Bamboo Village Beach Resort and Spa: 38 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Phone: 062 847 007. Fax: 062 847 095.
According to promotional literature I picked up in Vietnam recently, the spa at the Bamboo Village Beach Resort near Mui Ne "serves so wide a choice of beauty and health therapies that it might take you quite some time selecting one." Venturing online to the resort's official website for more information, I found this enticing prose: "Features fine traditional forms of Massage, select (adjective) Therapeutic treatments and Aromatherapies, with various services and packages, designed to promote complete relaxation and restore your sense of well-being, for general taste and special needs as well. A variety of Waxing, Facial and Nail care are also available.
"Boasts updated menu and techniques, well-trained hands and international-quality products sensationally extending your bodily and mental bliss till the furthest point."
Sounds pretty good, don't it? At Bamboo Village, alongside the usual facials and foot massages and Swedish and Thai massages, you can also git yerself a Hong Kong massage (US$25, one hour). A Hong Kong massage involves: "Firm stretching, bending and kneading that bring in entire relaxation from head to toes after all. Tension from every muscle and tissue disappears. The magic thumbs go further than a mere physical touch along the body; it goes with a bettered circulation of blood and qi. The palms and elbows, arms and even feet are combined for stiffness-releasing strokes and shakes, strong but not unpleasant. Your body may not realize that it does not just passively take the external impacts. But it is surely aware of going from a surprising status of rejuvenation to another..." (Taken from the official website.)
That's all well and good, and I wouldn't mind having one of those there Hong Kong massages myself, but every spa worth its salt needs its own local touch: what is the local touch at Bamboo? It sounds out that the area around the resort is well known for its therapeutic minerals, many of which will make it into your skin and pores, if you spa (verb) at the resort. Some of the minerals (and their health effects) include: Calcium: Hard bones, strong teeth and muscle. Magnesium: Stimulates the nervous system, improves catalysis. Potassium: Maintains PH balance, assists in the body's chemical reactions to produce energy. Sodium: Stimulates the nervous system, improves the body's chemical reactions. Silicic Acid: Improves the functioning of the nervous system. Bicarbonate: Reduces stomach acid.
Beauty Salon Ryo: 168 Phan Dinh Phung St., Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City.
電話：(84-8) 5006870.
It sounds like this is the place to go if you want to get Japanese style haircuts in Vietnam. Wrote the Betonamu Life site in Japan: "日本の美容サービスをベトナム人の手で提供する日本人経営の美容室です。お店のコンセプトは、「ちょっとだけ背伸びをしたい女性への空間」。チーフスタイリストのTy氏は、今まで多くのミュージシャンや芸能人のヘア・メイクを手がけてきたそうです。
"料金はベトナム価格に近い設定で、カット：70000～90000ドン（髪の長さによって異なります）。洗髪台は、ベトナムの美容室で広く使われているベッドタイプではなく、日本や諸先進国で使用されている椅子タイプを２台設置しています。
日本人顧客向けにヘア・カラーの薬剤は「ミルポン（日本製業務用）」置いています（薬剤のみ、日本の美容室と同じ程度の価格設定です）。日本製パーマ薬剤は準備中。"
Carita: 143 Dong Khoi St., Dist.1 , HCMC.
① Shop No.1, New World, 76 Le Lai St., Dist. 1, HCMC.
Kim Spa:
① 25 Nguyen An Ninh St., Dist. 1, HCMC
Tel: 827-7880 Fax: 824-8070.
② 848 Tran Hung Dao St., Dist. 5, HCMC Tel.: 838-1735
Email: camsamco@yahoo.com
* 10% discount for all service like: body massage, body scrub, body sea mud mask, facial care, facial treatment, manicure, pedicure, waxing and slimming treatment
* 50% off specially for foot reflexology
* 5% discount for products
Validity: Until June 18, 2008
KOSÉ
16 No.1 St., Hoang Hoa Tham, Ward 3, Tan Binh Dist., HCMC.
Tel: 812-4128 Fax: 812-4129
P.I.C: Ms. Huynh Thi Truc Thanh
Email: kose@hcm.vnn.vn
① Spa
+ Flowing Spa by Kosé
9 Phung Khac Khoan St., Dist. 1, HCMC.
Tel: 824-8739
As Smart Travel Asia reports: "Nha Trang is a short flight south on a Vietnam Airlines ATR. The overhead bins can accommodate a briefcase at best so watch your carry-on. The town actually looks like a seaside resort with a long breezy marine drive. There are public beach areas with nice thatch-palm umbrellas and endless views.
"It's a bit like the Pattaya of yore, minus the sleaze, the drug-laced transvestite nipples, the sanitation problems, the crime, the bars, the neon and badgering trinket vendors. Diving is big in Nha Trang and, lately, spa treatments.
"Taking credit for the latter is the Evason Ana Mandara and Six Senses Spa. As would be expected, this beautiful garden property features a Six Senses Spa set in its own private enclave at one end of the property. There are treatment rooms for couples with sunken Jacuzzis. Choose a package or go a la carte. If you're not warm enough by the beach, head for the sauna and herbal steam, then ponder the spelling and pronunciation of words like kinesiology. The spa is airy and bright with nice garden features.
"Evason Ana Mandara runs long rather than deep, along the promenade drive. It is minutes from the airport, yet far removed from the bustle. The cottages are roomy, the largest being the 35sq m Deluxe Seaview with tile floors and four-poster bed. There's TV, mosquito net, wooden furniture, a bathtub with a window looking onto garden and an incredibly small safe.
"The complex has two swimming pools (one deep enough for diving lessons), tennis courts and a super romantic dining spot on a wooden jetty, right above the sea. Sort out your "I dos" here under a full moon. The Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay is on a neighbouring island, a 15-minute boat ride from here. This resort features just 58 pool villas. The civil airport at Cam Ranh (which can handle larger aircraft) is a half-hour drive to Nha Trang along a 30km highway. The old city airport smack in the middle of town used to be a breeze but...
"One of the biggest and flashiest hotels on the Vietnam beach scene is the 485-room Vinpearl Resort & Spa megaresort. This humongous all-in-one playground boasts a 1,000-guest ballroom facility, bars, nightclub, extensive swimming pools, spa, marina, tennis and diving. The Vinpearl is a 10-minute boat or hovercraft-ride from the jetty near Evason Ana Mandara. The resort complex is on a grand scale. The place may not appeal to all tastes but as an all-inclusive, private, Club Med sort of escape, it will find its fans. If comparisons were to be made, it is a tad like the Royal Cliff at Pattaya, with a five storey structure fronting the sea on a private bay below the hills. The five-star Sunrise Beach Resort Nha Trang on the tree-lined esplanade overlooking Nha Trang Bay has 121 guestrooms and suites. Close to the beach and in the heart of the city, the resort is conveniently located for sightseeing and a 45-minute drive from Cam Ranh Airport. The hotel boasts a raft of amenities including the Qi Salon and Spa by Shiseido where everything from mud baths and wraps to stinging scrubs is on offer.
Furama Danang Resort and Spa: 68 Ho Xuan Huong, Bac My An, Danang.
This resort is situated on Vietnam's world famous China Beach and has attracted guests including members of various royal families, presidents, movie stars and international business leaders. Furama was voted as Vietnam's best resort 6 years in a row, by readers of the Vietnam Economic Times and The Guide magazine. It is also ranked among the finest resorts in Asia by leading international polls.
Mai Spa and Resort: Long Beach, Phu Quoc. Phone: (84) 062 849 849. Fax: (84) 062 84 850. Email: pandanus@pandanusresort.com. Pandanus Resort and Spa: Hamlet 5, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Phone: (84) 062 849 849. Fax: (84) 062 84 850. Email: pandanus@pandanusresort.com.
I haven't actually stayed at this place yet but I well might, it could definitely happen in the next couple of years. In June and July 2009 I stayed right next door to Pandanus Resort and Spa, at the Malibu/Chau Am doubleheader. After nearly two weeks on the beach there at Mui Ne, whenever I closed my eyes I would see waves... that's a good sign that the place had chilled me. For a while my panic attacks and anxiety had faded away, to be replaced by freestyle yoga postures in the pool, long bike rides, and plenty of kung fu movies and Korean/Thai/Taiwanese dramas on TV. One hot early afternoon I took one of the free bikes parked outside Malibu and rode it up the road, past Pandanus with its gorgeous gardens and green green grass. Two doors up the road (on the beachside), something at the other end of the spectrum: a colony of thatched huts barely bigger than latrines, suspended on stilts in a gloomy copse of trees. On my first day at Mui Ne I had mistaken them for fishermen huts, but Nga assured me that all the fishermen sleep on their boats. She is probably right, so I wonder who stays in these squalid huts? I will find out someday. Between these two poles of affluence, there stretches a ragged lot of land, all corroded red stream valley and choking xanh... and a group of teenagers playing volleyball in a clearing.
So, what is my point? My point is that in this part of the world, luxury often coexists with poverty. Pandanus Resort might have the largest swimming pool in Binh Thuan Province, but right next door families live in corrugated iron shacks whose walls flap in the breeze. I know, because I got lost walking amongst them, on one expedition on the sands. I don't know how they stand up to the typhoons which apparently hit Vietnam on a regular basis. Even in the sturdier dwellings it must be a fulltime job sweeping out all the blown sand. And don't get me started on the Mui Ne flies! Those flies crawl over everything inside Malibu Resort (watermelon rinds, coffee glasses in the beachside restaurant), so presumably they are present inside Pandanus as well. On beach walks sometimes I climbed the rise of concrete steps which sepearted the sand from the grass, and entered the grounds of Pandanus Resort. Right on the beachfront on the lush green grass, crisp white linen lined the massage benches, with attendants hawking their services (including haircuts: all of them expensive.) Around the swimming pool all of the clientele (if not all) were white. I haven't been inside the accommodations, but they are apparently done up in a Champa architectural style with high wooden ceilings and a descending lotus pool in the lobby. Cham musicians and dancers peform in the evenings, along with the inevitable Filipino band (which I heard crooning during my furtive infiltration one fly-blown afternoon). I wonder how those Filipino musicians find jobs in Vietnam, and what they think of Vietnam. My Mum got into a conversation with some of them once, in the bar at Vinpearl Resort.
Parkroyal Saigon: 309B-311 Nguyen Van Troi, Tan Binh District
Ho Chi Minh City. Phone: 8 842 1111. Fax: 8 842 4363
.
According to the hotel's website: "The Parkroyal Saigon, Vietnam is a hotel that caters to your holistic well being. If the greenery soothes your soul and the fabulous food caters to your gourmet needs, the excellent recreational facilities offer you the much desired relaxation.
"The state-of-the-art relaxation and fitness center for instance offers you a wide array of services. Play around in the outdoor pool, sweat it out in the sauna, indulge in some Solarium activities or even pamper yourself with a massage. Of course the most fascinating part is the nearby 18 hole golf course where you and your family or friends can play or hone your skills on the greens..."
Seahorse Resort and Spa: Km 11, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Phone: 062 847 507. Fax: 062 847 774. Email: info@seahorseresortvn.com.
Cape Mui Ne boasts some of the stretches of coastline in Vietnam -- I should know, I have visited the area twice now this year (2008), and I am hoping to get back there again as soon as possible. Drive the long coastal road, it is just one resort after the other, all with their concrete mushrooms and other fanciful decorations (usually made of concrete). That long golden, wild beach. Among all the resorts, the Seahorse Resort and Spa stands out. As the official website records: "The Seahorse Resort has always been known for its tropical beach and relaxing atmosphere, but more recently it has become equally well-known for the quality and range of the spa services offered. The resort has recently opened a new Spa centre that focuses on the well-being of both the body and soul.
"Here at the Seahorse Spa it is our aim to help you escape from the stress and strain of everyday life and offer you the ultimate relaxation experience.
"While selecting the service of your choice, you can enjoy a soothing herbal drink. Once you have made your selection, you need only relax and allow us to pamper you..."
A wide variety of body massages are available, including Vietnamese, Thai, and the special Seahorse Body massage. Massage therapy for before and after sun exposure are also available. Dragon fruit features in some of the scrubs. A tamarind scrub is also employed to remove dead skin cells and purify the body.
Zen Spa: Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Hanoi.
Phone: 8 844 719 9889. Tay Ho means West Lake in Vietnamese, and this is exactly where this Vietnamese inspired spa resort is located, on the banks of the famous West Bank in Hanoi. According to the official website though, you wouldn't know you were in the heart of Vietnam's capital city: "There are three airy bamboo houses nestling in a lush, shaded garden balanced on the shores of the lake. Stepping into the spa, the herbal aroma from dried roses and jars full of jasmine immediately lifts my senses. If you must wait for your treatment, you can in the relaxing reception watching the birds outside in the trees and everyday life on the lake."
Every spa in the world seems to have its niche and its novelty these days, from the chocolate muds of the Dead Sea in Israel, to the Javanese milk spas of Singapore. At Zen Spa, the signature is the traditional Vietnamese herbal treatment known as Thouc nam. Thouc nam of course means "Medicine South" in Vietnamese, in contrast to the Medicine of the North which is Thouc bac which is Traditional Chinese Medicine. Thouc nam is the indigenous Vietnamese herbal tradition, which thrived before the intrusion of TCM with the invaders from the north. At Zen Spa in Hanoi, the main ingredients include eucalyptus, ginger, guava, lemongrass, peppermint leaf, grapefruit leaf, absinthe, lotus petal and the Dinh Lang leaf. These are abundant in Vietnam and can easily be found in gardens and fields. Except for the oils extracted from mint, lemon skin and lemongrass, all of the ingredients are freshly picked for use.
As the official website states: "The Zen Spa aims to heighten the six senses including sight, scent, sound, taste, touch and cultural learning. All the massage rooms have either a garden or lake view and have a simple and elegant style with high ceilings, silk curtains, and yellow bamboo walls. You will be laid relaxed on green cushions filled with dried green bean husk. Traditionally the Vietnamese use this material to make the pillows for their baby as it is said to be good for the sensitive skin of the baby. The cushions are also covered with fresh banana leaves which are believed to help your back relax and enhance the effect of the herbal treatment..."
"Late afternoon found me still wandering the streets, I knew I was hungry and would have to eat soon if I wanted to keep my energy up but I could not make up my mind where. I wanted to try some of the local food from a small cafe or street cart but could not remember, beyond some rather strongly worded warnings about unwashed fruit and unboiled water, what the guidebooks had said about this. Finally I ended up eating some fast food chicken from a place called California Fried Chicken. It was dreadful and served me right for being so fearful.
"Feeling dislocated, I returned to the Rex Hotel, where my driver found me immediately and gestured for me to get into the cyclo. "You want go eat?" he asked.
"'I eat already,' I replied, as we headed down the street away from the plaza.
"'Want go to nightclub?'
"I said nothing for a moment, trying to decide if a beer or two would feel right, or if I should return to the hotel. Pch out where I let myself be taken in this indecisive and somewhat uneasy mood.
"'You want meet girl?'
"'No. Maybe a beer.'
"Okay. I know good place. Cheap." And off we went, east on Le Loi Boulevard and south down Deng Khoi Street again. Good lord, I thought, he's taking me to one of the tourist bars..."
NHA TRANG MUD BATHS
Our taxi driver convinced Nga to take us to this place, but it wasn't enough to win over my mother and father, whose distrust of mud baths is well known (see my Moree Spas Australia story.) In a nutshell they once lived (along with me, a wee little bairn) for a full year or two in a small country town in Australia, which was absolutely totally boring -- the one redeeming feature being its natural artesian spa. However, my mother and father never went there, considering spas and hot springs wog fare, and not worthy of true blue Aussies.
"Sorry I have got to work," I said, which was true -- mmy shift was about to begin. But I was kind of a bit astounded, by the lengths some Vietnamese girls will go to, to find a foreign boyfriend or husband.
In his classic tale of tropical love which never had the chance to bud, Ted Guhl wrote (Situation background --
"'Hello,' the driver shouted, 'where you come from?'
"'USA', I shouted back.
"'America. You want massage? Make love, good?'
"Speechless, I smiled, looked away, then looked back. I shrugged.
"'Where you going?'
"'Hotel.'
"'We give good massage, good make love, yes?'
"Rallying, I replied, 'You young girls, I'm old man.'
"Her smile disappeared. I could see that she was sizing up this new suggestion and that she didn't believe me.
"'Twenty dollars, massage, make love, two hours.'
"Suddenly, I didn't want this to end here.
"'Listen, I give fifteen dollars, but just massage, no make love.'
２２２．SENSPA
(2006/8)
住所：Miss Aodai Building, 21 Nguyen Trung Ngan st., Dist.1, HCMC
８月１５日より９F女性用フロアーのみオープンしています。眺めの良い展望スパがセールスポイントです。９月末までは全てのトリートメントを２割引で。１０F男性用フロアーは９月１日より営業開始予定。レセプションマネージャーは日本人。
営業時間AM9－PM10
予約TEL ９１０２１７４
無料送迎
CROWDED WORLD Contact us by email: coderot@gmail.com phone: (090) 6039-9341 (JAPAN)
