Word: spa
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...crevasses; and of more than 200 geysers, some of which spout boiling water over 30 meters into the air. Similarly dramatic was the nearby Uzon Caldera, a 15-sq-km geothermal field where we bathed in a warm, sulfurous-smelling pond. As we coated ourselves with the mud, thinking "spa," our cook, Elena, a regular visitor to the spot, warned, "Don't stay in too long?Xthe radon gas is not good for your heart." Oops...
...There have been other additions. The Sanctuary has grown from a single hut into a full-fledged retreat that includes a dormi-tory, bungalows and a spa, as well as yoga and meditation halls perched on a rocky hill overlooking the beach. For guests who prefer privacy and domestic amenities, there are several hillside homes with bathtubs, kitchens and decks over-looking the Gulf of Thailand...
...discover, a big part of the health treatments that go on at the spa involve not eating, or at least not eating anything resembling food. The bright and airy Wellness Center is set back from the beach and offers several rigorous regimens, fasts and colonics designed to clean the body inside and out. As a cleansing client, this means I spend my days in Thailand ingesting nothing but murky "shakes" of volcanic clay, psyllium husk and watermelon juice?all the while undergoing daily coffee colonics. In Nepal or Mongolia?places with little culinary cachet?fasting might make sense...
...cleanse guru?his Thai nickname is due to his broad round face?is the only Thai I've met who doesn't think fasting is inane. He's a veteran cleanser who swears by it. His wife, a beautiful, bird-like woman named Lak who works in the spa, doesn't share his sympathies and taunts me with green curries and papaya salad...
...shakes, I pass hours swinging in my hammock contemplating king prawns in chili sauce. But it's not the meals I miss so much as the sense of purpose meals provide. Eating gives me something to do. The closest I come to cheating happens one afternoon in the spa while undergoing a papaya body-wrap treat-ment. As I lie mari-nating in the pulpy, orange goop, I realize that with a little bend-ing, I could eat the for-bidden fruit slathered on my shoulder. I resist. I'm not hungry, only bored...