There could not have been a more perfect day.
Slept in…so incredibly peaceful here. Made our way down to a ginormous breakfast buffet. Then off to the pool to just veg, read, sun and swim. To the spa at 2:00 just as the clouds covered the sky and the rains began. We signed up for the three hour “Couple’s Treatment” but were told to arrive an hour early as there is a Pre-treatment.

Now you must imagine this spa….serenity and calm meet your eyes, your ears and nose..pools of water filled with koi and turtles, bamboo, water lilies, fountains, frangipani (plumeria) blossoms perfuming the air, rain falling off the eaves….you can already feel layers of stress being washed away.

The Bath House Experince
This was traditionally practiced in feudal China where it was a status symbol to have a three inch lotus feet. It started between 960 and 976 BC when the Prince from the Sung Dynasty requested his concubine to dance with her feet bound because of his fetish for little feet. This initiated a new tradition where the feet of young girls were to be bound to keep them small. Women with bound feet frequently received foot pounding to seek relief from pain. The foot was carefully unwrapped and soaked in a basin of warm soapy water, dried and the soles pounded. We were a bit worried we were going to have our feet bound…we had everything but the binding. First our feet were washed in a basin of warm scented water, experienced hands soaped and scrubbed our feet and dried them off. Then the soles of our feet were pounded gently with a special mallet to promote circulation.

At this point we were separated and led along a little paths to the changing rooms. Here we disrobed and were helped into a sarong (Heidi was also offered what looked like a pair of “granny underwear” but declined). You lock up your clothes and any valuables and are guided to a soaking tub. In the traditional Malaysian villages, the Malay family walked to the nearest river to bathe, wrapped in sarongs. Instead of a river we each had a large pool of cool water. Water pours from earthen jugs into the pool and you just soak away your cares. Next you make a wish at a wishing well, then led up a platform where at each corner is a steaming vat of water… Each with different herbs and spices….at each corner you breathe deeply of the scented steam. Next was the Japanese bath house….you scrub your body with a Goshi-Goshi cloth soaked in scented bath gel, and use the dipper to rinse off with warm water. Then you enter the Rotenburu Pool and soak for ten minutes or so in hot water while sipping an herbal tea. Next comes the Shanghai Scrub…where an attendant scrubs you with a body brush and rinses you off with very warm water. This has taken about an hour, we are brought back together, lost our wet sarongs and selected a new dry one (to wear and keep afterwards) Now we were ready for our treatment.

First we lose the sarongs and lie on the massage tables, professionally draped using our own sarong, in this Malay style hut, soft massage music playing and real tropical birds singing outside. For the next hour and a half we enjoyed a traditional Malaysian Style Massage from two lovely ladies from Bali. Wow!!! I thought we might be done, but no….next was the scalp and hair treatment with scented oils….Heidi’s attendant had to work overtime with all her hair…mine just massaged my scalp. Next was a facial. Then a complete body exfoliation….wrapped you up to allow the brown gunk to harden, then scrubbed it all off. Next a shower and a soak in this huge tub filled with warm water, rose petals, lime slices, and chrysanthemums. Kind of felt like you were part of a salad. Then back to the massage room where we sat in these individual steaming chairs….a special herbal/floral mixture was added to the steam, your covering around the chair was zipped shut and the sweat began. It all ended with a special tonic drink….you leave with some complimentary bath salts, your sarong, and not a care in the world….so relaxed you feel like putty.

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But the day didn’t end…we had made reservations at Fisherman’s Cove Restaurant. Our table overlooked the water. Fine wine (Argentine Cab-Merlot), impeccable service, Chilean sea bass for Heidi, local grouper for me….Chocolate Almond cake for dessert, live music playing in the background….and Heidi got to get all dolled-up. At about 10 o’clock we drifted back to our room….a day to remember.

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