All my bags were packed and I'm ready to go. I was already anticipating this trip for a month! 

To where, you ask? Thanks to Papulex Asia, I was off for a weekend retreat back to nature and tranquility in the lush outbacks of Malacca.

Waking up early on a Saturday morning for this roadtrip

After two hours on the road, we arrived our destination – The Philea Resort & Spa, Melaka – at noon.

It was a enormous and superbly furnished eco-resort which boasted authentic pine-log architecture and rustic interior design.

Here are some photos I shot of The Philea's interor :

Lobby/waiting area/drinks area

Bar/Lounge Area

Outdoor concourse

There was a water feature fringing the resort with the MOST amount of Koi fish I've ever seen

These fishes respond to vibration and sound very attentively, as it was their cue to feeding time.

We teased the fishes and tapped the glass walls at different spots so as to confuse them teehee!

Me standing by the pond. You can hardly see the Koi but the school of fishes came in massive numbers.

Jessicat wears : Leopard print laced-back tank by TopShop | Denim shorts by Forever 21 |

Cap in nude by Hard Rock Cafe | Accessories from a bazaar in Bangkok |

Tote Bag from a bazaar in Singapore | High Top Sneakers in white by Converse

It was time to begin our day in Malacca with an ice-breaking and introductory session.

A light brunch was provided before Papulex Asia started the ball rolling.

So happy there was a wide array of Lipton tea!

I'm such a tea fag I almost wanted to take all the sachets to drink later 

A picture with the girls, Shazwani and Ivy during the ice-breaking session

After the introductory session, we were all required to play a game which involved teamwork.

That ever-popular form the longest line with everything and everything you have on you.

My team mate QuaChee and I forming our line

My other team mate Hafiz and I continuing our line!

Being one to be competitive, I removed all my bangles, rings, earrings, parts of my clothes and more LOL

Here are some of the items from our team and the other team

Lining them all up!
 

When it was all over and done with – well almost, as nobody wanted to strip their clothing off haha! – the longest line was measured and our team won!! Hurrah! 

We did well; I'm so proud. The three of us hit it off well in pushing for the longest line. Think EVERYTHING : cellphones, belts, socks, and yes, even shoelaces haha!

With my team mates QuaChee and Hafiz posing by our line of items

Fun times had to come to an end. It was now time for the more serious part of this session.

The sharing session, the experience, the history and our past with regards to this campaign and more.

My essentials for the mini seminar provided by The Philea 

Me sharing a little bit more about myself, my point of view and the battles I fought against acne

All of us Papulex Truthseekers – Team Malaysia!

Once that was over, it was already mid afternoon and our tummies were growling.

Lunchtime was at one of the restaurants in the hotel, with a continental concept – Cravo Cravo

Hafiz and I goofing around while walking over to lunch

Spotted this giant wooden throne with a ship steering helm at the entrance of Cravo Cravo!

Couldn't resist a photo with it.

The continental and Asian fare in Cravo Cravo left me spoilt for choice.

It was amazing how endless the selection can get. Here are some of the dishes from the buffet :

Bite-sized goodness

Carved roast beef

Desserts

Here are some of the stuff I took for myself

I didn't bother taking photos of the main meals as I was already hungry and couldn't wait to dig in

Lunchtime at the long table saw us catching up with each other and talking about everything under the sun.

Before we knew it, it was time to check into our rooms.

Got our room key-card and guest booklet!

The Philea sent us a chauffeur to take us to our rooms which was located at another zone of the resort.

We occupied two buggies to be driven off further into nature!

Bye! We were about to adjourn!

As the buggy drove deeper and deeper into what felt like a secluded bay of pristine forest giants with waterfalls cascading along stone walls and gigantic, lush greeneries engulfing me, I knew this weekend would be the most serene and tranquil one I've had so far this year.

Here are some photos of the short journey to my room:

Along the cobblestone walkway towards the chalets

Beautiful pine-log cabins fringed the gravel path

Roaring waterfalls at the bridge and swimming area

Steps leading towards the bridge

An aerial view of the swimming area (adult and children)

Weather-worn, wooden fence posts covered by damp moss from the morning drizzle

Approaching my cabin shortly!

What I'd typically do the moment I arrived

Wow looks like they know me pretty well, putting a giant convex mirror in front of my cabin

Haha kidding! It's obviously a security measure to allow buggies to see each other lest they collide at one of the many bends in this nature resort. 

Quite coincidentally, my cabin was right in front of the gym and the spa. Can they read my mind or what?

My home in the woods for the weekend!

I climbed the wooden staircase; they didn't creak as I had expected it to, and no gnomes were in sight.

Okay, I think I get taken away by fairy tales sometimes.

The moment I stepped into my cabin, my jaw hung with astoundment and I knew for a fact that my eyes were gleaming in delight. Was this really where I was going to be put up for the next two days? 

Here, be amazed for yourself!

My king-sized bed!

My desk!

My bathroom! (It had a  giant bath too, so you can be sure that I had a hot bubble-bath thereafter)

I jumped on the bed, stretched like a yawning cat on my comfy bed and watched some telly

What am I doing? I don't even watch telly. At all.

Perhaps its the holiday mindset that's doing this to me. Haha!

We were required to gather at the outdoor concourse for a treasure hunt game.

Being briefed on the rules before we set-off on our hunt

Here's my task!

I was brimming with energy and adrenalin caught me on a choke-hold the moment I read it.

Always up for a good game, I had one goal in mind – to win this challenge! 

The fastest, most alert and smartest player will win. I hope it'll be me.

(Okay, I didn't know this is how I look when I run. So unglam LOL)

My closest rival was QuaChee.

We always found the next clues at the same time and as a fellow fitness buff, he was pretty darn quick too

We raced to the finish line and sprinted all the way! In the end, he won the challenge.

Great job! Good game, mate 

Perspiring heavily and sapped off our energy levels,

I reckon we were looking like zombie grub by the end of the afternoon

Game over. That was a good exercise. It gave me exactly the rush I needed.

I think I pretty much crashed on the bed by the time I trudged all the way back to my cabin.

But I recharged quickly and dressed down for an evening dip at the giant swimming pool!

It's time to work the cardio in the swimming pool today!

The swimming pool was mine and mine to dominate!

Waddling in the pool like a duck, swimming like a puppy and

lying on my back floating allowing the world to pass me by

Hey, it isn't everyday I just take a weekend away from the busy city to do absolutely nothing but relax.

The team behind Papulex Asia are amazing. Knowing that stress, tension and dirty/dusty city environment does contribute to acne and pimples, this weekend getaway to be one with nature was perfectly what we needed.

QuaChee and I in the pool

Walked back to my cabin after that fulfilling swim and had a long, hot bubble-bath.

I think I fell asleep at some point. Aromatherapy and relaxation does that to me.

We set off for dinner at another one of The Philea's restaurants – Bayu Cabana by the scenic river front and pool side. We had a warm and scrumptious steamboat meal altogether!

All of us!

The desserts stole my heart 

All of us enjoyed the dinner which seemed to keep coming and coming!

The chef kept refilling our steamboat pot and even helped me break open my crab. Yeah, I fail on all levels peeling crabs and prawns. How sad, I know. But he was nice enough to offer!

What's a weekend without good music and a few drinks? I had my favourite

White Russian at Chiillout Bar with some of the rest who was up for sprucing up their Saturday night

I headed back to my cabin a little after midnight.

Spent some me-time writing a few blog posts and surfing all my social media channels before I said goodnight to my fluffy pillows and crisp white sheets. I had the bed all to myself!

Had a good sleep, I must say, as I woke up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

For once, it felt different to wake up to the sweet melody of the birds in the morning, chirping of crickets and opening your windows to the smell of fresh, moist dew instead of being rudely awaken by cars blaring their honks or clanging from a nearby construction site.

Breakfast at another one of their restaurants – Nusantara!
 

Their fare presented an impressive choice of both international and Asian cuisines.

There were so much to choose from and I had breakfast like a King!

My breakfast! I couldn't finish it all 

We gathered at the al-fresco lounge and waited for the session with Dr. Hew Yin Keat, a professional skin specialist.

He's also the owner and Medical Director of M.A.C – Malaysian Aesthetic Clinic.

His clinic in Bangsar Shopping Center offers medical aesthetic procedures, corrective skincare and rejuvenation treatments without surgery, fusing science and aesthetics together!  So you know where to go now, aight? 

That's M.A.C (Malaysian Aesthetic Clinic) for you. Call for appointments : 03-20936136

The Question & Answer session was so enlightening!

Dr. Hew was patient, informative, explained so well in layman's terms and had a great sense of humour too

It went on with a rather intense discussion and sharing-learning session from Dr. Hew

Apart from the basic causes of acne, he also imparted us the knowledge of different types of acne, ways to prevent it and how to treat the infection if it spreads out of control.

Dr. Hew also showed us samples of procedures and their before & after results

Why we look so solemn and serious in the photo, is beyond me. Most likely he's showing us one of the most horrible skin conditions he has treated before and our minds were like "OH MY GOSH THAT'S SO DREADFUL".

After the sharing session, they held a quiz for us to test how much we know and have learnt about this entire campaign so far. Then it was time to check out and leave The Philea. I don't wanna go! I'll be fine living here forever LOL

We all headed to Malacca town to do a little bit of shopping and food hunt

I had a wonderful time being a Papulex Truthseeker. It was one heck of a ride!

View my previous blog posts here :

——> Part One

——> Part Two

——> Part Three

…and you're reading Part Four now! 

All of us! Team Malaysia consisting of us bloggers and the Papulex Asia representatives

From knowing and understanding the history of my skin condition, the true root causes of acne, spreading the truth and busting myths about acne, propagating confidence to other acne-ridden people, and introducing Papulex to our readers, of newfound friendship, good food and a fun weekend getaway, I would do this all over again, if I could.

Thank you, Papulex Asia! 

OHMYGOODNESS. Finally. Real snow.

My first touch of snow (albeit through the snow gloves)

oohmy. le snow!

I've always been a fan of sauna and steam baths, of which I am lucky enough to go anytime I please to the ones available in my gym.
 

Apart from saunas, the way for me to start off a good week is always by massages. Yes sirree, I go for body massages and reflexologies pretty damn often and I now swear by it
 

Hey. It's healthy and our bodies need it!
 

Hence, it was rather fortunate and surprising when I was invited to experience a different kind of sauna and massage altogether.
 

Now, how different can it be? I pondered prior to my visit to FIR Wellness Spa in Dataran 32, Petaling Jaya.
 

The huge signage greeted me the moment I stepped in
 

The interior decor was simple yet rustic.
 

I loved how natural elements and earth colour tones dominated the spa center
 

The display of essential oils atop the table 🙂
 

The boss ST Chua was nice enough to give me a short walkthrough, showing me around the center. He was such a  friendly person!
 

Apart from being very professional and informative explaining each and everything to me, best part was he was very funny with a great sense of humour too!

Case in point 😀
 

Such a wacky person. Knew him through a friend Mei Yee
 

Anyway, I found some decor hanging on the wall similar to the ones I have back at home! 🙂
 

It was exactly the same but ours was in the form of a table runner and some framed up swatch of carpet.
 

hey hey what's this! 😀 😀
 

Something so familiar.
 

Walked even deeper and explored the center even more.
 

Some more natural herbs and essential oils on display
 

I found out that FIR wellness uses Malaysian coconut oils in their massages! How ethnocentric
 

There are other essential oils such as Lemongrass and Lavender as well
 

They sell 'em for only 20bucks!
 

No wonder the place smells so damn good! 😀
 

It was cooling and well lit as I walked around the insides of the center. On my right, were a number of rooms meant for the saunas.
 

Individual rooms for privacy! I could see the wooden Far Infra Red sauna machines inside too.

A very amusing thing I discovered was that all the rooms were named after wood types!

The ones I could remember were Oak and Maple 😀
 

Before I knew it, it was time for me to enter the FIR sauna.
 

I was supposed to sauna for about 30 minutes before going for the Sarawakian Deep Tissue massage.
 

Such a spacious sauna – more than what 1 person needs 🙂
 

I was allowed to bring magazines and my Blackberry into the room as well whoopedoo
 

There was this radio thing playing during the sauna session too. The amount of benefits an FIR sauna can bring is unbelievable!
 

Perfect for a remedy of de-stress
 

In this sauna, we can adjust and control our own temperature!

So different from other saunas! Different from conventional saunas where the heat is more than 180F (82 Celsius) in which one may feel choked and uncomfortable.
 

Among the stuff I remember the lady (on the radio) saying was that it is good for cell rejuvenation, highly effective for body aches and pains, burns calories, improves skin texture, improve blood circulation and detoxifies our bodies!

There's also this wave technology radiates all around to ensure you have full body coverage

Whoaa was sweating all over lor!
 

So after drying up and cooling down, I was ushered to the quieter parts of the room.
 

It was time for my Sarawakian Deep Tissue Massage – my masseur happens to be a true Kuching local of Sarawakian origin!
 

Ya ought to be quiet as there are other patrons having their massage sessions too
 

I wouldn't like it if I get rudely awaken by obnoxious people talking LOL
 

I was told that his massage helps release adhesions (knots) and targets specific areas of discomfort that needs attention.

All their Deep Tissue Massage sessions are performed by professional masseurs from Sarawak. Yay! We all need a true blue Malaysian massage amidst all the Balinese, Chinese, Thai and god-knows-what-other massages 🙂
 

So I got in, stripped (yes we're supposed to) and laid down on the massage bed to wait for my masseur
 

If you are kinda prudish or conservative then you can always opt to strip down to your undies instead of being completely au natrale 😉
 

Let the massage begin!

Sarawakian Deep Tissue massage uses a special technique to access deeper tissues of our body structures

Parts which have never been massaged before!
 

There were combining sweeping strokes used to create a unified and balance session and helping to relax the nervous system.
 

I tried so hard not to fall asleep as it was so relaxing! I wouldn't wanna waste a good session like that by sleeping it away, right? 😀
 

She was damn pro OMG! Some parts of my overstressed anatomy was kneaded real hard
 

I kept requesting for her to use all her mighty strength as I have a high pain threshold 😀
 

But she never failed to ask me if her pressure is fine or whether I feel comfortable at any point. Yes. Pain is good (for me)! If you prefer something milder you can always ask. I'm sure she'll gladly oblige.
 

She's such an accommodating and soft spoken person! 
 

It was a FULL body massage alright. Everything! From top to toe, back and front.
 

Except well… don't expect anything unscrupulous! *wags finger*
 

This ain't some dodgy ya-know-what massage parlour.  Haha! So yes, I had an exceptional afternoon that day trying out something very new (and fabulous) to me. Thank you for a great stress-free week ahead woots!
 

Go check 'em out for yourselves at www.firwellness.com.my
 

For those of you who are following me on Twitter, yall would've already known that I am right here in Tioman, as we speak 🙂
 

Anyways, the sea was incredibly rough due to the storm the night before. Was drenched and splitter splattered through puddles of rainwater when I made my way to the bus terminal this morning! I chartered a coach to Mersing jetty before hitting the water taxi towards Tioman Island.
 

Thank goodness I wasn't close to experiencing any nauseousness nor feeling sea sick at any point!
 

It was only a one and a half hour ride though, yet felt like eons. Heck, had spent the entire morning in the coach already – a 5 hour journey 🙁 Come on already. Grrrr. I would've died of boredom if not for some very nice and interesting people I met during the journey *wink* 😉
 

More of that later!
 

The whole ferry was practically bobbing up and down vigorously and swaying from side to side.

But all is worth the wait and Poseidon's merciless waves when I finally saw Tioman harbour in the near distance! 😀
 

The seas were a whole lot calmer as we approached piers after piers. I saw many boats and yatches sailing around too, just before I arrived my destination
 

The clear blue seas were pristine in every sense of the word
 

No other Malaysian island can beat the crystal clear waters beneath me today

(okay maybe Redang Island is a close fight!)

Checked into the hotel – courtesy of Berjaya Tioman Beach, Golf & Spa resort – and chillaxed at the verandah to catch some air. Loved their chalet and village concept! Very cosy and close to nature.

 Random picturesque scene I shot whilst on the sea taxi.

Told you told you told you! 😀 😀 Nature at its finest

Pictures never do things justice though, but it was indeed a beauty

Imma get myself some snoozies first, heading for a round island tour tomorrow morning before proceeding for some snorkelling/diving at the Marine Park 😀 *eggcited*
 

More of the gigantic resort and Tioman island tomorrow! But one thing's for sure, for an island off the east cost of Peninsular Malaysia, the internet speed is pretty damn good 😉
 

Anyone up for some duty-free goodies? Nyehehe.
 

Stocked up the whole fridge already!