Following Julia Roberts to Eat, Pray, Love on the enchanting island of Bali

By Flora Stubbs

Enchanting: The volcanic peak of Gunnung Anung near Ubud


The story will be familiar to millions of people - well, millions of women at least: a thirtysomething, burnt-out singleton depressed by a harrowing divorce sets off around the world in pursuit of a sensual and spiritual awakening.

She travels to Italy, India and eventually Bali, picking up along the way a new sense of self-worth, a sexy Brazilian lover and - bingo! - happiness knocks on her door.

Eeat, Pray, Love, U.S. writer Elizabeth Gilbert's juggernaut of a bestseller, is inescapable. More than six million copies have been sold. And it is set to become even more ubiquitous next month when a film version starring Julia Roberts is released.

Like so many of Gilbert's readers, I identified with the frustrations that prompted her to set off into the unknown. I, too, wanted to escape, to explore, to ride a bicycle through paddy fields at dusk. The difference? Liz Gilbert had a year to do it; I had two weeks.

Eventually, I settled on Bali, the setting for the last and sunniest of eat, Pray, Love's three episodes. I thought this the best place to attain the blissed- out, Zen-like state I'd read about and envied in the book.

Beloved by generations of visitors for its close impersonation of Paradise, Bali also has the advantage of being highly accessible to tourists and of a manageable, fortnight-friendly size.

But without the time personally to track down a retreat, a healer and a spiritual guide, as Gilbert did, I was in need of some help.

I hoped to combine a detox of body and mind with a pleasurable holiday. This was, in Gilbert's words: 'One woman's search for everything.'


Ladies' favourite: Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love

And so it was I found myself on a bone-rattling midnight drive through the rice fields outside the inland town of Ubud, on my way to the Como Shambhala estate - one of Bali's most low-key luxury spa resorts.

I'll let Gilbert describe the setting: 'Ubud is in the centre of Bali, located in the mountains, surrounded by terraced rice paddies and innumerable hindu temples, with rivers that cut fast through deep canyons and volcanoes visible on the horizon.'

It was on the edge of one such canyon, with lush foliage and exotic birds, that I found myself eating breakfast the morning after my arrival.

Sipping on fresh watermelon juice while musing on the distant silhouette of Batur volcano, I certainly felt lighter in body and spirit.

The estate is the brainchild of Christina Ong, the Singaporean tycoon behind the Metropolitan hotel , London, and the Nobu restaurant group. A self-confessed yoga nut and style obsessive, Ong has created that elusive thing: a spa retreat that doesn't feel like one.

There are no white walls or men in medical coats, yet rumour has it this was the place Daniel Craig came to get in shape for his ab-tastic Bond outing in Casino Royale.

The emphasis is on making detoxing a pleasure. Thus, the estate is jaw-droppingly good-looking, the food delicious and the programmes an uninvasive pleasure.

I was prescribed a cleanse routine - a daily diet of yoga, Pilates and massage - that felt like pure indulgence. And so inspiring were the surroundings, I found myself voluntarily rising at dawn for a few laps of my personal infinity pool before an hour of sun salutations in the teak-wood yoga pavilion. In short, I felt like a new woman.

So much for the physical detox, but what about my state of mind? how was I to replicate the wisdom Gilbert absorbed in her daily sessions with Ketut Liyer, the twinkly-eyed guru of eat, Pray, Love? These days, coach-loads of American package tourists are dropped off at Liyer's village compound outside Ubud for a dose of his quirky spiritual advice. The 'seekers' who come to visit are seen in pairs, and queuing for the wise man's time is standard.

Those who don't want to take their Balinese philosophy as part of a coach tour can chose from the numerous other 'Balians', or spiritual healers, who live and work around Ubud. They offer cures for everything from muscle strain to a broken heart.


Bliss: The exotic escape of Como Shambhala is just the tonic for Flora


There is a Western-style therapist in residence at Como Shambhala, but I opted for the services of a different kind of wise man - Dr Deepak, a trained practitioner in the Ayurvedic system of holistic Indian medicine.

My consultation involved a detailed explanation of the philosophy behind Ayurveda. It all comes down to the elements, he told me.

Just as the universe-is made up of different elemental forces, so humans are each comprised of a unique combination of water, air, fire, wind and earth. Understanding our elemental make-up is the key to physical health and mental equilibrium, according to Ayurvedic believers.

He took me through a rigorous series of questions about every aspect of my health, from the sublime to the ridiculous ('Would you describe yourself as happy?'; 'How many times a day on average do you break wind?'). From this questionnaire, Dr Deepak deduced that my constitution is made up of a combination of 'vata' (wind) and 'pitta' (fire and water).

Armed with this diagnosis, he prescribed a special diet - as well as the standard list of discouraged substances at Como Shambhala: caffeine, dairy, wheat and alcohol.

I am also given a programme of calming Ayurvedic spa treatments. By the time I checked out of Como Shambhala, I felt overcome by a Liz Gilbert-style euphoria, and looked healthier than I had done in years.

In addition to living amid the countryside around Ubud, Gilbert also spends time in the town - 'the cultural hub of the island'.

Its visitors, too, get a good write-up from her: 'It isn't near any beaches, so the tourists . . . who come to Ubud are a rather classy crowd.'


Nature's favourite: The suites provide stunning views


After a week of early nights and even earlier mornings, I was in the mood for some culture, so I booked myself into Como Shambhala's sister property in town, Uma Ubud, to see if it lived up to Gilbert's description.

I wasn't disappointed. Despite a thriving tourism industry, Ubud has retained a friendly, small-town charm that feels entirely genuine.

But all this time spent inland had left me thirsty for some beach life. the final location in Gilbert's book is the tiny island of Gili Meno, just off the coast of Lombok. Having come to the island to follow a vow of silence while in the depths of her depression, at the end of the book she returns with her new lover to celebrate the beginning of a new, brighter chapter in her life.

Here's Gilbert again: 'The island is tiny, pristine, sandy, blue water, palm trees. It's a perfect circle with a single path that goes around it, and you can walk the circumference in an hour.

'There is no spot on the island from which you cannot hear the ocean. There are no motorised vehicles here. It's the quietest place I've ever been.'

I checked in to the island's most upmarket accommodation, Villa Nautilus, set in a lush tropical garden just off the beach.

Feasting on the freshest seafood and a Bintang beer were the only things on my to-do list. Could it be I had finally found Paradise, Liz Gilbert-style? One thing was certain: anyone looking to eat like a king, pray a little and fall in love with a country and way of life could do far worse than a fortnight in Bali.

Travel Facts
Wellbeing Escapes (www.wellbeingescapes.co.uk, 0845 602 6202) offers a five-night, full-board cleanse programme at Como Shambhala Estate and two nights' B&B at Uma Ubud in Bali from £2,500pp, based on two people sharing. Flights and airport transfers are included.Bungalows at Villa Nautilus, Gili Meno, start from £50 a night (www.villanautilus.com).



source: dailymail