If there be one thing about this Urban Oasis Spa here in Thong Lor that I remember particularly well, it is that she really is an oasis and that she really does live up to her name.
To be sure, of course, Bangkok does have a lot of spas, and whilst a good number of them do lie off the beaten track, an equal number of them too stand amongst the tourist hotspots for (impulse) and convenience for everybody.
Urban Oasis Spa belongs to the former where, although right in the middle of the Thong Lor district- known for its Japanese expat community, izakayas and new luxury mall Emquartier, at the entrance you are greeted by a sturdy flight of steps and a huge, heavy traditional wooden door once you get off your Grab.
It is a lovely, traditional environment that you step into once you enter them wooden doors.
No sooner had I gotten up the steps that I was guided to one of the comfortable settees in the living area where I was served a wet towel, and a cup of what I think is butterfly pea tea.
Light, fragrant and slightly sweet, it was calming, refreshing and soothing all at the same time.
You know, I used to deem a welcome cup of tea like this unnecessary (let's just go straight to the treatment), but I've changed my mind.
One really does make better decisions when the mind's at ease- especially when it comes to investments of people, time and money- and when faced with a spa menu as extensive as theirs.
Tell the truth, there was a lot I wanted to have.
I wanted the Queen of Oasis, which had a combination of Hot Stone, Swedish, and Aromatherapy massages that focused on Meridian Lines and were meant to restore and enhance vitality.
I also wanted the Oasis Royal Thai Facial which used natural products and Thai herbs like Thanaka, Honey and Black Sesame to detoxify the skin and improve energy flow.
And then there were the Ayurvedic treatments which included Body Massages, Head Massages and Shirodhara.
It took me a bit of time to decide but in the end I decided on the Ayurveda Package which combined Shirodhara, a scalp massage and an East Indian style warm oil massage which was meant to reduce tension and improve sleep.
I'm really glad I chose this package.
Because after this treatment I now have a brand new perspective of Ayurvedic treatments, and as much as I love the other styles of massages and treatments, I don't think I'm able to see the others in the same light as I do the Ayurvedic ones again.
I wish I were able to explain better.
But I've no idea how best to describe the sensations of these treatments, except that the combination of all three therapies in a single 2 hour session lulled me and my poor head into a state of sleep so deep that I compare it to being on an entirely different plane?
I exaggerate not.
It really felt that way.
Some will call it spiritual.
Until I can describe it better, I however just like to think of it as a sort of semi-conscious experience.
There really is something, I tell you, about the gentle dripping of herbal oils onto the forehead. No doubt it's a simple technique, nothing too elaborate, nothing that seems to require extensive technique or skill, but there is skill and experience involved, because how else will the masseuse know the right temperature of the oil, the speed in which the oil drips onto the skin, and the desired sensations which the customer must feel.
It started off slow and warm, bit by bit by bit- I could feel the gentle, serene flow of the oils over my forehead.
But I don't know what they were meant to do.
Maybe they were meant to calm the nerves.
Maybe the flow of the oils was meant to trickle about to the side of the forehead and stimulate the nerves on the head and scalp.
It did feel like my overworked brain was gradually being comforted into some sort of semi-consciousness, where even that, the semi-consciousness disappeared (somewhere) and I was lulled into a state of rest so deep that (unlike other times) I didn't even hear myself snore.
The experience was unbelievable, I tell you.
This, coming from someone who has fallen into a deep sleep during head massages before, but who has never ever fallen into such a state where I'm totally knocked out, oblivious to the world around me, oblivious even to my own breathing and the (embarrassing) way I snore.
Perhaps the scalp massage, together with the Shirodhara, made it just it.
I know I felt her strong fingers press through my locks of hair into the nerves of my scalp.
I also know I felt the pressure of my scalp tension lift and disappear.
So relaxed, half-asleep and semi-conscious was I that I don't even know what it was the therapist did for the East Indian style massage.
I just know that I- in a blur, half awake kind of way- felt the warm oil application all over my limbs and body, and it might be the technique they call Abhyanga (how does one pronounce it) because there was a distinctive style to the massage that (possibly) included kneading, stroking and rubbing.
It was a very, very lovely session.
Being able to fall asleep, being able to fall asleep to such a state where I literally went numb until the moment I woke up was comforting.
It was as if this physical realm- for that period of time- didn't exist.
But of course it did.
I woke up.
And I got woken up.
The best part of this spa experience wasn't just the Ayurvedic treatments that made me appreciate Indian/East Indian natural therapy and techniques.
The best part was the ensuite bathroom.
Because of what use is it to have such a magnificent experience but not be able to wash the oil out of one's hair and body then change back to regular clothes before going out to face the world?
It made for a huge, huge deal that I could easily slip out of the towel, hop into the bright red bathroom, and take a lovely, cleansing shower with sweet-scented shampoo and shower gel, even being able to dry and comb my hair after.
Let's just say that it was still a very dazed me who stepped out of the massage suite to the corridors back down the wooden stairs to the sitting room below.
Despite that, however, I managed to appreciate the architecture, and interiors of Urban Oasis Spa.
Seeing the garden, the staircases and the rooms along the corridors made me feel like I had become a guest in somebody's home, and that I had just stepped out from somebody's rooms to the general common area with the rest of the (family) guests and friends.
I don't think I've ever had such an immersive, intimate spa experience before.
And even though it's been a while, the memory of Urban Oasis Spa stays rooted deep with me, and I'm very sure I'll come back here for the same Ayurvedic Package again.