1.
I have always found the concept of the "Asian" massage parlor intriguing. How can a place listed in the yellow pages offering “full service, deep tissue massage – special requests granted” stay in business when this establishment obviously is implying illegal services. Is it that the government doesn’t care? Do they just look the other way? Do they receive kickbacks? I thought I’d do a little social investigating to discover what I can about the illusive Asian massage parlor.
The dry desert air sears my nose and parches the back of my throat as I step out of the conditioned and perfumed casino. I make eye contact with the taxi attendant who immediately asks if I need a cab.
“Yes, a cab for 1,” I reply.
He immediately flags over a sedan and asks where I am headed. I fumble for the right words, and simply reply that I intend to just sight see for a while and that I would work it out with the cabbie. The attendant nods, and opens the door for me as I tip him a dollar.
As the cab door shuts behind me I quickly scan the inside of the cab. Not the cleanest cab in the world but not filthy either. If this is an insight to the cabbie’s persona, he might be the perfect person to guide me on my afternoon quest.
“Where to?” The cabbie asks in an unidentifiable accent.
“Just head down the strip.” I reply.
He confirmed, turned on the meter and drove off, barely missing tourists and other cabs in our way.
I decided to open the line of communication.
“So where are you originally from, your accent sounds Jamaican?”
“No, I am from Ethiopia, but many tourists think my accent is Jamaican. I do not know why. I have never been to Jamaica so I would not know.”
“Where what would you like to see in Las Vegas today?” The cabbie asked.
“I would like to find some place that offers massages.” I told him.
“The casino you just left does massage, most hotels here have a spa.” He said.
“I would like to try a stand alone place, maybe one of the Asian spas.” I replied.
“I know a good place, I will take you there.” He said suggestively as he quickly made a left turn.
This cabbie knew exactly what I was looking for even without me providing specific details. Was I that easy to read? Or, rather, is this kind of thing so common that the cabbies don’t think twice about it. Do the cabbies get a kickback from the recommended spa for bringing business their way?
I wondered these things and many others as the cab whisked me away into the unknown world that I was now headed into.