Wellness and ritual in Bali
Enjoy wellness, ritual and ethical travel on exotic Indonesian island
In Bali, beauty and blessings are an industry. Hotels advertise “meditation area” on road signs, shoppers visit Reborn Gifts, graffiti is simply “KARMA” spray-painted in capitals. Its allure is obvious and since the 2006 book Eat, Pray Love, the island has come under increasing pressure from tourism: International visitors rose to 6.5 million in 2018 from 4.8 million in 2006. But if Bali’s on your bucket list, there are beauties to behold and sustainable ways to see them.
I’m about to share a bath with a hundred people, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
The Pura Tirta Empul is one of the most popular water temples, and it’s colourful chaos — like most things in Bali — crowded with supplicants heaving armfuls of offerings for purifications. This ornate 960 AD temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, the protector, and he’s overseen centuries of devotees washing karmas clean.
Swathed in a sarong, I lower myself into the icy water of an ancient stone pool called a petirtaan to be purified in the holy spring with scores of soaking strangers. I bow repeatedly, splashing water over my head. As I emerge from my
melukat (water blessing), it seems like something’s washed away. If you’re interested in wellness and spirituality, you know Bali, jewel of the Indonesian islands, where orchids grow like weeds and hydrangea and chrysanthemum fields colour the countryside.
We begin at Puri Bagus Jati Resort and Spa, near the heart of the island’s wellness centre, Ubud, but worlds away in a deep bamboo-forested valley. Our guide, Hesti Rialita Elvandari, joins us for morning hatha yoga followed by dragonfruit juice and yogurt with coconut muesli. The five-hectare grounds invite strolls to temples, koi ponds, organic gardens, Balinese statuary and even a waterfall.
Being in this valley feels like resting in the curve of a lush palm. With instructor Buda Siwantara Ida Bagus Gede we make palm basket offerings called canang, pile them with petals, burn incense and are blessed with rice pressed to foreheads and a gentle, “Om Swastiastu.” (May god give every kindness.)
I’m here with G Adventures, a Canadian small-group adventure company offering 700 trips in 100-plus countries. Among them, 10 new Wellness tours that feature a slower pace, daily yoga, meditation, visits to Balian healers and temples, cultural immersion, outdoor exercise and healthy food.
Travellers support charity projects, eat at family restaurants, hire area guides and stay at locally-owned hotels: Wellness abroad includes travelling ethically.
Come afternoon at Puri Bagus Jati, there’s lounging by the infinity pool post frangipani oil massage listening to monkeys, then a garden tour — the resort grows avocados, mangos, jackfruit and more — and an outdoor cooking class. We pound spicy sambal with mortar and pestles, chop fiddleheads for lawar pakis, make chicken satays and dadar gulung, pandan-leaf pancakes with palm-sugared bananas.
Then it’s time to explore; head into Ubud to visit the Monkey Forest, shop the Gianyar night market, join a vinyasa session at Yoga Barn, or pay US$35 for a “Bali swing” Instagram photo op.
“When I came in 2009, there weren’t so many hotels, no traffic, no swings, no Instagram,” Elvandari says of development. “You can’t stop it. But Balinese are still doing rituals and offerings. That is the best thing, to respect the culture, tradition and local people, especially if they’re performing ceremonies. It may be unusual, but this is what Bali is.”
Next, we head through highlands, stopping at spectacular scenery: the 15-metre Munduk waterfall, spring green rice terraces, sparkling Twin Lakes — to explore the northwest coast in Pemuteran and relax at Taman Sari Resort.
Here, fruit drips off trees and staff sweep frangipani blooms at sunrise like floral snow. Follow a morning “smiling yoga” session by basking on the beach.
The underwater views are even
better. Nearby Menjangan Island, one of 17,508 in the Indonesian archipelago — many disappearing with tides — is home to Hindu monks and some of Bali’s best coral reefs. We take a traditional boat over the swells and float weightless in the warm sea, swimming with unicorn fish.
Come evening, I watch sunset and dine on king prawns with my toes in the sand. I’m at ease knowing my vacation matches my values: protecting the marine environment from over-tourism and fishing is a community priority, with plastic bag bans, bamboo straws and reusable water bottles on offer on the island. Taman Sari supports a biorock project to restore reefs and guests can visit an adjacent baby turtle sanctuary.
We finish in Sanur, a former fishing village, stopping to marvel at Unesco-protected Jatiluwih rice terraces, then settle into Puri Santrian Resort and Spa.
In the morning, we stroll the beach to The Power of Now for antigravity yoga — upside down in swings! Afternoons, visit the Bali Orchid Garden, try Balinese dance or introductory massage. Sanur’s a parasailing paradise, so get air on your own or watch from a beach cabana, gorging on seafood from beach warungs (food stalls).
There are lovely shops — Dawn for Balinese sarongs and wood toys — and fun food — Soul in a Bowl delivers our ayam (chicken coconut curry) and duck laksa (curried noodles) and Gaya Gelato serves lemon grass, mangosteen, and ginger gelato. Evenings, find serenity in a spa, join a beach bonfire or stargaze under the eye of a giant stone Buddha with a wise smile.
Before I leave, I savour a treatment in town at charming Chantara Spa, known for boreh body wraps and eastern massage. I’m soothed with a scented foot bath, slathered in ylang ylang oils and soaked in a candlelit bath of rose petals, orchids and marigolds.
It occurs to me that I’m now the offering, and blessed.
I leave knowing I supported a company that travels sustainably, preserves the environment and empowers women. After all, a wellness journey is incomplete unless it’s an inner journey too — one everyone’s invited to pursue. Elaine O’connor travelled as a guest of G Adventures, which did not review this article.