Wi-Fi access is restricted to your
room (one hour free per week) and
there are discreet notices everywhere
asking guests not to use phones. The
effect is startling: on a personal level,
I manage to forget about my mobile
(apart from guilt-induced check-ins
with the husband and teenagers).
And seeing fellow guests dining,
relaxing on a beach, or going into an
exercise class without heads bowed
and fingers frantically tapping helps
me to relax, too. I’d never considered
before just how on edge and alert
I usually am to everyone else’s pings
and dings – never mind my own.
Food, according to Stewart, is the
number two healer, and eating
becomes a revelation. I consider
myself to be pretty healthy: I’m
vegetarian, I eat more than my five
a day, and enjoy food far too much
to ever consider a trendy diet or
punishing detox, instead subscribing
to the ‘a little of what you fancy’
philosophy. Here, the menus are
designed to be nutrient-rich and
flavoured with healing herbs and
spices. You can choose from the
vegan ‘Detox’ menu – healthy salads,
broths and curries – or ‘Ideal Weight’,bliss box, and I sleep for eight hours
straight, which is unusual for me – not
to mention unexpected given the
jet-lag situation. I wake up feeling
refreshed and ready for Kamalaya to
work its magic.
RESTORE HARMONY
‘Nature is the number one healer,’
according to Kamalaya founder John
Stewart, so it’s no surprise that the
gardens, pools, beach and open-air
treatment rooms are beautifully
landscaped and extremely tranquil.
Stewart built this paradise into
a steep hillside 16 years ago after
discovering a Buddhist monks’ cave
there, which still remains at the heart
of the resort as a place for guests to
light a candle and spend a moment of
reflection. As lovely as my room and
balcony are – simple styling in natural
materials such as wood and stone –
outdoors is where I want to be. So
much so that I even come to think of
the hill climbs as a bonus workout.
The monks may be to thank for the
feeling of calmness and spirituality
that permeates Kamalaya, but there’s
another factor that definitely helps –
which bolts on a portion of protein
such as fish or tofu.
Sitting down to our first dinner,
I am genuinely concerned that the
modest portion of lemongrass and
coconut stew, with a protein side of
tempeh, is never going to fill me up,
and I’ll wake ravenous in the night.
When I finish though, it hits me that,
for the first time in forever, I feel
pleasantly full rather than stuffed,
and I understand what Leila meant
when she advised me to eat until I’m
85 per cent full. Usually, I have carbs –
pasta, noodles, rice, bread – with each
meal and always finish every last
morsel. I have none of these types of
carbs throughout the whole week,
though, which makes me realise that,
if I eat the right kind – grains, squash
legumes – I’m going to feel a lot better.
Breakfast the next day starts
with four rather challenging shots
(turmeric, kale, wheatgrass and
sweet potato), followed by fruit, eggs
and an avocado dip. Within a day,
I feel lighter; within two, my stomach
looks visibly less bloated. Add in a
Thai compress massage and yoga
class and I’m positively floating.BE THE CHANGE
Asian Bliss, it turns out, is not quite so
blissful after all. The programme is
scheduled to ease you in with theClockwise from left: meals are
flavoured with healing herbs and
spices; Trish hits the coast for
a soul-enriching walk; breakfast
shots all lined up; the yoga pavilion