Zen spa escapades

I know I have told myself that I will not be coming to Zen Spa after the horrid experience of the Touch of Zen massage, their signature treatment but I felt that my review was not an accurate representation of the spa. On my return to the spa, they were very apologetic about my experience and they have noted that the therapist was transferred to another branch.

What I like about Zen Spa is the design of their interiors and the shower and steam room facilities available to the customers. This shows that Zen Spa is serious and after all they are the pioneers that paved the way towards the explosion of spas we see today.

 

Foot Scrub and Masque treatment $25

This was my first treatment after the Touch of Zen massage I tried last year, I kept telling myself perhaps if I choose a different therapist the experience would be different. I often hear rave reviews from my friends who tried Zen Spa, maybe I was just unlucky on that day.

I was offered a selection of fruit juices and herbal teas prior to the treatment, I chose the juice option. I was shocked to find that there were ants on my juice! Not good – I was not impressed even before the treatment starts! I mean in spa like Zen Spa, this little things cannot be overlooked. Anyway, the Foot Scrub and Masque treatment starts off with getting my feet soaked in soapy water to get rid of the germs and dirt and also to soften the soles of the feet. Then the therapist applied the clay masque liberally to my feet and was left on for 15 minutes, during this time the therapist gave a complimentary head, shoulder and back massage. I am beginning to relax and forget the fruit juice fiasco earlier.

Then the foot scrub: where my foot was filed and I start to see the hard skin shed off by the vigorous filing and scrubbing leaving my both of feet soft and smooth. Not bad, although you could actually do this on your own at home. Body Shop offers DIY foot filer, pumice and nail buffer at a fraction of the cost of the above treatment.

Verdict: 6/10

 

Aromatherapy Swedish Massage $35

I haven’t try the Swedish Massage in Zen Spa before, with a different therapist this time – I expected it to be better this time around. Swedish Massage involves long, continuous strokes of the whole body and was invented with lymphatic drainage in mind. The toxins accumulated in body are swept along the lymphatic nodes thus creating flow and balance.

At the end of the massage treatment, the muscles are relaxed and your well being improved. The question is whether the Swedish Massage is better than the Swedish offerings in other spas. With the $35 price, it is more expensive than Shiatzen Spa which offered the Swedish massage and the Swedish/Shiatsu combination massage.

The masseuse starts working on light strokes on my back and shoulders to reduce the tension of the muscles. And then the legs and arms. The music ambience was relaxing but it tend to be repetitive, the music played at the time of the treatment until just a day ago. It was still the same one played several months ago!

As usual, I felt relaxed as ever. The massage was way, way better than before, the therapist knew what he was doing. I guess, to answer the question whether this one is better its down to your personal preference. The room is no doubt bigger and the interiors was well spent, there is a shower in each treatment room. It changed my original prejudice of the spa, but it is not yet in the same level as Thann Sanctuary Spa due to the inconsistencies and little mistakes.

Verdict: 7/10

 

 

Herbal Foot Soak Reflexology, Standard Bucket $20

Firstly, was the healing herbal foot soak to soften heels and invigorate my tired feet. I love the vintage, traditional look of the bucket. This plus a complimentary head, back and shoulder massage! I’m not even sure if I would call it as complimentary! It was another massage on it own right. Soft towels infused with aromatic oils served to cover the head and eye area for total relaxation. I swear with the addition of the eye cover – I was pretty much asleep afterwards! The spa certainly have gone further to make sure their customers were happy and relaxed that they might come back for more.

Then the foot reflexology – one word Nirvana.

I highly recommend this as your first treatment in Zen Spa, do ask for Kaye. I personally request Kaye every time I’m at Zen Spa.

Verdict: 10/10

See also:

Thann Sanctuary Spa review - avant garde boutique style spa in Brunei

 

Balinese Massage at Intan D’Zaress Spa

Intan D’Zaress Spa, Gadong: Balinese 90 min Massage $35

Peace and loving relaxation. Traditional Balinese massage technique passed down through generations in the Javanese and Bali traditions. A restoring and calming experience heightened with Swedish massage, acupressure, skin rolling and relaxing strokes.

Welcome to Intan D’Zaress Spa, a spa which markets itself with traditional Indonesian spa treatments and Balinese massage. I found the spa while blog hopping, and have read promising reviews about the 3 month old spa in Gadong. At the time, that was the only information provided – no address or phone number provided especially when Gadong covers quite a wide area. It was quite difficult for me to find the spa and since there’s no website to check for the addresses or even signs leading to the spa. But eventually I managed to track down the location.

The spa shares the same block with Cosmopolitan College and Processta in Gadong. Its at the building right by the Gadong river, if you know Booker bookstore in Gadong, there is a small road leading to this building. Now that, trying out different spa treatments have become somewhat a leisurely activity of mine – I thought I have tried out all spas in this country. But spas or health centres specialising in foot reflexology and massages are shrooming and expanding here.

Intan D’Zaress spa opened recently in December 2008, its unfortunate that no one really knew about it partly because of its obscure location but its mostly to do with the fact that the management didn’t really market the spa well. Anyway – this is one spa I will have to write about because I feel that it deserves the attention that it should get.

There’s not a lot of Balinese spas out there in Brunei especially for men, most of the spas like Martha Tilaar and Tunjung Sari Spa in Delima only cater for women. In the Kiulap area, most of the massage and spa therapists are Thais or Filipinos – the massage techniques are very different than a Bruneian traditional massage experience. From a Thai masseuse you will generally experience plenty of stretching and yoga movements while the Filipinos mostly learn Western massage techniques such as Swedish and Sports massage.

A Balinese massage is probably what’s on offer here which closely resembles the traditional Malay experience. It would be great if someone could open a Brunei-based spa offering traditional massage and immerse the Brunei Malay culture in the spa treatments. I mean just look at how detailed and intricate the Bruneian wedding journey is with Mandi Bunga (floral bath), Berbedak (scrub and traditional camphor body mask treatment) and Berinai (Herbal nourishing mud and henna for the hair and skin for fertility). It would be nice to see this one day – our culture is as equally as rich and beautiful as the Balinese and the Thai cultures.

Anyway, the 90 minute treatment starts with a warm, soothing foot soak with basalt stones at the bottom of the bucket. The massage therapist then apply hot towels all over my back. The warmth was definitely welcome, it really makes your body and muscles more relaxed. Steam coming from the white towels felt really good, it reminded me of my childhood where my grandmother would apply hot towels on my forehead. Its very traditional indeed to start with this.

I also would like to point out that, I really like that the towels have the words Intan Spa embroidered. It really gives a personal touch to the spa, making it all exclusive and unique for the spa customers. Although I did not like the use of plastic flowers as shown at the picture above. It makes the setting cheap and tacky in my honest opinion.

I have experienced Swedish, Thai and Shiatsu massage before, I thought there wouldn’t be any more massage techniques besides that. Generally, I could easily predict what the massage sequence is especially with Swedish massage normally given by Filipinos. This Balinese massage experience was unpredictable. This is a good thing, the massage sequence and the strokes were really good. Balinese massage is different than Swedish because it also deals with acupressure points and deep tissue. If you like your massage to be firm but hated Shiatsu, Balinese massage is for you.

If I have to say something negative about the spa, its the massage bed. The hole where you put your face into was ill-fitting and it was not so comfortable when compared to the ones in Thann Sanctuary Spa or Shiatzen Spa. It left a slight mark on my face, but this was compensated by the incredible Balinese massage.

One thing for sure, my busy thoughts in my mind and restlessness at night were all gone after the treatment. Like most massages I received, it makes me feel calm and relaxed. What I like about this treatment is that, the massage begins with the hot towel and it ends also with the hot water towel, wiping off the excess oil from the body. Tense muscles are a thing of the past with the steam treatment.

Intan D’Zaress Spa is definitely a serious contender in the league of spas available in Brunei. For a 90 minute massage costing only $35 and having to actually delivered. This one spa have exceeded my expectations! This spa puts down Zen Spa, Amanha Spa to shame. For a hot-stones massage, just add $10 to the price – bargain!

Verdict: 8/10

90 minutes of Balinese massage costs $35. Call in 2426160 for more details and reservations.

Intan D’Zarezz Spa, Unit 4, Ground Floor Kompleks Hj. Tahir II BE 3519 Gadong

I discovered Lomography: Delayed flash photography

I am so devastated that my precious iPhone have died on me. I have done the necessary steps to recover my iPhone, spending hours on the internet looking for people whom have encountered the same problems and how they have got their iPhones fixed.

Most of their phones are being replaced with entirely new ones, since it seemed that Apple have known about the defect. Unfortunately for me, I bought it from Qqestore Brunei. Technically they sold me an illegal iPhone which have been jailbreak. So automatically the Apple warranty is void since such acts of jailbreaking and modifying the phone software will immediately makes the phone warranty-less. I rushed to Qqstore to complain and get it fixed: unfortunately they couldn’t fixed it and returned the iPhone to me. That’s just crappy service, although the lady on the customer service line was very apologetic and promised that I will get a discount for future mobile phone purchases.

Okay, enough mulling over a dead mobile phone. Moving on: feeling naked with no touch screens mobile phones on my palm, I came back to wipe the dusts off my Sony Cybershot Digital camera. I finally took the time to read the users manual, and learned a lot of photography techniques. So very relevant since now that I’m joining a photography club at University.

Cheezebox

One night out with close friends in the bright lights of the heart of Gadong, I brought along my Sony. The occasion: To plan a friend’s surprise bachelor party at the Empire Hotel Jerudong. We were sitting outside in Cheezebox Café, lights coming from everywhere, streetlights, flashy coloured ones from the Mall and the headlights of cars moving sluggishly to find free parking outside the Mall building.

There and then, playing with the settings of my Sony: low flash and delayed exposure.

kiss me

The lights becomes strangely hypnotic and trippy. Reminds me of 90s Radiohead music.

Lomography

Anyway, if you’re reading this Azlan. We love you!

A fine Sunday

Sunday morning, The Arch, Gadong

After introducing my athletic and exercise addict cousin Rafie to Zunic Wellness Plaza Athirah, his motivations in getting his desired body image and my increasing liking for yoga with 2 hour yoga sessions, both of us has set off a part inside of ourselves: Determination. This feeling is strong and can lead to great rewards and results. We remain undeterred with challenges and muscle fatigueness. This does not stop us from refraining more exercise.

2 hours of yoga, at night I slept like a baby. It was such a good sleep, where your brain is just too tired or relax? that you do not dream.  Around 7am or so, I was awaken by a shrug on my shoulder, it was Rafie, get your butt off the bed. Remember Bukit Shahbandar?

The night before, we were getting excited with our morning jog/hike and rewarding ourselves with the fantastic views of the lush rainforests of Brunei and the fresh air – oxygen therapy. And getting fit at the same time. Excellent.

The hundreds of steps towards bliss: Oxygen Therapie

So off we went.

Expectations: Well after 2 weeks of Ashtanga Yoga training and pranayama techniques should make hiking hundreds of steps towards pure bliss easy.

Reality: Wrong! The whole climbing and hiking activities test on your cardio fitness instead!

Yes, I was huffing and puffing in no time. Tried using pranayama breathing techniques to optimise the oxygen intake of the lungs to 30 percent – still huffing and puffing. Gasping for air and the aching of my knee caps, makes the morning hike challenging!

Top of the world: Fresh winds

At last! Found the resting point. The fresh winds blowing off the awful heat from the body leaving a cool and blissful sensation. The air is so fresh especially in the morning, from the top I see the cool morning mists shrouding parts of the tropical rain forests.

After, a destress silent moment. Off we went back down the steps. Then off we hiked the same steps again. Yes. We went up twice.  My empty stomach growling and muscles trembling using up the stored sugars as energy source.

So where off next?

In a typical Bruneian fashion:

Good morning Taurean Cafe, The Arch

Just in time before 11am (by which the Good morning promotion ends) is one of the best “credit-crunch” friendly breakfast ever to be found in Brunei. Taurean Cafe at The Arch, Gadong.

For the price of $2.50, you get to pick 2 from the list below:

Kolo Mee and Hash Brown please

Or if you add another $1 you can choose 2 from the Heart Heart Set:

Yes for $3.50 you can choose 2 from the list

We went with sweaty tee shirts and trainers to Taurean Cafe, The Arch Gadong. Thinking I would look out of place with my worned-out and sporty attire, to my surprise, people wearing trainers and sweaty tees are here! I see. This is where people replenish their energies.

For a healthy and yoga friendly option: Mixed Fruits and Omelette although you probably could just get Nasi Lemak and Chicken Fried Noodles instead! If you don’t mind having love handles that is.

The Good Morning breakfast meal is available at Taurean Cafe, The Arch Gadong every morning until 11am.

Healing Touch, The Mall: Foot Reflexology $20

The Mall Gadong, seems like everyone is flocking around the area and for me who thinks flogging $2 for underground parking is just extortion. So at times, I’ll just make do with circling around the building until I find parking on the outside grounds albeit stressful at times – hence I would rather go to Kiulap instead and avoiding the Mall at all instances except when I require the healing powers of foot reflexology provided by Healing Touch, 2^nd floor of the Mall.

The prices for foot reflexology and body massage are one of the cheapest in town and the quality of the massage are generally good. All the masseuse are flown from Thailand and they are good at what they do, Thai Massage. The ancient techniques of foot reflexology and massage are passed down from years of generation to the new generation so the art of massage remains. As I enter the store, I was greeted with the Thai smiles and a ruffled treatment menu. The treatment menu should always look presentable. No leaflets to take home. The prices are quite affordable and they also do packages which saves you money as well if you wish to have more than one treatment.

The décor and massage seats was very comfortable and a bit too comfortable for the Thai massage therapists that I found two of them sleeping and snoring loudly on the massage seats! The magazines available to read was so outdated dating from year 2003-2006 – I don’t see the point of keeping them for customers. Anyway I picked a secluded corner for my foot reflexology and my Thai masseuse prepared a foot soak and towels to wipe my feet clean. As I began to settle down and the seat, I noticed that the songs on the play list was the same one when I came 3 months ago. The songs are mostly 80s and 90s power ballads which unfortunately was unusual choice of music for a holistic spa. And another thing, its quite hard to communicate effectively with the Thai masseuse since they hardly speak English.

The foot reflexology itself was the exact opposite from the ambience of the spa, that is, its quite good. Its painful at times since its the Thai philosophy of to experience pain first than you will get pleasure and health. I have to admit, I agree with the philosophy since although the massage can be painful at specific points of the feet, it is the good painful feeling. I wanted to feel the pain so I could feel good afterwards. You will not sleep during the duration of the massage due to the sensations you felt however you will have a good deep sleep once you are in bed.

Overall, I will definitely come back again for more foot reflexology due to the affordable prices and effectiveness of the massage. However, there are plenty more spa centres appearing which could offer the same affordability and of higher quality than this spa. The fact that its in the Mall might prevent some people to come because of the parking.

Verdict: 6/10