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Lately, I had begun to feel tired and low on energy. I think the madness of the last few months had caught up with me due to work and work travels, family commitments, kids stuff, and life in general. I was searching for a break when an unexpected offer came my way. ..

The solution to my tired, aching body
When Serena Spa from the Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel contacted me and invited me to try their spa facilities, I was intrigued. When they further offered to let me invite five of my girlfriends and turn it into a “spa date”, I was sold! It had been a while since “us girls” did something together and a spa session sounded like just what we all needed. Most of us are working women and all of us are mommies – put that equation together and you get a situation where occasions for meeting up and chilling together are quite infrequent. So I did what any girl would do – I quickly created a Whatsapp group of my mommy friends and told them to block one Saturday morning for spa therapy! On the day when we showed up for our spa appointments, the six of us gathered in the cozy lounge area of the spa, catching up and chatting away like it had been ages! Like a typical blogger, I suggested we put on face masks and cucumbers on our eyes and take pictures together in our white robes. You know, kinda like that photo above? Yeah, no...that was shot down pretty quickly. Haha! 


Picking the right spa treatment
Soon it was time to begin our treatments. The spa menu does offer quite a broad selection of body therapy, body scrubs, facials, and manicure/pedicure treatments to pick up. Some of us picked facials while others picked a massage therapy. Regardless of the treatment, the sessions begin with 15 minutes of relaxation in the steam room. The idea behind the steam room is to help you unwind and loosen the tension in your body before you get started with your actual treatment. While most spas will have a common sauna/steam room, I liked that Serena Spa has individual steam rooms for each person.

I chose to get the Marma signature massage which is an Ayurvedic spa using herbal oils. It started off with a head massage with warm oil, followed by a body massage, and ended with a body scrub. The whole experience was so therapeutic and relaxing. My therapist knew what she was doing and checked in with me often to ensure that she was applying the right amount of pressure. I personally like firm pressure during a massage so I thoroughly enjoyed my Marma massage. If strong massage pressure is your thing, then I highly recommend this treatment!

For my friends who chose the different types of facial, they enjoyed their treatment as well. However, do keep in mind that some facials from the spa menu involve extractions while others do not. So ask your therapist about this in advance to ensure you pick the right facial treatment for you.  


Facilities and service
Overall, our interaction with the spa and its staff was smooth and pleasant. The spa itself would not be considered as big and luxurious as you might expect from hotel spas on the Orchard Road strip. But the facilities are certainly clean and comfortable and tastefully done. What’s more, the Marriot Tang Plaza Hotel is centrally located and easy to access (MRT stop: Orchard).


Promotion Offer
If you’re feeling like you want to have a “relaxing mummy break” with your girlfriends too, worry not dear readers! Serena Spa has been kind enough to provide a discount offer for first time visitors for a limited time only.

Serenity Full Body Massage for 60 minutes at $78++ or for 90 minutes at $98++  (Please mention code URBANSERENA to avail yourself of this discount offer)

Location
Serena Spa at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel
320 Orcahrd Road, #04-01, Singapore 238865
www.serenaspa.com
Tel: +65-6831-4526


What do you get when you combine a very floral blazer with sunny weather? A tropical getaway! Something about this combination just screams "chilling by the beach while sipping coconut water straight from the coconut" (as ridiculous as that sounds). And while that certainly wasn't feasible in the midst of bustling Bangkok city, imagining that I could made all the difference.

I'm typically one who hates florals - one, it drudges up horrific memories of bad fashion choices with florals in middle school and two, it reminds me of something grandmas would wear. But as with many of us, if you see something often enough on others, it grows on you. And so, after many many years, I now find myself with a floral piece back in my closet. I'm slowly warming up to the idea. Not sure if I can do floral pants yet...baby steps, you know? So please be kind. :)

P.S. - This is Urban Mantra's 100th post! Yay! :)

F21 blazer, white tank & jeans from Bangkok, bead bracelets from Target, silver cluster ring from India, Coach clutch, no name sunnies

Bangkok Travel Tip: Check out Amaranth Skin Care & Spa. I went there for a facial the other day and it was DIVINE! The facial included a series of seaweed, herbal, and cucumber face masks along with an uber relaxing hot stone massage. I walked out floating in the air after it was over. $27 (800 baht) for an hour and a half? You can't argue with that.

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Last Friday, I boarded a plane in NYC on a cool spring night...22 hours later, I found myself in hot and humid Bangkok on a Sunday morning (somewhere in the space-time continuum, I lost a Saturday). Aside from the brief disorientation from jet lag (which explains why I'm awake and blogging right now when I should be sleeping), boy does it feel good to be home! Coming to Bangkok is always a treat - indulgence in Thai and home-cooked Indian food that I just can't get anywhere else, quality massages, facials, and other spa treatments that are so inexpensive that you can afford to get one every day, shopping you'll go ga-ga over, and lots of time with family and relatives. It's going to be a short, whirlwind trip for me this time but I look forward to making the most of it.

Coming to Bangkok has definitely made me skip spring and put me in a summer state of mind. These are pictures taken by the pool in my apartment building. Can you tell just how bright and sunny it is outside? I was literally doing a happy dance as I reached for my summer maxi dress, hat, flipflops, and sunglasses! Along with the warm breeze and the palm trees in the backdrop, all that was missing was a jump in the pool...which I did soon after these pictures were taken. :)

Happy Monday y'all! Have a great week ahead!
F21 dress, Nine West purse, Piperlime bead necklace, Target hat and bracelets, flip flops from Bangkok

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On a warm and breezy Thursday, two girls took to the Meatpacking District for an evening of indulgence – think shopping, champagne, and spa treatments. It was the Shop the Night Away event hosted by DailyCandy and OO.com, featuring exclusive discounts in several Meatpacking stores, including favorites like Diane von Furstenberg, Scoop, Trina Turk, All Saints, Rebecca Taylor, and Theory. My friend and I were like women on a mission, marching into each store with gusto! While no wallets were harmed in the goings-on of this shopping event, a delightfully girly time was had! We browsed the stores, sipped some bubbly, and appreciated beautiful pieces of fashion. A few highlights from our shopping crawl:

- Sampling amazing fragrances at NYC Bond – I highly recommend the spicy Chinatown and the light and airy Union Square fragrances
- Falling in love with the summer dresses at DVF (think bright orange, cool mint, and Santorini blue)
- Trying on floral denims at Paige (Unfortunately, I don’t think I can carry off this current fashion trend!)
- Fawning over the intricate beaded dresses at All Saints (the detailed ethnic designs reminded me a lot of the creations of Indian fashion designers)
- Drooling over a pair of leopard-print flats at Rebecca Taylor

Some snapshots from the evening below...