Cultural wellness in Bali
Heading to Bali? Travel writer Jacqui Gibson finds five top-notch experiences worth adding to any wellness-themed itinerary.
I've taken a seat at Cap Karoso's exclusive Julang restaurant where guest chefs from Japan are preparing tonight's degustation dinner.
The French-owned luxury resort is a 90-minute flight from Bali on Sumba Island, a lesser-known yet emerging destination for wellness travellers.
Next to me a buff mid-life Aussie couple with glowing skin are discussing their plans for tomorrow, starting with yoga and meditation in the morning, followed by an afternoon of snorkelling and traditional Balinese massage.
Life at home is rushed, they explain, so Bali, and now Sumba, is where they come year-after-year to recharge and reconnect.
According to research published by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), wellness tourism is now worth $US651 billion ($NZ1.1 trillion) annually and expenditure is expected to grow by more than 15% a year for the next two years.
The United States non-profit says wellness tourism is travel defined by a desire to manage, maintain or improve one's health and wellbeing on holiday. It includes everything from basic spa treatments to eating and sleeping well to authentic cultural healing.
The latter category is the one that most piques my interest.
"As the world becomes increasingly globalised and homogenised, the unique, rooted and deeply spiritual practices of indigenous cultures offer a powerful counterbalance to other competitive wellness travel offerings," notes GWI, a leader in wellness industry research for more than a decade.
On a two-week break in Bali and Sumba, I added five cultural wellness experiences to my itinerary. Would doing so help me feel better? Would authentic cultural healing become my new holiday must-do? It was time to find out. Best for clearing the mind
Hilton Bali Resort's private yoga class
A newcomer to yoga, I wasn't sure what to expect from a private yoga lesson at Hilton Bali Resort. But asking resort recreation manager Gede Wiriawan to organise the session turned out well.
Not only did he find me a tucked-away outdoor pavilion (the Kamita pavilion) in which to unfurl my mat and wrangle myself into downward facing dog, he teed up Wayan Supatha, an experienced Balinese instructor versed in the Vinyasa and Asanas disciplines, to ensure I maintained slow, steady breathing and constant movement throughout his 60-minute routine.
By mid-morning, as holidaymakers swam in the resort's white-sand lagoon and torpedoed down its 30m water slide, I'd manoeuvred my way through 13 beginner moves and felt a lot better for it.
Originating in India and practised worldwide, yoga is especially popular in Bali thanks to the island's predominantly Hindu population, many of whom practice daily.
"Bali, especially Nusa Dua, is perfect for yoga," Aditya Eka Saputra, the resort's digital marketing manager explained after my session had ended.
"Our warm weather and stunning sunrises and sunsets make it a great place for outdoor yoga, particularly. Combine that with the fact our cultural traditions align with yoga's emphasis on balance and mindfulness and you've got the ideal destination for clearing the mind." Best for ultimate nourishment
Hilton Bali Resort's Diwali food festival
It is widely accepted you can eat yourself to wellness and I was definitely keen to test the theory during my two-night stay at Hilton Bali Resort.
Not one for trendy tonics, I hoped to find ultimate nourishment at the Hilton's inaugural Diwali food festival. A three-night feast held in the resort's roomy Grain restaurant, it showcased Indonesian and Indian dishes from two of the world's most highly-rated cuisines. I started with gado gado, a delicious peanut-sauce drenched salad of steamed vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, tofu, tempeh and sliced lontong (rice cake wrapped in banana leaf), before selecting skewers of sticky sate ponorogo, perfectly cooked marinated grilled chicken served in peanut sauce.
"The festival was a chance to really show off the talents of my team and give guests something a bit special," explained executive chef Clinton Webber, the brains behind the festival and the Masterton-born chef who manages the resort's five restaurants.
"In Bali, there's a cultural tradition of megibung — the art of Balinese dining — where you sit together to share a range of small dishes set out on a platter. Year-round we offer that experience at Paon Bali, our Balinese restaurant. It's a wonderful Balinese tradition where food creates a sense of togetherness." Best for calmness and relaxation
Samanvaya Luxury Resort & Spa's chakra healing
A 90-minute drive north of Bali's main tourist areas is the quiet rural district of Sidemen where two former New Zealand detectives run Samanvaya Luxury Resort & Spa, an adults-only resort.
On arrival, I dived into the resort's extensive spa menu and selected an hour-long chakra balancing session for later that afternoon. Set in a standalone garden complex called Ananda (meaning ultimate bliss), the spa was a tranquil, inviting space of water features, private seating areas and therapy rooms decked out in the dark browns, amber golds and earthy shades of Balinese design.
Dressed in a robe and lying face up on a comfy massage table, I was guided through a structured meditation by a local therapist using handheld sound chimes. As the session got under way, he explained each chime had a healing effect that aimed to align all seven of my chakras, starting with the root or stability chakra at the base of my spine before slowly moving up my body to my third-eye chakra, representing intuition, and, finally, the crown or intelligence chakra.
"In Hinduism, chakras are seen as the body's energy centres. We want to open them for optimum emotional and physical wellbeing," he said as my mind drifted off and I began to feel a deep sense of calm and relaxation. Best for 'me time'
Samanvaya Luxury Resort & Spa's traditional Balinese massage
As other guests headed into Sidemen Valley for morning cooking classes or whitewater rafting, I hastily returned to Ananda the following day for more "me time" at the spa.
Opting for an hour of traditional Balinese massage, I chose a local frangipani essential oil from the oil range on offer and headed into my therapy room.
Balinese massage, I came to learn, was a kind of deep tissue massage, defined by long strokes, aimed at calming nerves, improving circulation and relieving tense muscles. Given more time at Samanvaya (three nights, I decided, was not enough) I'd like to have tried Ananda's signature massage, which added 30 minutes of foot reflexology to an hour of Balinese massage. And I may have gone all out and booked the Shirodhara treatment, combining Balinese massage with a head and hair treatment where warm ayurvedic oils drip on to the forehead, scalp and hair. It sounded quite dreamy to me.
That said, body scrubs using local spices such as cinnamon, cloves and ginger and guided Balinese meditation were other tempting treatments on offer. Best for enlivening the senses
Cap Karoso's Weekuri saltwater lake tour
At Cap Karoso beach resort on Sumba, an Indonesian island off Bali, I chose an active wellness experience. A French-owned resort dedicated to introducing guests to the unique local Marapu culture, Cap Karoso's guest programme listed a range of village tours.
I signed up for a walking tour of Weekuri saltwater lake, an ocean-fed lagoon enjoyed as much by Sumbanese as by domestic and international visitors. About 10 minutes' drive from Cap Karoso in the resort's private van, the tidal lake was a good place to peruse market stalls set up near the carpark entrance and stroll the lake's rocky, forested edges.
I followed my guide along a trail to a lookout suspended over the Indian Ocean and back to stairs that led down to the waterhole.
Climbing down the stairs and slipping into the turquoise lagoon, I bobbed around chatting to a couple of fellow swimmers from Sumatra. What an amazing spot and a sublime way to enliven the senses, we all agreed. More information
Getting to Bali: Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Bali. Book online, at: airnewzealand.co.nz.
Staying in Bali: Hilton Bali Resort is set on the edge of a white sand lagoon in Nusa Dua district. Learn more at: hilton.com. Samanvaya Luxury Resort & Spa in rural Sidemen Valley is a 90-minute commute from Denpasar Airport. Book online at: samanvaya-bali.com.
Getting to Sumba: Domestic carrier Wings Air flies direct from Bali to Tambolaka Airport in Sumba. Book online at: airpaz.com.
Staying in Sumba: Cap Karoso is a five-star beachfront hotel in Sumba. Learn more at: capkaroso.com.
— The writer travelled to Bali and Sumba independently and was hosted by Samanvaya Luxury Resort & Spa and Hilton Bali Resort.
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