BLISS IN BALI
Is an Eat Pray Love experience open to anyone who visits this Indonesian island?
Ever since reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel Eat Pray Love (and watching the movie starring Julia Roberts), in which the heroine finds inner peace on Bali, I had wanted to visit. There’s no skirting around the fact that there are some places on the island where serenity would be hard to come by, but I was still confident that I could re-create some of those moments of contentment described in the novel.
You don’t have to travel far from Kuta, the busiest of Bali’s resort towns, before you see farmers ploughing rice paddies with buffalo and pass through small villages, each stone-walled house with its own family shrine. Traveling to the town of Sangeh,
I call in at Sangeh Monkey Forest — not an animal park but a 17th-century Hindu temple complex surrounded by a garden of sacred nutmeg trees. According to local legend, the site was created by the monkey king Hanuman. Moss-covered paths lead to Pura Bukit Sari, a gray-stone temple also blanketed in green velvet, with a fierce, eye-bulging statue of the Hindu eagle god Garuda at its core. There are only a handful of other tourists around and I begin to relax.
TRANQUILITY AND ART
I dedicate an afternoon to Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, located on the banks of the Ayung River just 1¼ miles from Ubud. Its design echoes the environment — teak bridges, lotus ponds and organic vegetable gardens. The main circular building, with a stunning lily-pond roof, is inspired by a simple rice bowl and its award-winning spa is the best in Bali. Slowing right down, I spend an idyllic few hours in the Sacred River Spa — hidden away on the edge of the resort with thatched private spa pavilions hugged by lush vegetation and surrounded by lotus ponds. There are seven Chakra
Ceremonies to choose from and I select the Muladhara, the grounding ceremony that focuses on the base of the spine, perfect for those who travel frequently. Among other rituals, I enjoy a soothing massage using locally grown ginger and cinnamon and watch the iridescent green dragonflies swoop over the lotus blooms.
Nearby, the bohemian town of Ubud pulses with life and nowhere more so than its temples. Part place of worship, part village hall, they are the hubs of the community.
It’s not unusual to see both cremations and weddings taking place on the same day, as all aspects of life, including death, are a cause for a celebration.
Need your chakra balanced? No problem. Looking for some crystal healing? You’re in the right place. The town is chock-full of meditation centers, cultural centers (try your hand at batik painting), healers and organic cafes. Pop in to Threads of Life, a lovely textile-arts store, full of beautifully woven baskets, rugs and wraps (look out for the Bali randangs — ceremonial cloths), whose proceeds support over 1,000 rural women weavers across Indonesia. At the Tonyraka Gallery, you’ll find contemporary work from local artists and tribal art including antique masks and other artifacts. There are several independent yoga studios, with The Yoga Barn reaching legendary status — devotees book classes months in advance. I check in for a Breath of Awakening class at the unpretentious Radiantly Alive, which focuses on honing my pranayama breathing technique. Nearby, the lovely Pura Taman Saraswati temple, where a pretty pond overflows with lotus blossoms, is a wonderful spot for a moment of quiet contemplation. Alternatively, you can trek through lush green rice paddies to reach Ubud Yoga House, a jewel of a place set amid rice fields and palms.
A VIGOROUS ENVIRONMENT
Along the banks of the Ayung River, you’ll find companies aplenty offering rafting adventures. I navigate my way through Class II and III rapids — suitable for all abilities — with Bali Rafting Adventure, who have been expertly guiding for over 30 years. The instructions from our guide come loud and clear
(“Oars to the right! And paddle!”), until we reach a dam, where we hop out onto the riverbank and watch as our craft flips over the sheer waterfall before boarding again. We float past gardens of marigolds grown to sell, and local men up to their waists in rushing water, transporting timber on their heads. At the holy springs, we stop to perform a simple cleansing ceremony for body and soul, by washing our hands and face in the pure stream. A two-hour rafting experience proved to be another blissful way of experiencing Bali away from the crowds.
I head back to the southwest coast to explore Jimbaran Bay, a wonderfully authentic slice of Bali beach life, popular with locals and tourists, with a wide crescent of soft, white sand. For a real feel for local life, you can’t beat Jimbaran fish market, located at the northern end of the bay, where hundreds of pounds of fish are hauled from flamboyantly painted boats. It’s a frenetic scene as the catch
THE LOVELY PURA TAMAN SARASWATI TEMPLE, WHERE A PRETTY POND OVERFLOWS WITH LOTUS BLOSSOMS, IS A WONDERFUL SPOT FOR A MOMENT OF QUIET CONTEMPLATION.
is hawked — immense tuna swing from hooks, squids sprawl, gargantuan prawns are piled high on ice, and I’m surprised to spy the iridescent scales of parrotfish amid the trawl. “Nicer to snorkel with than to eat,” the honest stallholder tells me. By night, Jimbaran is aglow with the flickering candles from the warungs, Bali’s renowned seafood restaurants. I dine at Menega Café on delicious jumbo prawns and red snapper served with nasi goreng (fried rice), cooked on coconutfueled grills. It tastes even better with the sand between my toes and by the time
I’m on dessert — homemade coconut ice cream — the tide has rolled in and the Indian Ocean laps at my feet.
OCEAN APPRECIATION
Uluwatu, on the tip of the Bukit Peninsula, is the place to see the surfers in action, off the legendary Blue Point Beach. Single Fin has a huge, tiered terrace — the perfect perch for a slice of pizza, a cold Bintang beer and to watch the mesmerizing cascade of surfers, who ride high and fast on mountainous crests before crashing into the blue, punctuated by a collective “whoaaa” from the rapt crowd. Further along the coast at Padang Padang, I climb down monkey-riddled steps to a gorgeous cove. The surf break here is world famous and even on “flat” days, the beach teems with devotees. Nearby, the 10th-century water temple of Pura Luhur is one of the island’s most iconic temples, perched 230 feet above the ocean on serrated cliffs. It overflows with tourists at sunset. To experience it at its most serene, call in mid-morning, and follow the cliff footpath that winds around the headland and gives dizzying views down to the beach. Look out for the macaques that fish in the shallows.
ULUWATU, ON THE TIP OF THE BUKIT PENINSULA, IS THE PLACE TO SEE THE SURFERS IN ACTION.
However, for a magical castaway experience, head for the mile-long white-sand beach of Nyang Nyang, east of Uluwatu, that lies at the foot of jungle-clad cliffs.
From the road, it’s a lovely 30-minute walk through cattle pasture and lush vegetation to the cliff top, where a 500-step trail leads down to the sands. It is the effort required to reach it that keeps it so heavenly. Pack a picnic (there’s nothing for sale) and explore the lovely rock pools and cowrie shell– littered sands.
Eat Pray Love experiences on Bali are there to be savored — by candlelight on Jimbaran Beach; in a yoga class with rice paddy views; floating on a raft on the Ayung River; and on a beach called Nyang Nyang, with just the company of local seaweed farmers tending their underwater crops. I didn’t have to re-create moments from the novel, because it was so easy to make my own.