I recently stumbled upon a great spa blog called Asia's Best Spa and Massage Review. (See blogroll.) The author, Katherine, lives in Singapore and is a wealth of knowledge on the spa scene in Asia. In a recent post she has included a video of a levitating yogi. It's a must see. Go visit her ...
I learned about the two-to-a-room practice while at the Mandala Spa on Boracay. Our little group—three of journalists who had attended the Spa Asia Wellness Summit in Manila—arrived at dusk. On our rickety jipney we turned off the rackety main road to follow the simple sign (see logo, top left) that would lead us to a little piece of paradise—one of many. The grounds were enchanting. The design was so simple that I felt absolutely absorbed into its purity. A lovely woman named Preeti,, all
No, I didn’t complain, and I got into a “thing” about it with a Dutch journalist, MC, who also attended the Summit and who I was spending a few days with. The day before we’d gone to a drop-dead fabulous spa called Tirta, which I’ll talk more about another time. She told me after the massage, having been given forms on which to grade our therapists, she had given hers the lowest rating. She said the therapist was awful because she pulled her hair. (This hair connection is totally
Now that I’ve described my least favorite spa experience while I was in the Philippines, here comes the more difficult task—attempting to pick a favorite, which I already know I cannot do. So maybe let’s go for the second least favorite. Maybe process of elimination is the only way to do this ... At the risk of sounding incorrigibly spoiled by too much of a good thing, I have to tell you that I was not at all impressed with Chi Spa, in the Edsa Shangra-La Hotel. I know, five-star hotel,
My own birthday was on October 10. I spent it at the base of Mt. Pinatubo, a not-much-thought-about volcano until it erupted in the Philippines in 1991, after hundreds of years of slumber. I’d heard about hot springs occurring naturally after the eruption near the crater, and that a spa—called Spa Town—had opened, somewhat making the best of Pinatubo’s ghastly emission, which made the area a ghost town and displaced a local tribe called the Aita. (Though I’m not sure you can displace
There are a few things in life I believe everyone should be able to do and I find it a little disconcerting when I find even young people outsourcing their life with anything from their breakfast, that comes home-delivered to their laundry that’s dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening, to [ ... ] ...
As the spa industry continues in a double-digit growth pattern spa treatments are becoming more and more popular and offer an interesting option for massage therapists who need to expand their service menu.Scrubs, masks, cocoons, wraps, fango packs, glows and polishes, to name a few, are all services that are typically offered at day and [ ... ] ...
Spa treatment design can be improved by taking an environmental and culturally sensitive approach. Many spa treatments include too many exotic ingredients and are drawn from philosophies unrelated to the local requirements.While at least some spa treatments (wraps, scrubs and masks to name the basic protocols) are usually found in a section on the majority [ ... ] ...
Spa Cuisine Helps Detoxify the Body“Spa Cuisine” has fast become an art in of itself ... High end spas now offer their own menu with a skilled chef, offering a detailed dish of Thai spiced chicken and vegetable couscous with tamarind and ginger chutney. Sounds delicious, but is it feasible at home? You may find [ ... ] ...