Apart from a strategically placed towel, I'm lying naked on a massage table in my own private open-air wooden pavilion, being anointed and stroked with bergamot oil. The table has a cut-out hole for my face, and I'm gazing down into a bowl of white and pink lotus flowers. Around me are the faint tinkle of bells, the twitter of night birds, and the first stars appearing in the velvety night sky. All very Zen-like.

In the Gulf of Thailand, the island of Koh Samui seems especially designed for hedonism. Coconut palms, white beaches, translucent sea of palest blue--and if you had one treatment a day, enough top-class spas to keep you occupied for more than five weeks.

What would a 90-minute oil massage, a 70-minute facial, and 30 minutes in a herbal steam room cost in the States? In the Chedi Spa at Chaweng on Koh Samui, this particular package costs 3,300 baht ($85.60)--and you'll love every pampered minute of it.

You can have a traditional two-hour Thai massage on Chaweng's main street or on the beach for as little as 300 baht ($7.80), but the Chedi offers five-star spa treatment. Set in lush tropical gardens, it's designed like a Thai village complete with lotus ponds and miniature rice paddy.

As soon as you walk in you're given a cooling towel, a glass of rosella tea, and a menu. Should you have the traditional Thai, the Indonesian, the senses, harmony, or serenity massage? Such difficult decisions! Next you'll have to choose from the body scrubs and wraps--carrot and papaya, honey and sesame seed, oatmeal and yoghurt, white clay and coffee. Don't know about clay, but the rest of these sound good enough to eat.

After much umming and aahing, I choose an Indonesian oil massage--a bit less vigorous than traditional Thai massage.

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First Published: May 15, 2005