would be plenty of therapists on staff who would surely be able to fi t something in on the day I was there. Due to the taxi conundrum, I was 25
minutes late but this didn’t seem to be a problem. I was immediately escorted up to the medical services fl oor, sat in a com- fortable chair and presented with a cup of tea. Dr Chaiyaporn soon greeted me and guided me to his offi ce where he asked a series of quick, simple questions related to exercise, nutrition, sleep patterns, stress lev- els and general moods. I told him I thought my hormones might be out of balance as I’d been feeling much more tired and less cheer- ful than usual, so he suggested blood work and analysis for an accurate diagnosis. T is would take a couple of hours, so he recom- mended I used the hydrotherapy facilities for free while I wait as they have therapeu- tic qualities. T e advantages of heat and wet experiences are nearly always overlooked in the west and, once again, I was struck by Tria’s more open-minded approach. I decided to indulge a bit more and
booked a 90-minute us$75 (€57, £46) T ai herbal massage, but not before having a delicious salad and smoothie. The food was organic, flavoursome and reasona- bly priced at just under us$10 (€8, £6). I had 30 minutes to enjoy the herbal steam- room, infra-red sauna and various vitality pools before my treatment and by the time I entered the well-appointed room for my massage, I was deeply relaxed.
SPA BUSINESS 4 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
WHAT’S THE SCORE? Ease of booking:
Facilities:
Tria attracts local and day-spa visitors but is also popular with medical tourists
6 9
Cleanliness/maintenance: 10 Experience/treatment: 8.5 Value for money: Overall experience:
10 8.5 My therapist was highly skilled, spoke
excellent English and delivered a wonderful treatment combining T ai massage with yoga moves and herbal poultices. She was strong, understood the body and what I needed and worked intuitively. I was then led to a beauti- ful relaxation room to rest with a hot cup of tea before collecting my blood results. Dr Chaiyaporn took great care to explain
what my tests showed and answer my ques- tions. He also had easy-to-read printouts identifying my key biological and hormonal levels. While I don’t want to go into detail about the diagnosis, I will say that he pre- scribed a course of hormonal and vitamin supplementation that I could buy from a pharmacy (either onsite or elsewhere). He thoroughly explained his recommended course of treatment, the anticipated out- come and how long it would be before I would feel a diff erence, before leading me
to the reception desk to schedule a follow-up appointment for me. I felt lousy for the fi rst two and a half weeks
of taking the supplements, and it would have been nice to have been warned about that. But four weeks on and I’m seeing results. My energy levels have increased and I have a sig- nifi cantly improved sense of wellbeing. I feel great! And the best thing is it didn’t break the bank. T e blood tests and analysis cost was us$200 (€153, £124), whereas in the US it would just be too prohibitive and not typ- ically covered by insurance.
SUMMARY:
I was pleasantly surprised with my expe- rience at Tria. T ere were more patients/ guests than I would have expected to see for a Tuesday aſt ernoon. And I was aston- ished to see how receptive and proactive they were about health and wellbeing. Although, considering how ancient healing traditions are so ingrained in the culture, perhaps I should not have been. In the end, I spent over six hours at Tria.
Lab-work was performed and analysed. I spent one and half hours with the doctor, ate a delicious meal, enjoyed world-class spa amenities and had an exceptional massage all for just under us$400 (€305, £248). I now feel empowered about my health and plan many more visits. ●
Read Spa Business online
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