Seashells at The Summer Hotel Lovely Bay: Romantic contemporary women's fiction. by Polly Babbington

Author:Polly Babbington [Babbington, Polly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

23

Over another cup of tea sitting on the balcony, Nina reflected on her day. When she’d returned to the hotel, she’d felt exponentially tired and hot. She blamed the drastic change in climate and the cloying humidity for her exhaustion. On top of that, the many thousands of steps and the long flight had also taken their toll. She chided herself that she should have drunk more water, realising that she’d probably let herself get dehydrated. She made a mental note that whilst in the tropical climate, glugging down water had to be front and centre. Cups of English tea were not quite enough.

After spending an hour or so pottering in the room, unpacking a few more things, and taking on as much water as she could, she made her way to the spa located in an outbuilding a stroll away from the pool area. As she walked through the tropical gardens and followed a winding pathway flanked by gigantic palms, banana plants, and ferns, she still felt as if tiredness was her new best friend. The spa treatment was just what she needed.

As she got closer, the spa building didn’t disappoint – a traditional, Thai pitched roof, open building and an expanse of shutters and intricately carved wood. As Nina approached, calming music welcomed her at the entrance, and on either side of oversized doors, huge orchid-shaped bowls brimmed with water where goldfish swam amidst water plants. As if by magic, the doors opened, and she stepped into a reception area scented with jasmine and lavender and lit entirely by the soft glow of tiny tealight candles. The famous Thai smile she had heard so much about was very much in evidence every which way she looked as she removed her shoes, put on a pair of silk slippers, and followed the smile. Welcome to paradise Bangkok style.

Nina instantly felt calm and almost floated as she was led to a long, low timber table where a welcome ceremony had been laid out for her on a beautiful pink silk runner. A woman brought a pot of jasmine tea to the table, poured it into tiny bowls, and placed a stack of silk napkins on the table. On a chair, a basket with a silk robe, towel, and a pair of slippers was ready for her and the woman explained that once Nina had finished her tea, she would change into the gown and begin with a reflexology treatment, followed by a ninety-minute full-body massage with warm oil and hot stones. She would then progress to a cleansing ceremony and finish with a yoga Nidra guided meditation and a cacao ceremony – whatever that was.

Nina wasn’t quite sure about the cacao ceremony; it sounded mildly disturbing, but she did exactly as she was told, taking a seat on the bench, dipping into the beautiful platter of exotic tropical fruit, and sipping the jasmine tea. Before she knew it, she was dressed in the silk robe and sitting on a specially made chair, her feet in a porcelain basin where frangipani flowers floated on the surface.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.