Tirta Ayu: A Piece of Indonesia in Nigeria
Imagine how you feel after that transcontinental flight that took the better part of a day. You’ve been cramped in a position and even if you fly business class, you’ve been confined to your seat for long. If you’re the active type, there’s limited space for your workout. You stretch and walk around the plane when you can. But this is not enough. You cannot wait till you reach your destination and get a professional massage perhaps. At least that’s how I feel after a lengthy plane trip. The business traveller is not the only one that yearns for tension-relieving therapy. At one end of the spectrum is the professional athlete who needs therapy to alleviate pain in muscles caused by too much physical activity. At the other end is the sedentary executive who could do with a body treatment to help reduce stress and anxiety as well as improve energy and alertness. And of course the multitude in between. Getting the right spa with professionals that do body therapy right can be tricky. For example, there is more to the art (or science) of a massage than just kneading muscles randomly. Nothing beats an international brand name with centuries of cultural experience behind it. For those who take their body wellness seriously, it must be great news to find out that an Indo- nesian brand steeped in experience is tucked somewhere off Admiralty way in Lekki, Lagos. We all know the Asians know their spa business. The Tirta Ayu Spa in Lagos is not just Indonesian in name, it is in substance. Providing traditional Javanese herbal treatments, It is like a little piece of Indonesia in Lagos. All the therapists are Indonesian, the music is Asian, the décor, and little touches like ginger tea in wooden cups and hot towels soaked in mint. On the inside, Lagos is very far away. “Anybody who walks in here gets a good welcome,” says Iyadunni Gbadebo the spa owner, referring to the traditional Indonesian greeting I got from the staff. Gbadebo is a self-confessed body wellness freak. “I love spas myself. I go to spas all the time because with a hectic work life and trying to manage the home front as well, we actually don’t get the chance to relax and do anything that takes your mind completely to a chill zone. It’s healthy, it’s good, it’s relaxing as well.” She explains why she decided to buy into the Indonesian franchise. “I go to a lot of spas here and I go to a lot of spas abroad and I was specifically looking for the standard of spas you find - not in the UK or the US - but in Asia. “The Asians know what they’re doing in the spa business. For them it’s a longstanding culture of using natural herbal spa treatments for healing and wellness purposes and it works for me and I believe, a lot of people,” she believes, having been to spas in Bangkok and Bali. A pleasant surprise is how Lagosians have embraced Tirta Ayu so fast. “I have a wide range of clientele. It’s surprising to me because I thought it would appeal mainly to the expat communities but guess what? A lot of our clients are middle- age to the older Nigerian men and women, who are now getting into the spa lifestyle. And I think that it’s also because people are becoming more conscious of health, and a lot of people are into fitness. And you have to find a balance and there is that balance of having a good spa after you workout at the gym or have had a hectic day.” There’s a wide range of massages on offer. Some last an hour, others close to three. Some of them use hot stones, others warm candle wax, many with oil, a few others without. It’s not just massages as you can imagine. There’s the full range of facial and body scrubs with chocolate, avocado, coffee; milk baths; hair treatments; kids spa and more. Most of the treatments are peculiar to the Tirta Ayu brand and are not available elsewhere. “We’re a very special spa,” Gbadebo continues. “We do V-treatments as well. Imagine the concept of doing a facial. We do it to the V-area. We remove all the dead skin, and make the skin firm and supple. For most women, that part of the body is the part that works the most. But for some odd reason, we get to neglect it and pay attention to the parts of our bodies that people can see and judge us by.” The spa owner is not a masseuse herself. Rather she took courses on how to run a spa business. She reveals her motivation. “I aim to create a haven for people where they can shut the door to the madness of the daily life, come into a world where everybody is just willing to cater to you and pamper you.” Apt words. An hour and a few minutes later I was rejuvenated by a Thai massage which started with a footbath in mint. The Thai massage is recommended for athletes and uses no oil. Perfect for those on the go. Muscles relaxed, stress relieved and body recharged to hit the road again.