rebecca's pocket

For pilgrims with deep pockets wanting an authentic immersion into this ancient medical system, including a radical purification and detoxification treatment known as pancha karma, the Kalari Kovilakom—which markets itself as combining "the indulgence of a palace with the austerity of an ashram"—is the real deal. Since the 1970’s, "ayurveda tourism" has drawn Lonely Planet acolytes and Rough Guiders, especially young Germans, to the thatched-hut beaches of southern India, lured by the promise of $5 massages. But with the reimagining of this historic rajah’s palazzo by the Casino Group—Keralan hoteliers who have shrewdly rechristened themselves CHG Earth—the ante has been considerably upped.