When the stress levels are rising, what's a girl to do but submit to a week of indulgence in a sanctuary devoted to wellbeing, writes Harriet Upjohn.
WITHIN hours of arriving at Kamalaya, my furrowed brow gives the game away. Noting that a suitcase is probably not the only baggage I've brought with me, the naturopath concludes after a chat and an initial health check that, while I am in generally good shape, my anxiety levels are, well, a worry.
And she's right. A harrowing round of redundancies at work, the almost daily challenge of keeping two teenage boys on the right track and the constant worry about elderly parents on the other side of the world have taken their toll. So
I am hoping that a week at this holistic wellness sanctuary on the southern tip of Koh Samui in Thailand could be just what the doctor ordered.
As luck would have it, instead of the detox I was expecting - and which so many people come here for - I am put on a stress-busting program called Asian Bliss. It seems that I can look forward to a week of indulgence combining Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and Thai therapies including reiki, acupuncture and at least six different kinds of massage.
What's more, none of Kamalaya's creative but healthy cuisine is going to be off-limits. A quick squiz at the lunch and dinner menus makes me smile as I recall my mum's dire prediction that I'll be served nothing but steamed turnips and couch grass juice. No, this week I'm going to be working my way through a tantalising array of health-boosting yet divine-looking and delicious Asian-inspired dishes as well as dozens of exotic fruit and vegetable juices.
Feeling chuffed at the prospect of all the treats in store, I wander down to the cafe near the beach for a spot of lunch. I settle into a little wooden pavilion overlooking a series of pools and order a banana flower salad and fresh coconut juice.
I watch, entranced, as dragonflies dart around the plants in a lily pond.
A hummingbird hovers among the hibiscus flowers and butterflies drift lazily by. Just beyond is a secluded stretch of sand and turquoise lagoon dotted with granite boulders. Next to the pond, a bougainvillea drops its crimson petals into the crystal waters of a swimming pool with a cave and waterfall. I can feel my shoulders dropping already.
Later that afternoon I head up to the wellness centre and slip into the Kamalaya pampering gear - a flowing orange sarong - in preparation for my first prescribed treatment, a 90-minute Thai massage in an open-sided pavilion high up on the hill. Afterwards,
I emerge into the dusk and float on a little cloud down the winding path back to my room, pausing for a while to look at the spectacular coastal vista. I sit and watch as dragonflies perform again with the now midnight-blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand and distant islands forming a dramatic backdrop.
There's a kind of pre-storm stillness, the silence pierced only by the far-off bellow of a water buffalo and occasional rumble of thunder out to sea.
Here, among the tropical flowers, trees and giant boulders around which Kamalaya has been created, there's a palpable spiritual energy. Perhaps this is because at the heart of the site is a centuries-old monks' cave, which guests now use for meditation. Inside, I am intrigued to find a collection of little wooden boats and cigars among the incense and offerings on the shrine. Apparently one of the last monks to live here was a keen sailor who didn't mind the odd cigar.
Like many, I've come to Kamalaya solo, not sure what to expect or how it will feel being here on my own. But I am relieved to find a welcome friend in solitude and the stillness of mind that comes with it.
Simply being here in this garden oasis, drifting from pool to beach, lounging in the mosaic-walled steam cavern and cliff-top plunge pools, joining fitness and yoga classes, having blissful massages and eating really healthily might seem like enough to reinvigorate and refresh.
But Kamalaya aims to go deeper than that and, as I discover after talking to a few of the guests, its integrated wellness approach can have a profound effect. I meet a ballerina on a stress and burnout program whose traumatic tale sounds like something out of the ballet thriller Black Swan. Close to tears, she tells me how Kamalaya has done for her what countless psychologists couldn't and turned her life around.
Clearly, none of this would be possible without the right people. The caring ethic of Kamalaya's founders, Karina and John Stewart, pervades, filtering down through everyone from management, medical specialists and therapists to kitchen staff and gardeners.
All are encouraged to practise what Kamalaya preaches and it shows. As one guest so aptly put it, "Everyone here makes you feel so loved."
Guests, a roughly equal mix of men and women, range from high-octane types worn out from burning the candle at both ends, to those simply wanting a healthy break. As the week wears on I pal up with a few girls, including an expat from Kabul having some respite from life in a war zone, another expat from Dubai and a Peruvian investment banker.
When our different schedules allow, we try to dine together. While I find I have been quite comfortable sitting and eating alone, as most here seem to do, it is a good feeling to join my new friends for dinner around the communal table.
Like me, all have come here alone and between them they illustrate perfectly some of the different reasons people come to Kamalaya. Miss Dubai is detoxing, Miss Kabul is on an ideal weight program and Miss Peru is going for optimal fitness. Not surprisingly, they all hate me when they hear about my Asian Bliss schedule. For Miss Dubai, in particular, sitting next to me at dinner is torture because, despite the ultra-healthy dishes on offer, there are plenty her detox doesn't allow. So she takes delight in giving me a detailed account of her colonic hydration while I'm trying to eat my wild salmon sashimi. She also knows she will get the last laugh ... the radiance and vitality of those who've just done the Kamalaya detox have to be seen to be believed.
But while many leave here looking and feeling transformed, it is no boot camp and I am relieved to find that, although my program has specific inclusions, nothing is set in stone. It is no problem when I ask if I can swap a couple of suggested therapies for alternatives. And although most people are here to do a specific program, this is not essential. Those wanting complete flexibility can book an accommodation-only package, signing up for any treatments they fancy on an a la carte basis.
By my last day, the evidence of a week's pampering and healthy indulgence stares back at me from the mirror. My eyes are bright, my skin is glowing and I am feeling not just relaxed and extremely well but somehow re-inspired.
As it turns out, my new super-healthy, laid-back state is put to the test sooner than I would have liked. The flight back from Bangkok is chockers and not only do I not get the seat I'd requested but find myself jammed between two large, none-too-fragrant men who hog both my armrests. Nine hours stuck like this would normally be classic meltdown territory for me but
I amaze myself by managing to stay calm. It seems the Kamalaya effect is working a treat already.
The writer was a guest of Kamalaya.
Getting there
Qantas flies daily from Sydney to Bangkok, from $1044 return. 13 13 13, qantas.com.au.
Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok to Koh Samui (one-hour flight) from 6120 baht ($192) return, bangkokair.com.
Staying there
Seven-night Asian Bliss package from 105,200 baht (single occupancy). Includes all meals, body bio-impedance analysis, wellness consultation, massages/treatments and Koh Samui airport transfers.
Accommodation-only rates from 6500 baht a night include initial wellness consultation, use of steam cavern, swimming pool, plunge pools and fitness centre and access to scheduled holistic fitness activities (meals, airport transfers excluded).
There are nine different options ranging from Hillside rooms to Sea View suites and sprawling villas, going right up to the one to die for — a secluded two-bedroom beachfront pool villa.
kamalaya.com.
For late-night arrivals into Bangkok, the four-star Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel is well worth considering, especially for those with onward flights early the next day. An easy 10-minute walk from the international terminal (there is also a 24-hour free shuttle bus service), it is surprisingly glitzy with a sweeping marble lobby, four restaurants, two bars, fitness centre and an outdoor pool set among lush, tropical gardens. Even standard rooms are modern, spacious and, most importantly, whisper-quiet ... not what you'd expect a hop, skip and a jump from the airport. Superior rooms from $158 a night. novotelairportbkk.com
