The most cutting edge spa in the world. Too expensive. Until I hit a wall in my life and knew that I needed the best the world had to offer to help me heal. I let go of money and booked it, and an Uber to get me there. Sometimes you need a five star spa, with an ancient principle of wellbeing (in this case Sucimurni, the traditional Malaysian philosophy of healing,) sometimes you need a flower bath to wash away your pain, sometimes you need chefs who don't just talk but listen, sometimes you need the best hotel room you can find, sometimes you even need a great fitness instructor, like Captain Mokh, to take you through animal exercises... ...and sometimes you just need a hammock on the beach. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories, for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life.

A dream come true. But more than that. A dream I had given up on, hidden from myself, brought to light, and then realised. And yet, the first time I saw orangutans in Semenggoh, semi-wild, it was not the experience I had hoped for. Sarawak is so much more than orangutans, and in coming here to visit them I learned so much more about their world, our world and my own world. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories... ...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life. From the Amazon Best Selling author of the "Camino de la Luna" series and the Pearl Escapes guides. "You will come away feeling as if she was sharing with you personally and will want to read more of her life adventures." They're not small, they're travel size.

As I travelled around South East Asia I kept coming back to KL, seeing it differently - after all, each time I arrived I was a different person. I started out desperately grateful to have arrived in a safe pocket of Western culture (with a rooftop pool). As I recovered I felt brave enough to explore KL, and to eventually discover a traditional villa, a pocket of an ancient city that had somehow survived "development." That little sojourn gave me the strength and the heart to continue on to my final destination in Malaysia. When I returned, for the last time, I was able to try just one more type of KL hotel; the antique colonial. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories... ...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life. They're not small, they're travel size.

There's a reason this place is called Phoenix. We talk about awakening, awareness and other terms in healing, they've become quite the buzz words (along with "woke,") but, for me, what I would call my awakening was a momentary death of ego and a rebirth of mind, body and spirit. Was it the firewalk, the driving, the teachers I met along the way? ...or just the Native American ritual in a world class spa? I've experienced so many types of healing - all I know is that what works for one person is wrong for another. Every body is different. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories... ...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life. From the Amazon Best Selling author of the "Camino de la Luna" series and the Pearl Escapes guides.

I used to get extremely burnt out in my old job and couldn't even handle finding and booking a hotel, flight or finding out what to do for a break. I thought "Wouldn't it be awesome if someone would write a guide that gave you one perfect escape; the perfect hotel, spa, flight and restaurant." So that's what I did. I also realised, as I dipped my toe into spas, that there was so much confusing information online about massages and treatments. I started writing my own guide, researching each experience personally, travelling around the world. This mini-guide to Sacromonte is a little bit different as, for me, it was at the beginning of a much longer journey, but it still gives you the hotel, the spa, the sight, the food and the rest, the escape in a box that I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes.

I used to get extremely burnt out and couldn't even handle booking a hotel or flight when I did have time off. I thought "Wouldn't it be awesome if someone would write a guide that gave you one perfect escape; the perfect hotel, spa, flight and restaurant." So that's what I did. I started writing my own guide, researching each experience personally, travelling around the world. My new series of mini-guides, although part of a much longer journey, is specifically designed to give you the precise information, the recipe you need to have the adventure - without getting bogged down with too many choices or details. Johannesburg is a challenging place to visit; you need to be wise when choosing where to stay, where to go and how to travel. In this book I hope I have given anyone the resources to go there safely.

I let go of ever visiting the rainforest, then suddenly I was there. Hiding more secrets, more mystery than I ever believed and closer than I imagined. Somewhere I never thought I would be, never thought I would see. Just a short drive from Kuala Lumpur, I was at a hill station where I could finally breathe, away from the pollution and heat of the city. Around the corner was another forest world, defying discovery, scientific study and sometimes even rescue attempts. Step off the path at your own risk. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories... ...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life. From the Amazon Best Selling author of "Japan Is Very Wonderful," the "Camino de la Luna" series and the Pearl Escapes guides. They're not small, they're travel size.

I had no idea that I would like Malaysia. I even thought I might just fly through Kuala Lumpur and only see the airport. Life had other plans. As I travelled around South East Asia I would keep coming back, each time I would see a new side of Malaysia and I would see Kuala Lumpur differently - after all, each time I was a different person. From the rooftop pool in Kuala Lumpur to the ancient cloud forest in The Cameron Highlands, from orangutans and sun bears in Kuching on one side of Borneo to the sacred mountain Kota Kinabalu on the other, as well as discovering Sucimurni, the ancient principle of wellbeing at Tanjung Jara along the way. Although I started writing these mini-guides to share the hotel, spa and the rest, the retreat in a box I dreamt of when I first began Pearl Escapes, they are also just stories... ...for the unadventurous adventurer, as well as the keen explorer, we each have our own way of experiencing life.