Sometimes life needs a spark. What better way to breathe fire into your life than learning to walk across hot coals in your bare feet. Learning to master firewalking can work for your self-development, confidence and team-building skills. Who knew?
Generations of civilisations have taken part in this timeless tradition, including the Vikings, Cretans and Samoans. It’s a case of mind over matter as you delicately pad through searing coals packing a temperature of up to 800ºC.
By the end of a Napkapu Firewalking Retreat you’ll feel as if you can achieve anything. And in that spirit, you may also like to try the retreat’s other offerings, such as glass walking, breaking arrows with your throat or putting needles through your hand. Go on, we know you want to.
When modern-day life is getting you down, it’s time to retreat. At Kamalaya Koh Samui, a luxury spa retreat on the popular Thai island, take a step back, indulge in holistic healing treatments and come out the other side feeling like a new you.
Kamalaya has a number of programs designed to help overcome stress and burnout, but we love the sound of Asian Bliss – when in Rome, after all. For between five and 10 nights, turn off your gadgets then exercise, eat well and be nurtured by treatments taking in Chinese Traditional Medicine, Ayurvedic practice and traditional Thai therapies.
Each day there’s a schedule of complimentary yoga, pilates and tai chi classes, plus there’s a fitness centre, swimming pool and steam cavern if you want to stretch out on your own.
Feel like you’ve got stress levels under control? There’s a whole raft of wellness programs including detox, weight-loss, exercise and yoga programs. As far as the resort goes, the entry-level rooms are cosy and chic and surrounded by trees; others overlook the ocean, some have private plunge pools or there’s the opportunity to book a beachfront villa. Just those views are likely to make knotted muscles unwind.
If a snow-change is your answer to the suffocation of the city, then breathe in the fresh alpine air at Alpina Dolomites, considered one of the most luxurious ski resorts in Europe, and be rejuvenated from the inside out.
Perched atop Europe’s largest high-altitude plateau in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Dolomites, this is the perfect place for intrepid skiers, mountain adventurers and snow–bunnies alike. The scenery – and the altitude – will leave you breathless, and that’s before you even tackle the activities beckoning in the great outdoors.
Adventure seekers can take to the slopes for snowboarding and cross- country skiing. Winter warmers can soak up the stunning panoramic views from the outdoor pool, then sweat it out at the Alpina spa in either the Finnish sauna or the aromatic steam baths.
A visit in summer will see the ice melt away to reveal a stunning alpine meadow ripe for hiking and horse riding. Plus, singing in high-altitude mountain air will do wonders for your lungs.
Energy-balancing therapy is all about good vibrations. Amatierra’s sound therapy tune-up sessions use singing crystal-quartz bowls to relax the mind, while the meditative treatments will rebalance your chakras (energy centres).
Raise your vibratory levels to the rhythm of the Costa Rican rainforest and be at one with the environment and your own inner tempo.
The treatment draws on the ancient Tibetan practice of playing singing bowls, which are a type of bell said to restore any frequencies in your body that are out of whack and potentially diseased. Therapies can also combine Biomat treatments, which use the power of amethyst crystals to soothe the body. For something more hands on book in for a horse therapy session.
Open your imagination and leave sound of mind and body.
Tear a chunk of pork from the bone, crack open a clam, chow down on a dumpling and follow up with a mouthful of sausage. Next in line are mussels, chicken, barnacles and spuds.
Hailing from the Chiloé Archipelago, Chile’s curanto is a meat-lover’s feast. Traditionally the bounty is bundled over hot rocks, wrapped in nalca (wild rhubarb) leaves and left for a couple of hours to bake.
The resulting repast, curanto en hoyo, is served on special occasions, when dozens of hungry mouths plunder the mountain of meats.
Head to Chiloé Island to sample the purist’s dish, or for a taste that’s widely available on the mainland, order curanto en olla. Cooked in a pot, the dish combines juicy seafood with a fragrant broth.
Dig in and wash it all down with a glass of local chardonnay.
With a Lego-yellow hotel and the snow-covered Andes as a backdrop, the outdoor pool at the world-famous Portillo Ski Resort is one of the coolest (and coldest!) places to get your trunks on.
True, most people come here for the fresh powder and unbeatable runs (Portillo is ranked among the top 10 ski resorts in the world), but we say it’s worth a visit for the hotel pool alone.
It really doesn’t get any better than soaking in a hot tub while you bask in the rugged mountain views and fresh snowfall. Who knows, you might even be tempted to re-create a scene from the documentary film Warren Miller’s Journey and practise extreme ski jumps into the pool – but you didn’t hear that from us.
Nestled among the alleyways of Singapore’s old red light district in Chinatown, the New Majestic is a one-of-a-kind hotel with rooms given names such as Pussy Parlour and Fluid.
Each of the 30 rooms – some individually designed by emerging artists – is just as wacky and risqué as its name suggest. Think ‘floating’ beds, high ceilings, bold murals and art installations, cast-iron garden bathtubs and rain showers, as well as an eclectic mix of vintage and designer furniture.
Pulse through the musical meccas of Burkina Faso and Ghana in a toe-tapping, hip-swaying African odyssey.
Rhythm and Power tours depart in December annually for a physically and mentally challenging journey designed to immerse you in the music and culture of West Africa.
Dance your way through Ghana as you study the subtle nuances of djembe, a skin-covered goblet drum, and dunan, a cylindrical drum topped with rawhide. Explore the bustling streets in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, jam with locals in Bolgatanga, in the country’s warm farming region, and celebrate New Year’s Eve in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Live with a griot family (a household of storytellers and musicians), perform in traditional ceremonies and muster strength and stamina as you master folklore dances. By the end of this 40-day journey you will march to the beat of your own drum.
It gets totally wild when scantily clad Sitgetans take over the Catalonian city during their Carnival. Even in the chilly weather (it’s Europe in February, after all), a full covering is optional and debauchery rules the streets after dark.
When it first gets going, Sitges is essentially a party that attracts the LGBQTI crowd, but after the initial four days it becomes slightly more like Carnival in other parts of the world, albeit with a rainbow hue.
It all begins on Fat Thursday – they call it Dijou Gras here – and the Gran Rua (King’s Parade). Costumed ‘queens’ shimmy down the street and the King of the Carnival reads his proclamation to start proceedings. From then until the ceremonial burying of the sardine on Ash Wednesday the town becomes a heaving, swaying mass of humanity.
The two biggest events, however, are the Debauchery Parade on Sunday night and the Extermination Parade on Tuesday evening. A procession of floats, pumping out tunes and surrounded by dancers, cruises through the streets. Drag performers and dancers from all over Europe strut beside them, as up to 300,000 people from all corners of the globe shimmy on the sidelines. Then, when the parading is done, the Sitges nightlife keeps the party going until well past dawn.
During the day, if you manage to wake up, things are often a little calmer. You’ll see costumed children and folk dancing, take part in a game that’s a bit like bingo called the Great Carnival Quinto, and hook into the traditional feasts held at different points around the city. Try xató (cold cod salad), but hold on to your plate since the carnival jesters have been known to start food fights.
Not every sailing adventure has to be an epic voyage, and a two-day dhow cruise with Musandam Sea Adventures is a tantalising way to find your sea legs. The rugged Musandam Peninsula is an enclave of Oman, separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates and jutting into the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Board a dhow – a traditional wooden fishing vessel – and explore the mountains that plunge straight into the sea. Frolic on the sparkling white sand beaches skirting the many inlets, keep a lookout for dolphins and swim in clear waters teeming with marine life.
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