"Eat Pray Love" and Ubud, Bali

You may have heard of Ubud from a little memoir called, “Eat Pray Love.” The artsy town, situated one hour north of Denpasar, Bali, was the last stop for Elizabeth Gilbert in her prolific journey. For her, it became an emblem of serenity and healing. And, now that I have been there, I can really see why.

Ubud stems from the Balinese word, ubad, which means “medicine.” This may be one of those chicken or egg situations, but I believe Gilbert came here because of that. Regardless, I found it to be a magical place for a few reasons....

Hominess

My time in Ubud started with a homestay at Depa House. For roughly $14/night, I got my own bungalow equipped with a queen sized bed, private bathroom, and an AMAZING breakfast.

One of my favorite parts of Indonesia: the doors. Galay (the owner) of Depa House painted this one

When the fan didn’t work, the owner of Depa House and his wife quickly found an extra. When I woke up at 6:15 am for a yoga class, they still made me breakfast (my own fruit plate, varying daily omelets, banana “sandwiches,” and bottomless coffee). And when I wiped out on my front stairs (because for whatever reason they use the world’s most slippery tiles in Bali), the owners came running to my “rescue.”

This could just be a gem of a find in Ubud, but I got the impression that much of the accommodation was this way. The people in Ubud (on a whole) have been extremely inviting and helpful. Without a doubt, this town makes you feel apart of the family.

Spirituality

I am writing this from the perspective of a secular agnostic. STILL (or because of that?) Ubud’s spirituality draws in visitors with its sacred locations and rituals that create a distinct culture.  

One of these spiritual places was The Sacred Monkey Forest. I am convinced that the monkeys do not make this place sacred because they are some of the most conniving, satanic creatures I have ever met.

Monkey or Golem? 

A monkey ACTUALLY opened my backpack, took off the cap of my insect repellant, and then jumped on my head. When I tried to barter with him (someone told me this worked…) the monkey took my offering, threw it away, then grabbed onto my hair. Needless to say, I did not get the cap of my insect repellent back. And the monkey kept the stick that I traded him.

Unlike the monkeys, many Balinese partake in daily offerings of thanks in the form of a small tray of flowers placed in front of temples or entry ways. When I first walked around town, I dodged the small trays in the streets. (I didn’t want to be THAT person who stepped on someone’s offer of gratitude).

With the tradition of gratitude mixed with the monkey forest sacred locations, Ubud entices people to look inward. My way of doing this was by signing up for yoga at a studio/retreat nestled amongst trees and gorgeous statues. Thankfully, there were no monkeys there.

Recovery

As I was eating some absurdly “natural” smoothie after my yoga class, I chatted with someone about western versus eastern medicine. She had mentioned her visit to a 94-year-old medicine man, Cokodra Rai, only a 20-minute drive from Ubud.

I have always loved shiatsu, the idea of acupuncture, and other non-western forms of medicine. I had never been to a medicine man before, and time was really ticking to see him. He specialized in everything from treating symptoms of scoliosis to helping enlighten and inspire individuals. I didn’t really have a specific “symptom” in mind, but without hesitation, I signed up for a visit.

I thought about writing an entire post on this, but it turned into this surreal, very emotional experience. (And one that I’m not going to put on the blog quite yet.)

Moral of the story: this 94-year-old healer not only diagnosed some physical, emotional, and “guidance” issues by poking around my head and toes. But, he actually provided some answers. And it seemed like far more than just an old man’s wisdom.

I walked away from that experience thinking that maybe we, Westerners, are doing it wrong. Maybe we're not actually focusing on the right attributes for health and well-being.

It seems like Gilbert was on to something with "Eat Pray Love" and Ubud. This small town in the middle of Bali—the town of medicine—really seemed to have the cure.