I didn’t realise how much of a workaholic I was until my recent visit to Angsana Spa. My two-hour bamboo massage (RM300) came with 15 minutes calm time prior to the treatment (and another 15 minutes post treatment, leaving 90 minutes for the actual massage). I was seated at the lounge quietly all by myself, the whole point of which, I suppose, was to help me relax. But I was restless. For once in a very long time, I didn’t need to do anything, take any calls or reply any emails; I got some time to just breathe and yet I was fidgety. I didn’t know what to do with myself and so I began pacing up and down, so much so that I figured the staff was a bit concerned about my rather disruptive behaviour (in contrast to the spa’s peaceful ambience) that I was shown to my room where a pot of hot ginger tea awaited.

I changed into a pair of disposable underwear, which looked surprisingly hip, like a snuggly pair of mini boxer briefs. As I sat waiting, sipping hot tea, I had time to take in my surroundings. Angsana Spa, an offshoot from the renowned Banyan Tree Spa, has 22 rooms plus two outdoor garden pavilions that take up the entire fifth floor of Crowne Plaza hotel. Interior wise, it is what you’d expect from a spa: calm and quiet, with ambient lighting, and decked out in natural stones, bamboo and dark wood. Everything looks neat, proper and in place. The rooms are decorated with fine lattice work, and that adds a sense of luxury to the experience.

The spa’s latest treatment, the bamboo massage, is unlike the usual hot stone massage, which can, as the name suggests, get too hot. The bamboos are heated prior to the massage and they remain comfortably warm on the skin, enough to penetrate the tensed muscles to soothe tension and stimulate blood flow. It really was very, very relaxing, particularly when the bamboos were used to break up the stubborn knots at the back of shoulders. The therapist also combined long, firm palm and thumb strokes, which worked well to ease muscle aches and pain. And before long, I felt my mind quiet down and I was contented, relieved even to just happily lie there and do nothing.

One thing commendable about Angsana Spa is the service and skill of its therapists. After all, they were trained at Banyan Tree Spa Academies in Phuket and Lijiang, China. My therapist was attentive and she adapted the treatment to focus more on my needs (i.e. sore shoulders and cramp-prone calf muscles). Everything was on the mark and I can’t seem to find fault with it. Or that could just be me slowly getting comfortable with resting my over-analytical, over active mind, when I am supposed to.

Lim Chee Wah