decided centuries ago that saying a thing openly causes less trouble than hinting at it, has always preferred plain names on a menu. This page inherits that habit, and guests tell us the plainness is half the relief.