Some years ago, I was invited to the inauguration of a Royal Caribbean cruise liner - The Spirit of the Seas, which was going to sail off Southampton in England for a brief overnight trip. The liner was awesome and so was my stateroom but it was the Elmis-Thalasso spa on board that will go down as one of the best spa sessions I have ever had. It began with a Swedish deep tissue massage, then I was encased in several layers of mud and mineral clay, wrapped in a silvery thermal wrap and as the heat seeped through to every pore I almost passed out in a state of pure relaxation. But, it was not over. A hydrotherapy session of ice-cold and steam-hot water jets, part spa boot camp, part tingling rejuvenation followed and I was brought back to the massage room for one last top to toe moisturising treatment. Loaded with several Elmis products - yes, you have to succumb somewhere - I staggered out a complete woman. As part of my job, I stayed involved with the beauty, spa and wellness revolution.

In Bali, I experienced the traditional Lulur, a three stage massage beginning with rice powder followed by turmeric and red chilli massages to make your skin breathe. In Morocco, I saw the public baths or hammams where you could be pounded, scrubbed, exfoliated and spewed out a new woman. In Thailand, massages, spas and treatments are intrinsic to a Thai woman's skin maintenance and beauty routine. The Thai massage is based on the principles of yoga and skilled masseurs use hands and feet to massage all the pressure points. The famous Four Hands massage is a marvel as two masseurs synchronise movements in perfect rhythm on either side so you don't know whether it is two hands or four. Thailand has world famous spas - the Six Senses and the Banyan tree, are already in Delhi, one at the Imperial, one at the Sheraton. But, I loved the Devrana Spa at the Dusit Thani in Bangkok. My fellow spa sinner, Shiana, went in there for their Cleopatra bath and found herself immersed in milk and roses for hours. Their tiramisu bath similarly began with a chocolate wrap and ended with aromatic vanilla infusions. But, what I particularly liked about the Devrana was that each treatment room had its own spacious private shower and bathroom as well as changing room which were not small cramped holes.

At Ananda in the Himalayas the views are spectacular and the shiridhora begins with the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas as the gods are invoked for one's well-being. But with Ananda and other spas based on Ayurvedic principles, a 14-day stay is recommended. The entire panchkrama or cleansing, detoxing and balancing process based on your specific doshas takes that much time to kick in. I did have a sighting, several in fact, of the gorgeous Rekha in between treatments. She was there for a 21-day stay, I was told. There is nothing sensual about the shiridhora or the oil drip on the centre point of your forehead for 45 minutes that I opted for but it is the most effective method of relaxation as it opens up an important chakra in our body - the ajahan chakra.