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Thai me up, Thai me down
An American discovers a recipe for relaxation
on the world's favorite Thai island
On the pristine white sand beaches of Ko Samui, Thailand's
third-largest island, locals have set up veritable seaside
spas. Wooden boards advertise Thai massage, pedicures, manicures
and hair braiding ? la Bo Derek, all for about $5 a pop. The
people who run these makeshift pleasure stations are rarely
bored, as there are always plenty of slippery wet tourists
looking for a treat as they emerge from the clear, turquoise
gulf waters.
Though the quality of impromptu beach beauty treatments,
especially on Chaweng Beach, is surprisingly good, there's
just one drawback - not quite out of earshot is the island's
main shopping strip, full of motorbikes and vendors peddling
Thai silks and knock-off designer bags. The majority of shopkeepers
have decided that cranking bass-pumpin', throwaway pop is
the best way to get noticed, which results in fierce volume
wars between neighboring vendors.
But at Tamarind Retreat, just up the serpentine coast from
Chaweng Beach, the atmosphere is decidedly less frenetic.
A five-minute walk from the main road, through a trail cut
between dense coconut palm groves, leads to the quiet open-air
reception hut of the retreat, an extraordinary island hideaway
and day spa.
A Thai woman who hands me a refreshing herbal drink and island-print
sarongs to change into greets me warmly. Despite having spent
the past several years covering fashion, I fumble with the
sarongs, feeling like an island-wear virgin. Finally, I emerge
from the dressing room to be led by the elbow (probably because
I kept slipping) up the hill to the retreat's most striking
feature: the impossibly cool Thai herbal steam bath.
Nestled between two mammoth prehistoric boulders, the steam
room experience is part sweat lodge, part Clan of the Cave
Bear. Beams of light filtered through the round, frosted glass
windows illuminate miniscule air particles. The scent of fresh
and dried Thai herbs and essential oils fills my lungs - prai
(ginger relative), bergamot lime, turmeric, lemongrass and
leaves of the camphor and tamarind tree. I lie down on the
bench, expecting a hunched-back medicine woman will step in
and tie an herb poultice around my neck at any moment.
The reality isn't that far off. The Thai herbal steam bath
is an age-old tradition, which, like Thai massage, is a healing
discipline that has been passed down through generations of
skilled temple practitioners.
"I fell in love with herbal steam saunas when I arrived in
Thailand," says Shelley Poplak, managing partner at Tamarind
retreat. "I loved the combination of steam and heat, with
the incredible invigorating effects of the herbs."
Poplak, a South African native, moved to Ko Samui to try
her hand at a new career after tiring of the media world.
"It was the first time in my life I felt I could try and
do something creative," she says, "and I only had the vaguest
idea of creating a steam room in a nice garden. The project
took on its own life and became more exciting and much bigger
than anything I'd imagined."
Tamarind Springs, as it was originally named, opened in August
1998, with Poplak and two other partners: Jeffrey Lord now
a chef at Betelnut, his own restaurant on Ko Samui, and Detlef
Dirksen, one of the current business partners and the designer
of Tamarind Retreat." Dirksen and another partner originally
opened Tamarind Hill, a luxury getaway, to which the spa was
later added.
Now both guesthouses and spa have combined forces to create
a brand new entity called Tamarind Retreat, which covers both
the spa activities and accommodations. There are 10 fully
furnished luxury homes on the property. Guests staying at
Tamarind Retreat receive spa privileges, free packages and
other goodies. But while a stay at Tamarind retreat is definitely
a fantastic treat, you don't have to overnight there to enjoy
the benefits of the spa.
All of this is part of a master plan to help people get away
from the "wild commercialism and over-stimulation of their
lives," says Poplak, who studied in Chiang Mai with an herbalist,
and devoured as much literature as she could get her hands
on before opening.
All the products used at the retreat are gathered and made
locally. And forget the extensive spa menu full of mind-boggling
treatments worthy of their own glossary. At the retreat there
are no manicures, pedicures or substances with toxic smells
- only intoxicating scents. Things are kept simple: the steam,
several different massages - from Thai full-body to foot -
and a facial.
I choose the Divine decadence package, which consists of
an herbal steam, 90 minutes of the relaxation massage, a Prai
facial and the Wild Mint foot massage. Who says beauty doesn't
come cheap? The entire package was a shockingly reasonable
540 baht ($13).
The price may be inexpensive, but the treatments are pure
extravagance. All of the massages take place in the sala,
an octagonal, open-air rotunda located just up the hill from
the herbal steam. Coconut palms sway back and forth. Exotic
bird species chirp. Soothing music is piped in. And one's
legs, as I observe from the veritable pretzels lying around
me, are lifted and twisted into positions that are typically
reserved for wild bedroom romps. Welcome to the Thai massage.
Thai massage is a mix of acupressure, chiropractic manipulation
and Swedish technique. Many of the twists and stretches are
similar to yoga postures, and the massage is actually considered
by many to be a gentle workout. The relaxation massage that
I opt for, however, combines Thai massage with Swedish and
soft-tissue techniques, and uses oil.
When the relaxation massage is over, my therapist helps me
re-tie my sarong - which is used as a covering sheet during
the massage - and leads me to one of the antique planter's
chairs for the Wild Mint Foot Massage. This massage incorporates
wild mint oil and reflexology techniques, which practically
lull me into a gurgling stupor.
Poplak loves nothing more than to see her guests emerging
speechless and tranquil from their treatments.
"There's a fantastic tradition of massage in Thailand, and
we've taken experienced massage therapists and trained them.
It's really a marriage of East and West in that we use their
traditional techniques of acupressure and manipulations, but
also focus on deep tissue techniques, especially for those
tight neck and shoulders areas that we all suffer from as
drivers or computer operators."
Americans have long regarded massage and steam baths as a
luxury, not a component to keeping fit. Not so in much of
Europe and Asia. The tradition is so strong in Thailand that
there was actually an official massage division at the Ministry
of Public Health (Washington, are you listening?), from the
14th Century until the early 1900s. It has since been transferred
to Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok, the primary destination in Bangkok
to learn Thai massage.
Poplak loves the natural approach to Thai massage in Thailand
and the way it's integrated into daily life for all economic
backgrounds.
"It just seems to make common sense to practice massage instead
of regarding it as some deeply spiritual or shamefully indulgent
activity," says Poplak. "It's like eating well, or sleeping
well - part of balancing yourself and keeping fit."
Shamefully indulgent it definitely isn't. Sumptuous it is.
I guarantee that this haven won't be kept secret for long,
though.
Poplak says that they definitely have plans for expansion,
though she won't say exactly how just yet. There is one thing
that Poplak says she can promise: "I know we won't go hi-tech."
Amen. |
