Beside the delicious Raw Pad Thai I created with the Chef of the Anantara Mai Khao, one other thing I want to share with you from my recent stay there is the amazing experience I had while gourmet detox cleansing in Thailand.
Imagine being in a beautiful beach resort on a tropical island. Feeling and looking good (especially when you are on a bikini most of the day) is a big part of the enjoyment. And besides, who feels like eating heavy food in 97 F weather?
When Alec and I got to the Anantara in Phuket (we checked out two different properties: Mai Khao and Layan, both stunning), as we learned about their amazing wellness concept “Anantara Balance” we immediately signed up.
Since we heard that this wellness concept was specifically designed to help guests feel good while on holiday (whether you want to focus on weight loss, body toning, de-stressing or holistic healing), we really felt like that was something we wanted to try.
We picked and chose elements we wanted to emphasize on, such as healthy food, fresh juices, yoga and relaxation at the spa to de-stress and recharge.
In our normal routine, we always strive to get in as much green juice as we can. But imagine having a person come up to you at regular intervals with a fresh concoction full of vitamins and nutrients?
The first time it happened we had just finished a private sunrise yoga session by the beach. We weren’t even done rolling up our mats, and someone from the kitchen was already right behind us, holding two large glass bottles of green juice!
Three hours later, the most delicious homemade cashew milk was delivered straight to our room and we found our 5 pm young coconut water awaiting us as we got out of our massage room!
How can you not stick to your detox cleansing commitment when it’s so well planned out!?
A cool aspect of “Anantara Balance” is that it offers a whole range of wellness packages to chose from and that you can mix and match and customize to your needs. And given that each property provides different detox activities and menus, part of the excitement is to visit different locations and stay healthy while traveling to some of the most amazing resorts in the world!
At Anantara Mai Khao we opted for couples’ treatments such as the Journey of Siam, that starts off with an exotic scrub to sweep away dead cells smooth out the new skin and continues with an expert therapist using a traditional heated compress filled with remedial herbs and healing Thai massage techniques to soothe muscle tension throughout the body. Needless to say we absolutely loved it!!
Since we love to start our day with a nice body stretch, we were assigned an amazing private yoga teacher that would guide us through our practice directly on the beach.
As per the food, we combined juice cleansing and healthy eating, enjoying some of the amazing food that the kitchen designed for me according to my list of allergies.
When we moved to Anantara Layan on the other side of the island (check out this video to see how incredible our villa was), we added Muay Thai to our yoga and workout routine (how could we not when our trainer was a professional Muay Thai fighter?!), and we kept up with our juice program, which we mixed with some of the amazing food options they had.
Can you believe that at breakfast they even set up a “Superfood Station” with lots of bowls filled with Spirulina, Goji Berries and Hemp Seeds? And you should have seen the cute little jars of chia pudding or steamed quinoa, perfectly designed to help guests with portion control.
I will talk more about the amazing healthy food I had at the Anantara Layan in my next article, where I will share a great gluten free recipe I cooked with Chef Noon.
In the mean time, enjoy the photos of some the best food I enjoyed at Anantara Mai Khao, and you are looking to experience the most perfect gourmet detox cleansing in Thailand, Anantara Balance is the way to go!
Stay tuned for more healthy travel tips!
Ambra
