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…
Author: Chami Jotisalikorn
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…
The fantasy island where fish swim above when the meal’s underway – Hurawalhi Maldives Resort
I must confess. I had never been that keen to go to the Maldives until I visited the fabulous, amazing new Hurawalhi Maldives Resort last month. Yes you heard me. And you may wonder- who in their right mind wouldn’t want to go to these jaw-dropping paradise islands? Err … that would be moi. And I had my own reasons….
How to Refresh and Tighten Your Face – Dermaster Aesthetic Clinic, Bangkok
I was feeling blah, achy, and all dried up like a raisin in the sun when I walked into Dermaster Wellness & Aesthetic Institution Bangkok. I was hoping that an anti-ageing treatment at this aesthetic clinic slash medical spa would rejuvenate my complexion and help me look fresher, and, please oh please, maybe even younger….
The Coolest Pool Penthouse in Phuket – Aleenta Resort Phuket, Thailand
What insider insight can I tell you about Phuket, an island so famous, so popular and so commercial that for decades it’s been consistently voted on “World’s Best Islands” lists and whatever other superlatives you can imagine. Well here’s a useful bit of info that might astonish people about this famous island. What most Phuket…
How to Find Bliss in Bhutan – Aman Resorts’ Meditation & Wellness Retreats, September – November
This September – November, luxurious Amankora resorts in the unspoilt Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan offer exclusive wellness experiences to take you on your own inner journeys, while travelling through its elegant lodges around the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Amankora – Meaning of Life Retreat 10th – 18th September If you’ve ever dreamed of an experience that will literally…
6 Unforgettable, Instagrammable, Shareable Things to Do in Bali
I never get tired of visiting Bali, and I go there on a regular basis. Thank goodness for good friends who live there, as well as a growing circle of new friends the more I go there. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s the most charming, inviting, relaxing, and photogenic of places to go…
How to house a Viceroy (what?) – Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel Mysore, India
What do you do when a Viceroy of the British Empire comes visiting? Build him a palace to stay in. I’ve said this before, and I say it again – I love old palace hotels in India. I love the majesty, the history, the crumbling edges, and the slight creepiness of these old buildings. The biggest…
White water rafting where the Ganges is glacial green – Snow Leopard Camp, Rishikesh, India
The Ganges River can surprise you, and I mean in a good way. High in the Himalayan foothills you can play on its aquamarine waters and sleep on its snow-white sand banks. I wasn’t always a luxury spa freak. I’ve always liked adventure travel and exotic places, as long as there’s some hygiene and comfort involved; I like…
