Reflections on Bali

Bali, Indonesia

Here’s a summary of some of my top experiences/impressions from Bali…

1. The infectious smiles and hospitality (not to mention excellent customer service) of the Balinese. 
2. Beautiful fabrics and crafts of the Balinese, which seem to have been adapted to appeal to western tastes, without loosing that unique balinese feel. The outskirts of Ubudt almost felt like a factory and wholesale center for Balinese crafts, arts, and textiles. 
3. Afordable, yet incredibly therapeutic, massages (see notes on Spas below). 
4. Excellent diving and snorkeling. I experienced my first ever wall dive at Manjengan and my first wreck dive at the US Liberty near Tulumben. The snorkeling at Amed was incredible (when the tide’s coming in), with an amazing abundance and diversity of tropical fish. 
5. Spiritually rewarding hike up the holiest of holy mountains: Mount Agung, under the glow of a full moon, to watch the sun rise over the cloud tops . 
6. Tasting delicious Balinese and Indonesian cuisine, and learning how to cook some of these recipes ourselves. The comon base to most Balinese dishes includes chilli (spicy), sea salt and/or prawn paste (salty), palm sugar (sweet), lime (sour), and shallots. Dishes often also have one or more of: ginger, tumeric (type of ginger), garlic, tamarind paste, coconut shavings and/or milk, lemon grass, cilantro. Such a balanced symphony of tastes! 
7. Beaches and surf of Kuta region. I wish we had spent another day in Bali, so we could practice surfing in the incredible waves, along the beautiful beaches.

Spas we visited in Bali

(they’re all good and affordable, some just more so than others)

Zen Spa in Ubudt was the best value and ambiance. It has a very relaxing room opening into a garden, with the sounds of flowing water. Other nice touches were bowls of fragrant flowers under the massage table, and a relaxing flower peddle warm bath after a body scrub. The 1 1 1/2 hour Javanese massage was heavenly, and only 110,000 rph (US$12!).

Lovina Wellness center in Lovina was the best for arm, neck, and back work. She nearly managed to work out the knots and stiffness that have developped over years of computer work. 3 or 4 massages per week for the rest of the trip should do the trick!

‘a’ Spa near Amed Beach was the most expensive of our massage splurges, but offered the best all-over-body experience, from accupressure on the feet to relaxing scalp massage, from deep tissue shiatsu-style work, to lighter strokes with the body scrub.