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The global fashion magazine September 04, 2011

feature

Thais that bindThough Phuket and Chiang Mai are Thailand’s most famous destinations outside Bangkok,

roads less travelled lead to unexpected discoveries, including the wellness-driven resort Chiva

Som

by Elyse Glickman Part 1: Bangkok ALONG THE GULF OF THAILAND, 185 km southof Bangkok, the village of Hua Hin offers a glimpseinto Thailand’s early days of destination tourism.Thanks to the efforts of King Rama VII during the1920s, the resort community took shape in a way thatcontrasts with the rapid and relatively recentdevelopment of Phuket and similar spots, its designreflecting the respect for natural landscape and localcustoms rather than mass-produced tourism.

While not as flashy as its newer cousins, Hua Hinhas authenticity in its favour, offering a sense that realpeople live and work there beyond the industry oftourism. At one end of a locally populated beach withsand that feels like powdered sugar, one will findMonkey Island, an area streaked with hiking trails thatlead up to a Buddha and temple alive with playfulpopulations of the namesake creatures. The SofitelCentara Grand Resort and Villas, said to havelaunched Hua Hin as a resort area internationally,offers one of the area’s best high tea services, goodfor relaxing in the evening after an eventful dayexploring everything the area has to offer.

Downtown Hua Hin bustles after hours with itsown night market. Carpeting several downtownblocks with street food indulgences, inexpensive

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souvenirs and rolling cocktail bars, interesting buriedtreasures can also be found in the mix. FindingShoes, a delightful shop which carries inexpensive butbeautifully made leather sandals with floral cutouts, isworth a peek. Twenty minutes in the other direction,there’s the unique Cicada Market, an upscalealternative to the traditional Asian night market thatstages only on weekends. Selection of goods featureshandcrafted jewellery, shoes, home textiles, clothingand objets d’art, all sold by their creators in a tidy mazeof open air boutiques alongside live jazzperformances and a neatly organized restaurant areawith proper tables and chairs.

If visitors need a break from all the shopping,Chiva Som, one of Southeast Asia’s most respectedspa and wellness resorts, lies at the heart of this oasis.There is no question that Chiva Som is a luxuryresort, any doubts quenched by the nicely stockedMercedes limo that collects guests from the airport ortheir Bangkok hotel. While the resort looksdeceptively compact at first glance, it opens out, like alotus blossom, embracing visitors into a multi-dimensional sensory experience.

With Chiva Som’s main mission being to sendvisitors home in better health than when when theyfirst arrived, personalization takes priority overpretension. The hotel’s acclaimed kitchen caters notonly to vegans and vegetarians, but also kosher,diabetic and any other personalized diet. Althoughthe sparely elegant design of the rooms, public areasand landscaping are inspired by a Thai Buddhistæsthetic of and indulgent comfort, resort businessdevelopment director Sharon Menzies says that theholistic approach of the programs remain free of anykind of religious influence.

‘This is not the resort that sells itself as ahoneymoon destination,’ Menzies says pointedly.‘There is no [hard] liquor on premise. Treatments areless about pampering and more about clients findingbalance, and learning habits they can carry over intotheir real world and marriage.’ However, for coupleswho want a more thoughtful honeymoon or serenerenewing of vows, this is an ideal place. Visitors areable to gain a more intimate view of their own andtheir loved one’s health issues dietary needs andfitness goals. These realizations in turn allow for abetter care over both body and spirit. The resortnotes that they also have fertility experts on hand forcouples who want to start planning families.

Shortly after arrival, a counsellor at the spa hasvisitors fill out a simple assessment form in order topromptly set the personalized wellness plans intomotion. The counsellors will most likely steer visitorsaway from the treatments they would be most likelyto select off a spa menu if left to their own devices.While a body scrub and line-erasing facial may soundmore tantalizing due to familiarity, as I experienced,treatments such as reiki, a Thai digestion-focusedmassage, tend to be more appropriate for long-termwell-being. The reiki practitioner who worked on mewas practically psychic: she had me figured out eventhough we did not have any conversations! Theresults were quite enlightening and habit changing,and the lemongrass iced tea served across the resortas an accompaniment to meals and workouts provedquite wonderful as well.

An array of fitness classes, suitable to all tastes, areavailable at the resort. Yoga and stretching, Thaiboxing, mountain biking, hiking, aqua fitness, pilates,tai chi chuan, Shaolin wushu and even a golf cliniclaunched in early 2010 are all modifiable to a varietyof fitness levels, the lush jungle greenery and

Nearby Monkey Island

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laid-back fitness instructors only adding to theenticement of the programmes. The workouts are notnegated by the meals available, as often happens atresorts. Food served on premise is both delicious andinformatively presented with cards explicitly statingcalories and nutritional benefits in detail. Through itsThai menu selections are not as hot and spicy asstreet food, they still prove flavourful, satisfying andsophisticated, and you can of course add morepeppers as desired.

Where the hotel newsletter and web site offer “trythis at home” recipes, cooking classes furtherempower and motivate visitors to make changes intheir diets without sacrificing flavour. Theyadditionally provide the added experience ofshopping the local food markets for base ingredientsand spices with the hotel chef.

While the close-knit, family-style approach of thestaff, the plush, romantic ambiance of the commonareas and the resort’s close proximity to golf andshopping make Chiva Som seem like idea spot for asmall executive retreat or bridesmaids’ retreat,Menzies cautions that the resort is best experiencedsolo or only with your significant other. Shereemphasizes that the spa experience is not about thequick fix of a fruity body scrub or facial withhigh-end European products but rather about thefirst step towards a lifetime of wellness. She also saysthat although they have a shuttle to the markets, thestaff encourages visitors to spend as much of theirtime on property as possible.

‘We want each visitor to have a tailored experiencethat will have meaning to them when they leave, andwe do not want cliques to form among guests,’ shesays. ‘We respect the wishes of guests who want toremain solitary during the course of what can be ahighly personal and introspective time of healing.However, for more social solitaires or couples weoffer activities, guest speaker sessions and “talktables” in our dining areas, where they can meetpeople from all over the world. The privacy elementis also important, as we also offer medi-spatreatments and packages where visitors can recover ina private setting if they choose.’

Besides a customized approach for maintainingthe face and body that is their fortune, guaranteedanonymity and freedom from the prying eyes of thepaparazzi and red carpet pressures act as an alluringfeature for celebrities and captains of industry. The“no photography” on premise policy can be quiteappealing for all guests, providing an egalitarianapproach to the luxury health retreat experience.Menzies explains that this is accomplished in part dueto the 95 per cent Thai staff who treat everyoneequally as a valued guest, regardless of whether theyare top A-listers from Japan, Europe, Australasia orthe US or just people who come to escape thecraziness of everyday life.

However, there are celebrities who openly sing theresort’s praises. Famous guests who serve as brandambassadors include Elle Macpherson, ElizabethHurley and Collette Dinnigan. Hurley and Dinniganeven have items from their beach fashion lines forsale at the resort’s boutique alongside Chiva Som’sbranded line of food products, spa beauty remedies,fitness and meditation DVDs and hard-to-find itemssuch as jewellery from southeast Asian designers andstingray leather goods.

Though group outings are discouraged as thereason for one’s first trip to Chiva Som, Menziesmentions that the resort is looking into the possibilityof hosting small executive retreats. These group

Panacotta

Cicada Market: cicadamarket.netChiva Som: www.chivasom.com

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events would come with strict conditions such asrestricting the group to eight or fewer guests, and theground rule that all money, planning and strategyrelated items be left at the Mercedes limo door. ‘Ifyou go with associates, the idea is to learn good lifepractices that will counterbalance the less thanhealthy habits and pitfalls that come with your career,’Menzies adds. ‘Everything here is hands-on, fromfitness plans to dietary plans, skin care, counteractingstress and so on. If you come with a small group tobond, the idea is to know yourself first before youapply your new life lessons to the rest of the world.’ WHILE BANGKOK MAY BE a logical starting pointwhen exploring Thailand’s history and culture,smaller towns that help fuel its economy add anotherintriguing perspective. This is particularly true if youhappen to be a fan of Thai food, reported to be oneof the fastest-growing ethnic cuisines worldwide.Thai food ranked sixth in an international surveydeveloped by the Kellogg School of Management andSasin Institute to test the popularity of internationalfoods worldwide.

Followers of Tommy Tang’s Easy Thai Cookingtelevision series inform you that if you want to trulyget to know Thailand’s cuisine, you have to go to thesource. This advice rings especially true when itcomes to Thai Hom Mali Rice, formerly known asjasmine rice. Though Chiang Mai and Bangkok offereverything from the in-your-face sensory allure ofstreet food to posh fine dining, a short stay theagricultural town of Nakhon Sawan—the Thai capitalof its global rice industry and site of the 2011Thailand Rice Convention—is a real eye-opener.

The route between Bangkok and Nakhon Sawan isdotted with rest areas that deftly splice together thementality of an old-fashioned truck stop and mallfood court. A rest area near Singh City, for example,includes a sweets’ bakery where everything is madefrom fish including pound cake and ice cream. If onlygefilte fish makers could get in on their secrets! TheSingh City stop also features Coffee D, a local chainthat offers a refreshing, if not more conventionaltaste of the Thai heartland through excellent greenand Ceylon (black) varieties of Thai iced tea brewedthrough an espresso machine.

Even with Nakhon Sawan’s agriculturalunderpinning, there is still culture to be found inenvirons. From Central Park’s green, sprawlingsibling, Sawan Park, to impressive waterfalls such asNamtok Nang Nuan and Namtok Mae Krasa toBuddhist compounds and local museums such asChan Sen Ancient City and Chan Sen Musuem, thevariety to be found in Thai culture is visiblethroughout. The Bonito Chinos Hotel embodies thetown’s humble-but-ambitious attitude with a décorthat emulates big city boutique hotels. Its Pink Peonyrestaurant stays true to Nakhon Sawan’s agriculturalroots as it serves up Thailand’s version of thecountry-style breakfast that could have been preparedby somebody’s mother in the morning rustic butexcellent family-style dinners at night.

The variety of experiences available in Thailand,from wellness resorts to agricultural towns, enchantsvisitors to escape urban life and take the time tobreathe and rediscover themselves. •

Bonito Chinos Hotel: bonitochinoshotel.com

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