For many people, “Bali” evokes an image of Julia Roberts cycling through emerald-green rice paddies to visit her spiritual mentor, a traditional medicine man named Ketut.
The 2010 film Eat Pray Love, based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, helped establish Bali as a global destination for spiritual exploration, wellness and self-discovery.
We just spent a week in Ubud, in central Bali, where many of the film’s Indonesian scenes were filmed. Everywhere we looked, we saw yoga classes, meditation sessions and organic cafes.
But we also saw overbuilt hotels, crowded streets and rows of shops selling souvenirs to tourists.
An influx of Western spiritual seekers and other visitors has strained the authentic Balinese identity that attracted them. It’s hard to be an exotic backdrop for Western personal growth while adapting to the complex challenges of modernity.
Some U.S. cities, from Sedona to Asheville, also attract visitors seeking personal transformation. So do Kathmandu and other cities around the world. But Bali felt to me like the crown chakra of spiritual tourism.
When Champa and I took a class there on how to make incense sticks, our teacher began by chanting and sprinkling us with holy water. Only after we’d all meditated could we begin. When I asked him how many sticks I should make, he said: “Whatever your spirit says.”
Not exactly what you’d hear at Target.
We used Ubud as a base to visit waterfalls, a coffee plantation and a forest where monkeys perch atop willing tourists. We saw several temples, including the iconic Tanah Lot perched on a massive rock in the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.
We splurged on our hotel, the Puri Saraswati, which features a beautiful water temple and nightly dance performances. We ate breakfast beside its lotus ponds. We got massages and dressed up in Balinese clothes to take photos beside the temple. We strolled beside tranquil rice fields and sampled the excellent nearby restaurants.
We then left Ubud for a seaside hotel close to the airport for two nights before our next flight. The vibe there was decidedly different— more beach town, less ethereal. But it was still Bali, which felt almost like a different country than Java, the island where we’d spent our previous ten days in Indonesia. It was like going from Detroit to Nirvana Disney World.
Bali is primarily Hindu, beautiful and bountiful in tradition. Java is predominantly Muslim, historically rich, vastly more populated.
Bali is smoother and easier for Western visitors, as well as more expensive. It’s the simpler choice for anyone new to Indonesia, which is why it attracts as many foreign visitors as all of Indonesia’s other islands combined. If I were on a honeymoon or a spiritual journey, it’s where I’d go.
As I wrote in my last post, though, Java was also compelling in its own way and we were very glad to experience it. My advice to anyone seeking cultural insight into Indonesia along with personal growth would be to visit both islands, and maybe more, if possible.
Don’t take it from me. Listen to Ketut, who told Liz in the movie: “To find the balance you want, this is what you must do.”
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