Japamala

Two weeks ago, I woke up on a Monday morning desperate for a beach holiday without even realising the last holiday we had was my dance tour of the Netherlands last October. So I got to my computer and started Googling places we could go for the weekend. I didn't want to do our usual Port Dickson getaway so I narrowed it down to Pangkor Laut Resort, Tanjong Jara in Trengganu and Japamala in Tioman.

Don't mistake me for a tai tai that only likes to stay in hoity toity places because I am NOT! In fact every holiday we've had since we started travelling together has been a backpacking, rough guide sorta holiday, so don't start judging me! :P

So I did my research, as usual, compared all the prices, packages, photographs and decided that if we going to spend that amount of money, I wanted to spend it on a place that was different. Because we were so last minute we had to drive to Mersing and do the ferries, etc and because dear ol hubby didn't want to waste the day, since there were only 3 ferries from Mersing at 5am, 1pm and 2pm, we left Kuala Lumpur at midnight to catch the first ferry out.

  I was slightly worried about driving so late at night, ok that's an understatement. I was extremely stressed out the entire drive till we reached the jetty. It didn't help that we had to drive over 200km through a FELDA estate in pitch black surroundings, I had so many stupid thoughts playing in my head and I never once looked at the rear view mirror. Who knew what I would've seen?

However, now that we've driven the distance, I now know that it's best to fly! Going there wasn't so much the problem but coming back was a whole journey on its own. It's quite simple getting to Japamala, all you need to do is drive to Mersing, hop onto a Bluewater Express ferry and stop at Kampung Genting and then a boat from the resort will pick you up and bring you to the resort, upon your request of course. 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Now, coming back you'd think that it would be the exact same thing in reverse right? But what happens if the ferry is late? You're then transported from a lush, luxurious resort to the main jetty of Kampung Genting, surrounded by a whole bunch people (the kind that smoke and throw their ciggie butts, twistie packets, etc in the ocean) and sitting in the hot hot sun waiting for a ferry that may never even arrive. WAS.NOT.FUN. 

So trust me, if you want to got to Japamala, please please fly.

We arrived at the resort at 6.30am and it was too dark to see anything. Luckily, our room was available for us so we checked in and slept. Woke up to a beautiful setting and headed to the beach...and had the most beautiful 3 days in a very long time.

The sky on the day we arrived, didn't look too promising but thankfully was
proven wrong.

The ever so popular sea cliff chalet.

Our first sunset here...

Turn down Hershy Chocolates on our pillows...

Where we spent all our days instead of fighting for a cabana because the view was better, easier to jump into the water for snorkelling and where the booze and food was!

All in all Japamala was what we needed to re-connect, rejuvenate and relax. 

www.japamalaresorts.com

The Day Tanamera Buang My Angin

Angin is a completely Asian concept, in the West it literally means gas but in this part of the world angin mean wind in the body and on a spiritual level it means an inherent passion within the soul where if left unfulfilled the spirit becomes weak and susceptible to illnesses, but let's leave that topic for another day.

I can't remember when I developed gastric problems but whenever my tummy was bloated I'd always dab some minyak angin (medicated oil meant to relieve wind) in my belly button and the angin or wind would magically disappear within the next 30 minutes.

Coming from an inter-racial household, I was not too sure whether this was a Chinese thing or an Indian thing to do even though my Chinese maternal grandma did this too all of us even before our severed umbilical cords dropped off. Until one day my husband asked me what in the world I was doing, and I said didn't your mom dab minyak angin in your belly button? I guess it's a Chinese thing because another friend of mine suggested the same method to another friend. Until today I don't know whether it really works or if it's completely psychological.

I'm sure all of us has our own way of dealing with bloating since we ladies feel this way at least every month. So the next time you're feeling yucky and bloated why don't you try out the warming massage treatment at Tanamera spa? I tried it out last Monday at their Sooka Sentral outlet and I must say that it was a wonderful treat. The spa itself is very basic and does not look like much, the staff hardly speaks any english, but the therapist that performed my treatment was very, very good.

I don't visit spas regularly to be honest because I just find it so hard to find therapists who know what they're doing. A lot of times when I go for a scrub or even a foot reflexology session I come out feeling worse than before I went in. I swear by my chiropractor/ acupuncturists from China who know how to make me feel like I'm walking on clouds. I'm no expert at massage or any spa techniques whatsoever but I think that I should feel at ease throughout the treatment and even better the next day!

So back to this warming treatment, they started it off with a 30 minute warming foot massage with ginger oil, which is believed to bring heat to the body and to warm it up. This was then followed by a 30 minute steam to eliminate all the toxins and open up my pores and to get my blood pumping. I've probably been in a steam room like twice in my life so I found the 30 minutes very, very long and uncomfortable. I was sweating bricks but I found it hard to breathe after a while so I opened the door a couple of times to check how much time I had left in the steamer.

After the steam they started the massage, which also worked as an scrub. I was a little worried because I was kinda sun-burnt from my trip to Tioman (will blog about that right after this!) but little did I know it was exactly what I needed. The massage powder was made of a traditional blend of 'warming' herbs, ginger, nutmeg and clove. Allow me to digress a bit, Asians believe that a healthy body is one, which has its hot and cold elements in perfect harmony. The Chinese symbolise this harmony with a very well-known symbol:

So when one falls ill, it's believed that one of your elements if out of whack. Coughs and colds mean that your body needs more heaty items like ginger or rice wine (alcohol is believed to be very heaty) and fevers and ulcers mean that you need to eat more watermelon, cucumbers and coconut water. Have you noticed that during Durian season Mangosteens are always sold as well? This is to counteract the heatiness from the Durian. Haven't you heard the myth that you can die from mixing Durian with alcohol? It's mainly because the two things are extremely heaty.

Back on track, so besides the heating elements in the massage powder, it was also combined with tumeric, cinnamon and other things to help smoothen and clear the skin and even out skin tone. After the massage/ scrub, which just to warn you is made up of occasional slaps and pinches (to break up the fats and cellulite, or so they say) they lead you into the shower and wash off the massage powder with a concoction that rinses off the oil as well.The treatment on the website says that my bath was supposed to be followed by a lotioning session but I didn't get it. However, I didn't feel cheated at all because I left feeling like a brand new person. 

Besides body treatments, Tanamera Spa also offer facials, hair treatments and even post natal sessions. They're completely affordable and I think if you have some time on your hands and would like to try out something completely authentic and tradition, I would strongly suggest to try out one of their sessions at one of their many branches.

For more information you may check out their website,

http://www.tanameraspa.com.my

Want to experience Tanamera hospitality? Come join us at Tanamera Day this Sunday, 25th March at Central Market. I hear free products will be given out if you're early!

Celebrate Tanamera Day!

A friend of mine who also happens to be a veteran in the spa industry gave me a body scrub as a Christmas gift while she stayed with me in Bangkok over the holidays. She said that I had to try it out as it was amaze-balls! So I tried it without any expectations, I mean a scrub is a scrub right? But you have no idea how magical my shower experience was. The scrub not only left my skin silky smooth but even after I washed it off there was this wonderful layer of oil (in a totally non-grimy kinda way) that stayed on my skin, which meant that I didn't have to moisturise after. I immediately googled the product and it states that it is 70% organic and the rest completely natural, it uses water soluble oil which doesn't clog drains and lastly it's meant to be used after soaping so you don't get rid of the oil barrier.

It's been 5 years since then and I still remember Tanamera's Organic Brown Sugar Scrub. 

So naturally (PUN intended!), I was more than excited when they called me out to try out their spa. As I eagerly await my treatment this Monday I shall leave you with a sneak preview of their upcoming event, Tanamera Day!

Watch this space to see how my treatment went!