Staycation: Capella Day 1

Sometimes finding a reliable dogsitter is not always the easiest thing…and if you are itching for a vacation, what to do?

It turns out a few hotels in Singapore allow dogs, even big ones. Yes, that’s right – hotels like Capella. Staycations are so easy.

Going to Sentosa is almost like going away. Crossing that bridge onto the island somehow shrinks the stress and bursts the bubble that is Singapore, at least for me. At times, the little red dot can feel claustrophobic.

Just a drive away, a staycation at the Capella with my two dogs is exactly what I need. Room service. Pool service. Bar service. Away from the constant construction noise.  Did I say perfect?

As I write this post, the two girls are soundly asleep. Snoring, in fact and kicking in her dream, one is. NCIS Los Angeles (not the best NCIS) is playing in the background. Sometimes watching marathon TV is perfect – mindless and entertaining at the same time. Since I don’t have a TV at home, this is a rare thing to happen.

Room Service High Tea

The afternoon started with high tea. A bit of gluttony really. The egg croissant toast was great. I was really into the savouries today. The churro, though was very delicious. Someone (not me!) ordered that. It’s not part of the high tea set.

We had two pots of tea. The Blue Elephant, a green tea with lotus and blue lily was light and nice, as was the Nymph of the Nile, a white tea “aromatized with Iris, blue lily, and orange blossom. Inspired by the ancient Egyptians anecdote for love.”

Ken and I then checked out the rest of the suite, the long balcony, the view, and then the spa. We took the dogs for a walk for their first pee break.

Yes the spa, where you can “tap into celestial rhythms.” Coincidentally we just had a super moon. Full moon in Aquarius.

Auriga Spa

The spa Auriga‘s approach is interestingly based on the cycles of the moon and uses The Organic Pharmacy line of products, which I have to say I am in love with. At least the rose balm which you can use for absolutely everything and it lasts. My post-facial face is gorgeously hydrated and soft.  It has a glow again too.

Every aspect of the Auriga experience is designed with these varying energies of the lunar phases to align you with the rhythms of nature for your enhanced wellbeing.

It’s all so beautifully timely. I just wrote a book review of “Moon Time” which is all about living with moon phases and moon energies. The lunar cycle DOES impact us. We are mostly water. It’s like how Auriga puts it in their brochure – “the New Moon is the time for renewal and introspection, the Waxing Moon is the period to refocus and ‘sow seeds’, the Full Moon is when one’s full potential is achieved, and the Waning Moon is the perfect time for cleansing.”

I was very tempted to do the Full Moon massage, which will “address your energy bodies.” In the end, I opted for The Organic Pharmacy Rose Crystal Lymphatic Facial. My face was looking spotty and feeling not great. The therapist was very diplomatic when she told me, after analyzing my skin, that I have really good skin but it’s a bit congested at the moment.

Pre-treatment

I managed to book in a 7:45pm appointment, the only one available. I went about 1/2 hour earlier to enjoy the facility, their “heat and water spa facilities journey.” After being welcomed with tea and a cold hand towel heavily infused with eucalyptus, the manager showed me around and explained how to use the facilities. I was also welcomed to return to enjoy it during my stay. Yes! Tonight was just a taster.

I started with the Herbal Steam Room. Instead of the recommended 8 – 10 minutes, I was in there for only a few. Not because it was not enjoyable but I didn’t have that much time, after getting the tour, enjoying the tea, and filling out the guest form. The steam room is meant to open up the pores and detoxify the body. Ice from the Ice Fountain is then applied to close the pores as well as stimulate circulation and tone the skin.

Next – the Vitality Pool. I spent one cycle on the lounger with jets massaging my body. RE-laxing. The swan neck shower was a bit strong for me.

The Cold Experience Shower is supposed to be taken before or after the Vitality Pool which was nicely warm. Alternate between cold and hot. The cool mist is infused with peppermint and it was a pleasant experience. Not wanting to get too cold, I skipped the cold shower and used only the cool mist. Still cold but do-able. Polar swims? Not for me!

After the cold, I headed for the warm rain shower which has the options of a rain shower or body sprays. I liked the jet sprays massaging my shoulders, sides, and thighs so much that I did it several times. Six times, to be exact. I also loved how it was dark and the tiny red ceiling lights played against the blue and gold tiles in the shower. I would have stayed longer but I knew I had to prep for my facial.

Downing a glass of roselle infused water, I returned to my locker to change into a robe and a pair of very comfortable disposable underwear (not the tiny ones but the nice “knitted” boy shorts). I waited in the lounge for my therapist, who very enthusiastically and politely welcomed me. May was her name.

My Facial Therapist

May’s English was heavily accented though she really knew how to talk. There is probably some script? Maybe? She invited me to take three breaths with her at the start of my treatment. She gently pushed down on my chest as I exhaled, perhaps helping me to let go and squeeze out all of the old air.

Before we started, May explained what was in store. She was very thorough. A nice cleanse to remove any makeup, a sea mineral mask for a deep clean, the honey and jasmine for massaging, and “the most important – collagen mask”. I really liked that she explained it all, giving me something to look forward to and also an opportunity to ask questions.

She left me to de-robe and climb into a generously padded bed. The weight of the blanket made me feel like I was in a cocoon and surprisingly very secure and safe, rather than claustrophobic. I can see how weighted blankets are therapeutic.

When May returned, she adjusted the bed to create some curves to support my back so that I wasn’t lying flat, which after awhile becomes very uncomfortable, painful even. The facial is 90 minutes long.

The Head-Trip that was My Treatment

I told myself to stay awake to actually enjoy each part of the treatment. I always have an active conversation in my head, thinking I would never fall asleep. I always do. Half in, half out anyway. Suspended. Far away but yet not. It’s an odd and wonderful state of in-between.

When she asked me “how’s the steam?” I was struck by how crazy that is. How is the steam, when so much is going on around the world. Between Israel and Palestine. The Yazidi who are under siege in the mountains. Russia and the Ukraine. The dolphins. The poverty. The oppression. The 99%.

Lying there, getting a facial, when people are staring death in the eye, seems so pathetic. Shallow. Unimportant.

Was I drugged and having a bad trip?

Then I went into a headspin. Is it enough that we are holding light, expanding consciousness, discussing our outcry among our equally safe and comparatively sheltered friends? Do we leave our lives and do… do what? Join in the resistance? Fight someone else’s war. Is it someone else’s war? Who are we? We are not on the ground. We don’t really know what’s going on. How much of it is propaganda? How much is distraction, an engine to generate more hate and divisiveness? Is it enough to root for peace? For a peaceful resolution? Or just to know we are all on a different path, different spiral, different part of the wheel?

I’m sure I’m not the only person who drops into a rabbit hole.

In the end, I don’t remember what I decided, what grand solution I had to the world’s problems. I had already drifted off. Or I had faded and forgotten what I thought about. The conclusions I may have drawn, from the comfort of a massage table. Doesn’t everything start with a dream?

We have what we call first world-problems. Even when we are not white, we are still privileged. It is a metaphor for living in the safety of a cocoon. Singapore certainly is that. We don’t have ghettos. We don’t have crimes like other big cities, even when Singapore is the most expensive city in the world. I was talking with a taxi uncle the other day about how safe it is. As a woman, I don’t even have a second thought about taking a taxi home late at night. There are no dark alleys.

There is no right answer of course. We can only do the best we know. We can help raise awareness – our own for sure. To see that the world is not so black and white and that we do still live in duality. Or at least the world is still dualistic even if our own reality is becoming less three-dimensional. And no matter what, to be grateful. The energy of gratitude is crazy amazing and super duper fast.

…and some more

This whole Capella staycation also reminded me to celebrate life’s pleasures and the power of manifestation. The thing about manifesting is that we don’t know how it will show up, and through whose good graces (Ken’s in this case). Even though things are messy and complicated with him and who knows how this will turn out, I’m not going to be bitter about any of it. Rather than getting caught up in the details let’s just  enjoy and be grateful. I did and I am.

Sitting in this huge bed, typing on my awesome Macbook (my birthday gift from Ken), with my two beautiful girls sleeping, wow…and a free flow mini bar. This isn’t what life is only about – the material world; to have the opportunity to have these Taurean experiences, wow. Yes. We have a physical body on a physical plane of existence. And I do believe life is about living in abundance, and creating more outrageously fun experiences. Playing with the energy and the magic. And recognizing but not being pulled in by all that’s happening. To know we can create a different world with energy. We are energy after all.

Capella Staycation Day 1 was amazing. Everything was pre-arranged (yes, by Ken). I always did appreciate that about him. Tonight we were in a suite and tomorrow when my friend G and her boys arrive, we have a villa. I’m sure the dogs are enjoying this staycation, with new places to sniff out and stretch their legs. Plus chicken sausages, one of their favourite treats! I certainly love being pampered with spa treatments and room service.