The Gulf of Siam at the foot of your bed? Love it. Hotels that leave the earth alone? Heck, yeah!
When I go to hotels that tag themselves as “eco-resorts”, my stay usually turns into a scavenger hunt for all the environment-friendly points.
“To reduce your carbon footprint, we have replaced the king-size bed with a hammock and the shampoo with apple cider vinegar,” the placard on the dresser might say.
Chef Patrick Wursching is a regular at the morning market in Mae Nam — ROSE YASMIN KARIMWell, at least I imagine that’s what it would have said if Al Gore were the general manager.
On arrival at the Prana Resort and Spa in Koh Samui, I half expect to be seated for a lecture on saving the planet. In place are friendly banter and service with a smile.
The hotel uses a system that provides electricity to the room when the room key is inserted in a slot.
The air-conditioning blasts, and I plop myself in the middle of the four-poster bed. An unsettling feeling makes me fidgety, and I look around trying to figure out what it is.
There’s no television! No matter, I’ll find ways to amuse myself.
It takes me a while to get the shower temperature just right. A nanotechnology-made rock is latched onto the shower pipe. It supposedly energises the water. I don’t know if the rock has anything to do with it, but the strong water pressure helps to calm my nerves after a very bumpy, 2½-hour flight in a tiny, twin-propeller airplane from Subang airport.
Room with an ocean view and private pool. — PRANA RESORT & SPA
A placard sits on the sink, encouraging guests to hang up their towels should they wish to reuse it. Washing fewer towels will help save the planet about as much as switching to diet coke will make an obese person shed weight, says the cynic in me.
To be fair, the resort isn’t forcing anyone to go without fresh towels if they don’t choose to.
My hair dripping wet, I go around the room opening and closing drawers in search of the “weapon of mass seduction”. But to no avail. Flabbergasted, I call the nice lady at the reception.
“The blow-dryer is upon request, ma’am. We will have it sent over.”
The tree-hugger in me applauds the system of delivering newspapers only upon request, but no blow-dryer?
Squinting at the mirror underneath the dim, energy-efficient lighting, I powder my nose and remember that my camera is out of battery. I plug the charger into the socket and pull the key from the slot.
Instantly, the power goes out. Fish! I’m guessing I’m not the only one who would be disgruntled with — rather than grateful for — the resort’s energy-saving effort.
This is the catch-22 hotels face. If they don’t make an effort to be greener, customers say they aren’t eco enough. When they do make an effort to be a little greener, customers are annoyed by the minor inconveniences they have to put up with . . .
Excuse me, where’s the meat?
I’m not averse to pushing pensioners out of the way at a barbeque to satisfy my insatiable appetite for lamb cutlets, but vegetarian restaurants don’t get me excited. The food is often joyless.
But the table-setting at Amala Vegetarian Restaurant, Prana’s only restaurant, is gorgeous, the company fabulous and the sky tonight is star-studded.
French chef Patrick Wursching is not a vegetarian but he is very creative with his fruits and vegetables.
The dishes come beautifully plated and as colourful as tropical fish. Green, pandan-flavoured rice comes with servings of asparagus, carrots and mushrooms cooked just right in a rich creamy sauce. It is so good it hurts.
For obediently eating all our vegetables, we are rewarded with a rich chocolate cake for dessert. It’s topped with chocolate ice cream and cookies (which turns out to be a piece of papadum). There is no mock meat — only good, honest vegetables.
The morning after, Chef Patrick takes us on a tour of the local wet market where he goes to stock up his kitchen. We encounter staples of the Thai diet like terrapins and frogs, bugs piled high and freshly pounded green and red curry paste.
After a quick lap, a driver takes us in a van around the island. The driver doesn’t speak much English, so we have to conjure up the possible answers to the queries that pique our curiosities, like, why is the mummified monk wearing Ray Bans? Where do the katoey (transvestite) working the bars and clubs at Chaweng get their hair done? With all that sticky rice and mango, how do the Thai ladies stay slim?
On the way back, we make a quick stop at the Tesco Lotus supermarket to buy some Thai Chilli Paste to take home. Julie, a staff at the resort, highly recommends Mae Pranhom Chilli Paste, which has a picture of a lady with a bob haircut on the label.
Back at the resort, we are briefed on the resort’s expansion plans.
“The second phase of the resort sits right across the street and will be up and running by 2010. It’s a high-traffic area, so we will be lining the wall with bamboo plants to filter out noise,” says operations head Daryl P. Bisset.
“There will be more sweeping changes. For instance, we will be installing solar panels on the other side. The initial investment will be expensive, but we’ll save on electricity in the long run.
“The resort is also phasing out standard hotel cleaning products that contain harmful chemicals and buying biodegradable ones as we are planning to reuse the grey water to water the plants on the grounds. Right now, we have a small herb and vegetable patch but it has been a constant challenge to grow the plants so close to the beach.”
The architect’s illustration of the resort extension looks cool, but Bisset’s animated description of the place is even better.
“There will be a floating platform for massage sessions (he assures you won’t get motion sickness), meditation water pods, a jade bed that will help improve blood circulation, and a team made up of doctors qualified in alternative medicine who will run a body terrain analysis for guests to test their blood, urine and saliva,” he says.
Koh Samui is building quite a reputation as the detox capital of Thailand, and it looks like Prana Resort and Spa fits right in.
Travellers looking to check out this resort should start saving their vacation days!
For enquiries, call 
+66 7724 6362
or visit www.pranaresorts.com
No comments:
Post a Comment