Eaten too much or feeling jaded from partying? Wish you'd said no to that last glass of mulled wine?
You're not alone. The excesses of December leave many of us entering January in need of a reboot. It's time to charge up your chakras - and that's where the new Anantara Ubud Resort in Bali, Indonesia, comes in.
True, Bali may be a long way to go and, yes, there are plenty of other places in the world where you can practise yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
But nowhere offers a setting quite like this. The hotel's 85 rooms cling to a sheer ravine deep in the Balinese jungle at the island's heart and not only does every balcony, bath tub, bar and restaurant come with a showstopper canopy view, so do its terraces made for shavasana (corpse pose), deep breathing and relaxation exercises.
You can even see across to Bali's highest peak, the 3,031m (9,888ft) Mount Agung, an active volcano whose eruptions back in the 1960s were the largest of the 20th century.
The stunning Anantara Ubud Resort
The hotel's two, long infinity pools are so high in the jungle that bamboo and palm leaves are close enough to touch from the water's edge. There's no light or noise pollution. The only sound is the raucous trill of cicadas, toads and beetle bugs.
Bali is just one of a whopping 17,500 islands that make up the world's largest archipelago nation of Indonesia. Tourists come here to connect with spiritual life. And there's a plethora of Indonesian ceremonies and rituals designed to cleanse away negative energy. The Anantara invites guests to try lots of them. Water Purification is one, held in sacred springs at the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Mengening Temple. I'm keen to give it a go.
The main event is dunking in waist-high holy water while swaddled in a sarong. There's a row of fountains and under each one you must perform a repetition of face splashing and prayer three times - first the mouth, then cheeks, then the head. During the last cycle a wave of calm washes over me. I must have pulled the oddest expression as the helper with me looks worried. 'Ma'am, are you OK?'
Water Purification at Mengening Temple
I'm more than OK. I'm suddenly euphoric. Have I really been cleansed of negative thought? If so, I'd like to do it again please.
I don't do it again, but I do pull some more odd expressions. One comes while trying 'luwak coffee', a local speciality made from beans which have been digested and excreted by a mongoose.
Far more pleasurable is my Balinese massage in the hotel spa (the perfect mix of reflexology and oily muscle coaxing) and a trek through rice paddies.
Relax, rejuvenate and reset your chakras
A three-mile walking trail starts opposite the resort's entrance and passes sleepy villages where chickens strut across the road and farmers tend to their rice. Most local farmers have switched to cultivating a non-native easier-to-grow seed and this change along with the cage bird trade has left the island's national bird, the Bali Starling, critically endangered.
A non-profit organisation has started growing the original grain again and you can sample some at the new, organic farm-to-table Begawan Biji Restaurant set in the rice fields. It's fresh and nutty and the perfect accompaniment to sautéed short ribs.
Begawan Biji restaurand and chef Andrew Eko Fahludza
Rice isn't just integral to Bali's landscape and diet. It also holds a deep spiritual significance. Seen as a seed that grows life, it's ritually used as an offering to the gods. Or, as I find out, to help bring change. I join a chanting local group at a fire ceremony.
'Throw rice on the flames as you make a wish,' instructs the local priest. I make many wishes and for sure one of them has come true. The Bali Starlings have started to return and I spot a white-feathered pair soaring overhead. Not only has Bali managed to put its national bird's chakras back in alignment, it's also succeeded in rebooting mine.
First published in the Daily Mail - January 2025
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