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How to Take a Luxe Maldives Wellness Break This March (and Get 35% Off!)
How’d you like some calming yoga and meditation on a white sand bank, amidst a crystal-clear turquoise lagoon? … a soothing massage while drowsing off above aquamarine waters? … or out-of-this-world Full Moon Glow-in-the-Dark Yoga under the ocean stars? … It’s all yours at this one-off wellness getaway in the Maldives this March. Wellness is…
On a Southern Thai Island, Classic Luxury with a Jurassic Twist – Pimalai Resort & Spa, Koh Lanta
Very recently, on an island not far away, a tired city girl was happy to escape Bangkok for the first time in over a year. Released from the border lockdown, many people here had rushed to Europe (so easy to get into!) and all returned infected with Covid (and therefore straight back into quarantine). But…
Pot Luck: A Cannabis Massage at Anantara Siam Spa Bangkok That Helps You Sleep
Medical marijuana is a hot trend in Thailand, now that the government has declared it legal. Some entrepreneur friends have even started their own medical ganja farm. How clever is that! Not to mention a bit amazing, because these folks are the most conservative, inside-the-box, stay-in-your-lane people I know. They would never smoke. They don’t…
Do Your Island Math: Luxury Secret Garden + Private Beach = Four Seasons Koh Samui
We’re in the throes of a weird Covid third wave, raging full-throttle in Bangkok. WFH is back in place, schools are closed, and pink Food Panda deliveries are the main sign of traffic on empty city streets. But let’s rewind to a few short weeks ago, so I can cling to the memories of my…
An Afternoon Tea Tree Indulgence at the Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok
It’s mid-afternoon, mid-week, and the mood is lively in the lobby of the new Sindhorn Kempinski Bangkok. You’d never guess the hotel only officially opened on October 1st, in the middle of a Covid border lockdown, judging from the energy in its elegant, cavernous lobby. A low murmur of polite chatter and the occasional clink…
Dining High at King Power Mahanakhon Bangkok SkyBar & SkyWalk
Architects must get huge job satisfaction, I think, when I stand at the entrance of the King Power Mahanakhon building in Bangkok. It must be so fulfilling to see your work actualized from an idea in your head to a real-life steel and glass structure. It must be even more satisfying when that creation becomes…
Where Vietnamese Heritage and Modern Monk Wisdom Meet – Four Seasons Hoi An
Historic Hoi An, the Vietnamese town famed for its 300-plus tailor shops, had hovered on the fringes of my awareness for years. It’s been there for centuries, but was the type of secondary destination you’d tag on to a bigger one, like Ho Chi Minh City. So when direct flights between its sister city Danang…
A Thai Island Escape Where Bigger is Better – Ritz Carlton Samui
As I’ve mentioned before, word of mouth is a powerful thing. At lunch recently a friend mentioned her stay at the Ritz Carlton Samui, and what I remember from her enthusiastic convo was Big! Big! Big! and New! New! New! Oooooh. Words that stuck like hooks and reeled me in. All this bigness and newness…
Where Singapore’s Old and New Chinatowns Meet – The Six Senses Maxwell
I’m just a visitor, but there seems to be two Chinatowns in Singapore – hip new Chinatown where curlicued old mom ’n pop shophouses have gentrified into trendy cafes, bars, shops, salons, and yoga studios on one side of the Maxwell Road intersection, while on the other side lies the majestic Kwan Im Goddess of…
Enchanted Rainy Day Hideaway – Keemala Phuket
Rain was lashing against the airplane window as we landed in Phuket and I was taken aback. It had never occurred to me that it might be raining during my island getaway at Keemala Phuket resort. It was June – still the soft launch of rainy season in Thailand, and not the real, heavy flood…
Feeling Hong Kong’s heart through art, cuisine & spa – The Cordis Hong Kong
Hong Kong is so exciting to visit. Such a throbbing place! Everything comes at you from all directions, all at once. It’s sensory overload 24/7. You stumble around in a semi-dazed state from trying to block it all out and take it all in at the same time. It keeps you on your toes,…
The most happiest vegan weight-loss fitness holiday in Asia – Phuket Cleanse, Thailand
Word-of-mouth is often the best way to hear about new places, especially from someone with firsthand experience. And that’s what led me to Phuket Cleanse, a boutique wellness retreat on the southernmost tip of Phuket. A couple of years earlier I’d seen promotional email flyers in my inbox from Phuket Cleanse, which to be honest,…
How to lose fat and gain muscle on holiday in Thailand – Thanyapura Phuket Health & Sports Resort
Thanyapura Phuket sports resort scared me big time when I first heard about it. All those website photos of triathlon and marathon training, Olympic pools and running tracks filled with teams vying for Olympic medals terrified someone like me, whose favourite activities are yoga and reading books, preferably while lying down. I’d rather stand on…
How holistic therapies helped me at 137 Pillars Bangkok’s Season of Wellness
I was suffering from chronic shoulder and neck pain when I walked into 137 Pillars Bangkok’s Nitra Spa to see one of the visiting wellness practitioners at their Season of Wellness, a three-month wellness festival featuring visiting holistic healing gurus from around Asia. The Season of Wellness was initiated to support the lifestyle needs of…
How I went from flab to fit in one week – Absolute Sanctuary, Koh Samui
It was May by the time I realized it had happened again. As usual, my new year’s health goal was to get fit and lose weight, starting from day one of January. Did that happen? No. Of course this sort of thing doesn’t happen by itself. I meant to go off to a fitness retreat…
Heritage Hip in China’s Panda City – Temple House Chengdu
It seems obvious to choose Shanghai or Beijing for a first visit to China. I would have done that too, but the minute I heard the words “panda city”, I was headed to Chengdu. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Chengdu was at first, but who cares, when the city is the official panda center…
10 Top Wellness, Detox, Yoga, Health & Fitness Destinations in Asia for 2018
Did your New Year’s resolutions include lose weight and get fit? The easiest way to do this is to go on a health holiday where the whole stay is devoted to improving your health, nutrition, and wellness in a relaxing, supportive environment. As a spa book author, wellness journalist and a judge for the regional AsiaSpa Awards, I’ve been…
Where to get the best sleep therapy – 137 Pillars Bangkok’s Nitra Spa
Forget Bangkok’s big, big night life scene for one night. This powerful new holistic spa treatment calms and rewires your whole body and brain for a refreshing, restorative, real night’s sleep. I’m the kind of person who can sleep anywhere – airplanes, desks, cars, restaurants. This is partly because I’m the size of a pocket monster and can easily curl into my own…
Where to join Asia’s grandest Elephant Polo Tournament – Anantara Riverside Bangkok
King’s Cup Elephant Polo 8-11 March, 2018 Never heard of elephant polo? Yes it’s for real and there’s even an annual Asian elephant polo circuit with the grandest and most extravagant bash held in Bangkok, Thailand with all the high society glamour and luxury sponsors as any horse polo tournament. Thailand’s 16th annual King’s Cup Elephant…
LUXURY VILLA FOR SALE ON PARADISE ISLAND – KOH SAMUI THAILAND
Imagine waking up and going to sleep to this view every day… Holiday home, retirement retreat, or rental property – Frederique’s villa is an outstanding investment. Frederique’s stunning villa is located on Koh Samui Island off the Southern Thailand coast in the Gulf of Thailand. Built in tropical style that merges indoor with outdoor living,…
How to stay in a palace at the Rishikesh International Yoga Festival – Ananda in the Himalayas India
70 Spiritual Leaders | 100 Countries | 150 Sessions The International Yoga Festival, 1-7 March, 2018 It’s time to head to Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, the home of the ancient yogis, sages and seers. Every year the riverside town of Rishikesh in the cool Himalayan foothills hosts the International Yoga Festival with more people…
A hotel where Malaysia’s Chinese heritage lives on – the Blue Mansion Penang
I always forget I’ve been to Malaysia because I haven’t been to Kuala Lumpur. But then I remember I’ve been to Penang and stayed at a historic hotel that isn’t easy to forget at all. The Blue Mansion Penang is an unusual boutique hotel with its own unique heritage and even Hollywood movie credits. An…
4 Best Anti-Ageing Beauty Treatments in Bangkok
Thailand is called Asia’s spa capital for good reason, and Bangkok is a haven for medi-spas and aesthetic centers offering the latest and best beauty treatments. You don’t need to go as far as a face lift or even botox to refresh your look any more. There are so many other anti-ageing beauty treatments to reboot your…
Where sun, sea, and sound healing meet – Duniye Spa at Hurawalhi Maldives
I was checking my mail while waking up in the fluffy bed in my beach villa at Hurawalhi Maldives when the news came that Hurawalhi had won Romantic Hotel/Resort of the Year at the AsiaSpa Awards in Hong Kong the previous night. As a long-time judge for these annual regional awards, I‘d been invited to…
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