Spa SOUTH

If soaking up the calming blues and greens of the southern seas and surrounding countryside isn’t enough to soothe the soul, try a spa resort for extra natural healing, says CATHARINE NICOL

Lombok

Tugu Hotels not only bring history alive, they allow guests to feel a part of it, surrounded by old buildings and antiques collected by owner Anhar Setjadibrata. “Living within these beautiful arts you feel like you’re transported to another era, a more exotic time,” says his daughter Lucienne Anhar. Tugu Lombok has just opened Hening Swarga (‘silent heaven’) Spa (pictured above). Within a fantasy of mythological animals and views of Mount Rinjani, settle in here for a Javanese massage, or a skin softening and brightening lulur. Satria Yoga continues the good work, softening and brightening your mind. www.tuguhotels.com

New Zealand

Spend a few days in the far north of New Zealand at Cavalli Island Resort & Spa, gazing at the horizon, breathing fresh sea air and lounging by the open fireplace in your restored 1900s wooden villa. What you’ll appreciate most is the silence. Cavalli’s new Manuka Honey Spa Experience brings healing practices via the microbacterial properties of honey, organic flowers and herbs, applied with Maori know-how. “All our treatments are organic, many handcrafted especially for our guests on location,” promises owner Helen Arnesen. Keep them on their toes by requesting a massage by the pool, on the yacht, on the beach… www.cavalliislandretreat.co.nz

Australia

Just knowing you’re off to Gwinganna Retreat in the Gold Coast hinterlands is enough to take a load off your shoulders. The property is renowned for mind-melting spa treatments, dawn-to-dusk fitness and dietary TLC. New here are the private villas. “Tai chi is a great start to the day, but a sleep-in at Gwinganna is all the more tempting in the new villas, with their high ceilings, private decks and plunge pools. You can even see the distant Gold Coast ocean without getting out of bed,” says the resort’s Tracy Willis. www.gwinganna.com.au

Philippines

Arrive at Eskaya, on Panglao Island just off Bohol, and you’ll be ooh-ing and aah-ing at the soaring roofs and wood-stone-artefact designed villas. The Handuraw Spa (meaning ‘reverie’) recently opened its doors to just two spa rooms, but the amount of space here will take your breath away. Try the Kahimsog massage, where sambong leaves are heated over a candle and placed on the legs and back, before a massage with specially smoothed coconut shells. www.eskayabeach.com

A Taste of Macau’s Own Medicine

The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, the biggest integrated resort in Asia, opened the 85,000 sq ft MaloClinicSPA in May. Six operating rooms, 58 spa rooms and state-of-the-art hydro facilities are now available for full body assessments, anti-ageing treatments, beauty, dental, surgery and lifelong wellness programmes, says director of Malo Clinic Health and Wellness Group, Dr Paulo Malo.

WHAT MAKES MACAU THE IDEAL PLACE FOR YOUR FIRST CLINIC IN ASIA?
Macau is five hours from any signature place in Asia and 40 per cent of the world’s population. We know there’s a market; in our Lisbon clinic last year we treated 400 mainland Chinese and 600 Japanese patients.

WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING?
The biggest medical spa in world. We will be giving clients a better quality of life through the treatments we provide. We have good staff locally, and all examinations will be read by well-recognised doctors around the world. We will also be taking our first venture into traditional Chinese medicine.

WHY NOT JUST GO TO ONE OF ASIA’S EXCELLENT HOSPITALS?
Hospitals are contaminated. Every year, thousands of people die in hospital because of cross contamination, even if they only went in for a physical. We are putting the centre in a spa environment because you’re not sick.

IS NOW THE BEST TIME TO BE OPENING?
Of course it is risky; we are investing US$35 million. But this is the future – that’s why I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

The spa opened in May; the medical facility will soon follow; www.venetianmacao.com

How to avoid … jetlag?

When we travel across time zones our normal rhythm is altered. The bane of business and leisure travellers alike, the resulting jetlag cannot be beaten – though it can be reduced, according to cardiologist and medical evacuation specialist Dr Sukitti Panpunnung of Bangkok’s Bumrungrad International hospital. Here are his tips for alleviating the dreaded lag:

• Begin adjusting to the new time zone before you take off. Once on board, adjust your watch to the destination’s time. Adults who adjust readily to changes of routine seem less susceptible to jetlag than slaves to a daily timetable.

• Unfit and unrested people will probably suffer more than others on the same flight. Stress and loss of sleep pre-trip will make it worse, as will over-consumption of alcohol.

• Moderate exercise leads to an increase in sleep length and nighttime alertness.

• Perhaps the most conflicting advice is whether or not to take a nap upon arrival. It can help, but only if you limit the snooze to 30 or 40 minutes. The worst thing you can do is bed down for hours. This can confuse your internal clock and make the readjustment to your new time zone worse. Relax the first few days (24 hours for each time zone).

• Sleeping pills induce a comatose state with little or no natural body movement. Blood gravitates down into the leg veins, and unless stimulated by occasional leg movement, can clot. Some sleeping pills are variants on antihistamines and tend to dehydrate the body.

• Melatonin is a controversial and unproven treatment for jetlag, involving altering the production of the hormone that controls the body’s inbuilt clock. Research shows that if used incorrectly, it will make jetlag worse.

• You should aim to arrive at your destination time zone in the morning and get as much exposure to bright sunlight as possible.