“Eat, Pray, Love”: a 3 Day Bookclub Retreat In Bali
Having just finished reading “Eat, Love, Pray” by American author, Elizabeth Gilbert, our bookclub of 12 women decided what better place to discuss this book than in Bali, the setting for Liz’s’s third chapter in the town of Ubud. We chose as our location the beautiful little resort of Alam Sari, Keliki, a small boutique hotel in the hills near Ubud. With its twelve rooms, restaurant, spa, and villa we took over the entire resort, which provided the perfect spot for us all to relax in an intimate setting with undivided attention from the wonderfully friendly staff. From here we were able to appreciate better the world Liz Gilbert entered when she met both Ketut, the Balinese soothsayer, and Wayan Nuriasi, the Balinese medicinal healer.

Day 1. Our bookclub weekend began with a visit to Gilbert’s medicine man, Ketut Liyer, who she describes in her book as looking like “Yoda”. He was sitting on his Balinese pavilion, well used to receiving visitors by now, after all the fame the book has brought him. You would hardly think so to look around his surroundings, still the humble dwelling of a Balinese village healer, and he greeted us all with his very infectious smile. After three hours of readings where we discovered a lot about our past lives, it was on to meet Wayan Nuriasi, the medicinal healer where we had scheduled hourly sessions while others shopped in the colorful Ubud markets nearby. That evening we had a lot to laugh about and share in our cosy villa, while we enjoyed a Balinese buffet meal followed by an Alam Sari special, “Jacuzzi by Candlelight”. What a treat, and a perfect way to end the day.

Day 2. Liz Gilbert, with her love of cooking, (read chapter one in Italy), I’m sure would have loved the secrets of Balinese recipes, especially the use of local herbs and spices we learned during our stay at Alam Sari. (Pity she missed this one!) We were treated to a visit in the local Keliki village at the home of Pak Dewa, one of the hotel staff, where we were given a 3 hour traditional cooking lesson using the Balinese wood fired oven. Not only did we follow Dewa’s cooking lesson where we learned five different delicious recipes, with names like “Jukut Urab, and “ Siap Base Kalas”, but he shared his wisdom of the Balinese philosophy of life and connected for us the approach to cooking, the balance of ingredients, with their approach to living. Some of us were so moved we had tears which weren’t just the onions we were pounding with the mortar and pestle. Of course the highlight was the luncheon to follow, where we sat chatting to Dewa and his wife while enjoying the food we had so carefully prepared. That afternoon the Ubud bookclub joined us in Villa Saraswati at the hotel for an afternoon tea while we discussed the highlights of Liz Gilbert’s book. It was wonderful to have their insights as these ladies (many foreigners married to Balinese) live here in Ubud permanently and have experienced the world Gilbert describes firsthand.

Day 3, To top off our stay we set out on some retail therapy the very next day…well, what did you expect with our group of 12 women! Alam Sari provided us with a wealth of places to visit off the beaten track to find those wonderful beaded baskets, wooden carvings, Bali cottons, painted sarongs, woven place mats, intricate silver, paintings, weaving, and many other arts and crafts, as we set out to find the source of these prized goods. We all agreed it was the perfect getaway weekend, and are already planning to read another Bali book so we have an excuse to return for our next year’s cultural trip to Alam Sari Resort in Bali.