Mr Showbiz does detox
Thursday 12 February 2009
After a week partying with friends in a chic private villa in Thailand I was fully ready to immerse myself in luxury, tranquillity and effortless detoxing.
There was one minor little problem – I’ve never been one of ‘those’ people who likes the idea of detoxing at all. I love everything naughty – bread, red meat and alcohol are three of the favourite things in my life.
But as I was in Thailand and after some peace and quiet from all my showbiz partying throughout 2008 – I agreed it might be just what the doctor ordered!
On arriving at the Kamalaya retreat on the south of the island I was immediately immersed into a different way of life.
Set in the hills surrounding a private beach in Koh Samui I was welcomed with a lime water and shown to my villa. A golf buggy dropped me off at number 53 – which fortunately was down towards the millpond lagoon.
The view was stunning from the villa and had all the comfort you’d expect from a five star resort. Hilariously it also had one feature I wasn’t quite so used to – an outdoors bathroom. Including the loo.
This turned out to be one of the best features. Having a shower in the evening after a day of tanning enabled the wildlife to surround you.
Birds squawked, lizards made their trademark barks and tree leaves clapped as the breeze blew off the sea. The only downside was when one evening Larry the Lizard (as I fondly referred to him) decided to sit himself right on top of the toilet roll holder and wouldn’t move.
A stare off ensued for the next five minutes before he scurried away!
The first thing I was asked to do was take a full medical with the staff at the spa followed by a Wellness Assessment with the resident holistic expert, Isabella.
The medical went fine – although I was slightly perturbed when the nurse informed me my BMI was 25.5. Aren’t runway models around 17? On top of my BMI they also worked out my body cell mass, fat mass, how much water I was carrying and how much muscle I had. It was interesting, if not a little scary! At the end the nurse turned to me and said: “You could afford to lose around four kilograms, I would say.”
Ouch, that was like taking a bullet. But I took it on board all the same.
Going to see Isabella was more about my well being. Was I happy in the head? Comfortable? Stressed? Relaxed?
We managed to work out that I needed a good chill on my four-night break at Kamalaya. She recommended I did yoga every day and tried out the breathing practice Pranayama during my stay.
And I did – with the resorts resident yoga master K.Sanya. He was one of the best yoga teachers I’ve ever worked with.
And the activities at the retreat turned out to be one of the major bonuses to staying there.
Different types of Yoga, Pilates, Qi Gong, circuit training, different forms of meditation and activities such as cooking classes to inspire healthy cuisine were all included for free.
You also had full use of the pools, the beach and the gym throughout the day.
Kamalaya is all about choice. You can choose to do as much or as little as you want.
And if you want to then there’s one of the most amazing spas on the island with a booklet the size of the bible full of treatments, massages and procedures that you can try out.
I immediately fell into an exceedingly chilled routine. I read books, barely spoke a word to other guests and sent my days relaxing on the beach (which is exceedingly quiet and empty of swarms of children, you may be pleased to hear).
Food was an interesting event each and every night. Guests staying at Kamalaya have the choice whether to indulge in their usual menu – featuring bread, meat, alcohol and fun things like desserts – or whether to choose from the detox menu.
On my first evening dinging at the Soma restaurant I chose to go detox all the way. No alcohol, meat, wheat, bread or anything ...
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