Extracted from The Star Online, Pampered at the spa in Pangkor Laut Resort
The Star Online, February 5, 2005
| A weekend away at a spa is a luxurious treat, more so when it in Pangkor is the Pangkor Laut Resort’s Spa Village in Perak. TAN LEE KUEN reports. Living in the city, one forgets all too easily that there is such a thing as calm and peace; a time to think things through. Some of us visit day spas for a few hours for some R&R, but nothing beats the luxury of soaking it all in for a couple of days. I’m not one to believe that an expensive resort and a body massage can cure my ills, but this time I was prepared to let go a little and relax. |
Of course, being at the five-star Pangkor Laut Resort helps. This resort, which sits on its own private island, took home the “Number One in the World’’ award at the Conde Nast Traveller UK Readers’ Travel Awards in 2003. The 1.6ha Spa Village was voted best overseas destination spa.
The experience begins as soon as you step off the boat onto the resort’s jetty. It’s remarkably peaceful, and the only sounds you hear are lapping waves, birds and the staff welcoming you. The resort’s extensive grounds meant I required a ride in a van to the spa villa where I was putting up. The spa villas, the resort’s newest, sit over the green waters and are tastefully appointed in wood and rattan. The bathroom is absolutely cavernous, with the reception staff proudly pointing out the overhead rosehead shower over the huge double bathtub. The villa has its own balcony, where I sat and observed the largest jellyfish I had ever seen.
Luxurious though the villas are, I was here to sample the spa treatments of Malaysia, China, India, Japan, Thailand and Bali. I opted for the Malay and Chinese.
The Spa Village is set apart from the main resort and has its own villas, pool and gardens. Set within the lushly landscaped gardens are purpose-built pavilions and huts for treatments and consultations. Little touches like a reflexology pathway, a library cum lounge area, and shady huts for afternoon naps complete the set-up.
View of the Pavilion of the Pangkor Luat Resort's Spa Pavilion
There is a Jamu Bar, which serves a variety of health drinks, breakfast and a small lunch menu. Discussions are underway to introduce a spa cuisine. Pangkor Laut Resort is eager to boost its spa image, and having good health food would definitely be a plus point.
The first day was devoted to Chinese treatments, beginning with tai chi bright and early. Doing tai chi barefoot on grass and by the sea is some experience and I could almost feel the energy flowing through my body.
All guests booked for a massage are invited for a bathhouse ritual – an interesting experience involving the bathing traditions of the Malay, Chinese and Japanese. It starts off with a footbath and a very Chinese practice of foot pounding (usually reserved for favoured concubines and is strangely relaxing), followed by the various baths.
Guests are led through the Malay “circulating‿ bath, harking back to the days when village maidens bathed in streams and rivers. Here it is replicated as a wading pool and gushing water from clay pots. Then it was on to a Japanese-styled cleansing with a goshi-goshi cloth, followed by a dip in the heated Rotenburu pool. It was rounded off with a scrub and a wash-down with buckets of water.
Squeaky clean, I was ready to meet the Chinese consultant, Dr Lee, who was waiting for me at the open-sided healing hut. He bade me sit, offered some tea, and launched his 20 questions: How is my digestion, am I regular, have I any health complaints? He nodded sagely at every turn, then lightly placed his fingers on my left, then right wrist to listen to my pulse.
“Your digestive fire is low,‿ he began, and listened again. “And your lungs are not fully open. Do you hold your breath often?‿ Err, yes, I guess, but not consciously.
“You are not taking in enough oxygen into your body, that is why you feel tired,‿ he continued.
The low-down was that my chi was low. Dr Lee dispensed practical advice like eating regular meals, doing yoga and cutting down on chilli. Then, he sent me off for my treatments in the hands of Joey.
We started with the Gu Fang Xun Shen or ancient body smoking. This entailed Joey holding a bowl of charcoal and Chinese herbs, executing some strange chants, and cupping the smoke against various points in my body like the stomach, back and head. This ritual is supposed to rid the body of negative energies for subsequent treatments to work better; but it was a little too New Age for me. A Chinese massage followed, employing herbs like ginseng, and long, smooth massage strokes so deeply relaxing it put me to sleep.
When I woke up, the facial was over, and Dr Lee was in the room, ready to execute his Tui Na massage. A recent arrival from Beijing, Dr Lee is something of an authority in Tui Na, having practised traditional Chinese medicine for the last 20 years and lectured at a university in Changchun, China.
An ancient practice, Tui Na is used to treat and prevent illness by focusing on the energy meridians. These days, the technique is used in spas in China for relaxation purposes. The pushing, grasping, pulling and kneading actions were surprisingly relaxing, but more importantly, they alleviated aches and pains. I felt lighter and calmer after the massage.
The whole exercise put me in a serene state of mind for the rest of the day, even though I had a cold.
The next day, I bypassed the bathhouse ritual and went straight for my Malay consultation, where I was given a rundown on the treatments. I was to undergo the Royal Secrets of Puteri Lindungan Bulan, a Malay wedding tradition to prep the bride before her big day. This treatment is part of the popular couples’ spa experience – the man goes for the Bukit Gantang Warrior Treatment.
| It is three hours of pampering from head to toe using traditional herbs. The treatment starts with a 75-minute massage using a blend of eucalyptus, coconut oil, citronella and cloves. Traditional Malay massage is very popular for back pains and muscular aches, and concentrates on deep tissue work involving pressing and rolling motions. This is followed by a conditioning hair treatment and a full-body scrub using herbs such as turmeric, galangal and cummin. The therapist then massaged my face with yoghurt and honey. |
I was roused from half-slumber to take an al fresco shower before being led to a bathtub filled with milk, jasmine oil, rose water, kaffir lime and flower petals. A pot of herbal roots and flower bud tonic was laid out in readiness. It was all too hedonistic and I couldn’t stay in the bath for long.
The final part of the treatment (for indeed, there was more) was the scented body steaming. I was zipped into a mini sauna fused with jasmine and rose water, and left to stew for 10 minutes. I was only too glad to escape it, my body flushed a bright red. I was left to slowly regain my senses, a little disoriented from the whole experience.
After two days of total rest and relaxation, I was enveloped by a calm energy. Physically, I never looked better. My skin was glowing with health and my complexion was a rosy pink. Going to the spa for the weekend is a self-indulgent treat. We probably cannot afford it on a regular basis, but as an occasional treat, it’s well worth it.
Click here to make your spa resort reservation at The Spa Village, Pangkor Luat Resort, Malaysia.
For a list of other Pangkor Luat Hotels, click here.