The many balms of Bali

Eyes bulging and fingers contorted, bodies swaying in time to the Gamelan music, Balinese dancers are a sight not to be missed. My partner Barry and I sat transfixed watching a Barong dance.

The Barong is a cute, shaggy dog-like puppet operated by two dancers – think pantomime horse – challenging the Rangda, a wicked witch. Similarities with panto are obvious. The theme is the conquest of good over evil and the lead male character is played by a woman with fabulous costumes and more than a hint of slapstick.

We had arrived on the Indonesian island during preparations for the most important Hindu festival in the Balinese calendar, Gulangan, celebrating the triumph of dharma (good) over adharma (evil). The Balinese take great pride in their decorations, spending up to a month’s salary and days sourcing raw materials for their designs.

Everywhere you look you see their work. Nearly every house we passed had 20ft-high bamboo poles decorated with banana leaf skirts, hand-woven platforms for offerings of flowers and rice and “dragons’ tails” arching high over the streets. 

Bali is often called the Island Of A Thousand Temples but it could easily be the island of a thousand holidays. Whether you want sun, sea and relaxation, a cultural experience or a gastronomic break, Bali will not disappoint.

The perfect place to recover from your flight is the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa on the Benoa peninsula. Built in the Nineties, it looks and feels like an ancient Balinese palace.

We were greeted in the open-air reception with cool tropical fruit juice and an ice‑cold face towel. After a dip in the calm sea and complimentary evening cocktails, we were ready for the temples.

We drove across the island, along winding roads fringed by lush green rice terraces, stopping at numerous temples.

Pura Tanah Lot in Tabanan Regency, South Bali, rises out of the Indian Ocean and looks particularly fabulous at sunrise and sunset.

The Elephant Cave temple in Bedulu village in central Bali has a huge representation of the elephant god Ganesh carved into the rock above the entrance (no real elephants, though). The Ulun Danu Beratan temple on the edge of Lake Beratan used to be surrounded by water and I found some clever camera angles that still make it look submerged.

If you have time for one only temple it has to be Pura Besakih – or the “Mother Temple” in the Tabanan Regency.

Built in the 5th century high on the slopes of Mount Agung, it sprawls across more than a mile. Carved from black volcanic rock, the building is a startling contrast to the overgrown green foliage.

We followed our nimble guide, Surya, to the top and caught our breath watching the local ladies snaking up the hill with Gulangan offerings to the many manifestations of God, balanced on their heads. The views across the valley were breathtaking.

Spa treatments are big business in Bali and Barry and I were rubbed, scrubbed, soaked and soothed in numerous hotels across the island including the Bali Hyatt Hotel, and on the beach at Hotel Puri Bagus in Lovina, north Bali. A massage at the Hotel Maya Ubud’s riverside spa proved to be the most entertaining, with a chorus of flatulent-sounding frogs providing the background music.

Our bamboo and thatch bungalow at Maya Ubud even had a spacious bathroom complete with an in-room bathing menu. For less than £8 you can choose from “herbal” or “floral”, with either milks or salts. This is prepared in your sunken bath, which is big enough for two.

We were so taken with our sumptuously decorated four-poster room and so exhausted after our temple tour that we didn’t want to leave. One night we decided to order room service and tucked into chilled prawns and scallops on ginger leaf with red nam jim (spicy jam) and baby bananas grilled in their skins. And that was just the starters.

Then there were leek, onion and mushroom pancakes with a tomato compote and curry sauce. Dessert was tamarillo and mango terrine with minted yoghurt and ginger cake satay – all for a very reasonable £14 for both of us.

I adore cooking so we booked into the Anika Cookery School in Kuta. All the chopping or boiling preparation was done by unseen helpers, although we did grind our own spices and pastes.

But guided by master chef Nyoman, I discovered that my kitchen-shy partner has quite a flair for bregedek tahu

(tofu fritters) and nasi goreng (fried rice and chicken). Between us we cooked up a storm and sat down to a Balinese feast.

It was the best food we’d ever tasted and whetted our appetites to return to this tropical paradise.

** GETTING THERE: Hayes & Jarvis (0871 664 0246/ www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk) offers a 10-night guided Images of Bali tour, combining a three-night sightseeing tour (two nights at the Hotel Maya Ubud) with five nights at the Puri Santrian Hotel on Sanur Beach, from £999pp (two sharing), including flights from Heathrow. Additional overnight stays at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa from £47pp per night, room only.

Lessons at the Anika Cookery School in Kuta are bookable locally; price on enquiry.

Bali Tourist Board: www.bali-tourism-board.com.