Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SPAS, TRADITIONAL BEAUTY
TREATMENTS AND YOGA
Herbal medicines or
jamu
and massages using oils and pastes made from locally grown
plants have long played an important role in traditional Indonesian health care. In the
last few years, this resource has been adapted for the tourist market, with dozens of spas
and salons now offering traditional beauty treatments to visitors.
The biggest concentrations of hotel
spas
and
traditional beauty salons
are in Seminyak/
Petitenget and
Ubud
but there are many more across Bali and Lombok: browse Bali Spa
Guide (
balispaguide.com
) for a comprehensive database.
YOGA AND HOLISTIC THERAPIES
Ubud-based
Bali Spirit
is an excellent resource for all things
holistic
in Bali, and the web-
site (
balispirit.com
) carries a detailed programme of all upcoming yoga retreats. Regular
Gili Air
,
Kuta,
Lombok
and
Gili Trawangan
.
Treatments
The most famous traditional treatment is the Javanese exfoliation rub,
mandi lulur
, in which
you're painted and then massaged with a turmeric-based paste. Such is its apparent power
to beautify, that Javanese brides are said to have a
lulur
treatment every day for the forty
days before their wedding ceremonies. Another popular body wrap is the
Balinese boreh
,
a warming blend of cloves, pepper and cardamom that improves circulation and invigorates
muscles. Most scrub treatments include a gentle Balinese-style massage and a moisturizing
“milk bath”; prices (/hr) vary from around Rp120,000 to more than Rp1,000,000, depending
on the poshness of the venue. Prices for a simple massage start at around Rp60,000 for a half-
hour rub on the beach but may cost Rp600,000 or more at a top hotel. On Bali, some massage
centres also run
massage courses
,
such as in Seminyak.
CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
The people of Bali and Lombok are extremely generous about opening up their homes,
temples and festivals to the ever-growing crowd of interested tourists but, though
they're long-suffering and rarely show obvious displeasure, they do take great offence
at certain aspects of Western behaviour. The most sensitive issues on the islands are
