how-to-have-a-happy-ending

How to have a happy ending…

I am a sucker for a straight forward massage (without a happy ending) so it was with great fiscal delight that I realised that massages are are ridiculously cheap in Bali. I’m talking as little as 60,000 rupiah (about AUD$6) for one hour of blissful laziness.

I went for a massage every second day, meaning that by the end of my ten day trip, I was really, really, really relaxed.

If you’re heading over to Bali, here are some tips for having a good massage experience:

  1. Don’t go too cheap. The massage will still be good but the oil will smell stale, the therapists will seem harassed and the towels will be of questionable cleanliness and vintage. I just kept thinking, ‘Hepatitis! Hepatitis!’ which is not so relaxing.
  2. Follow the French people. They are very discerning (read: snobby) so if a spa is overrun with Frenchies, you are in safe hands.
  3. Stick to Balinese massage. I tried Lomi Lomi and it was excruciating. I have had this style of massage before and it’s not supposed to cripple you.
  4. Tip the therapist directly; not when you go to pay. These girls (and they are always girls) get paid a pittance and work up to 12 hours a day. If you have seen some of the gross tourists they have to touch, you would understand that this is not an easy way to earn a living.

Where are the best massages (not the happy ending kind) in the world? I would love to know what you think…

Want to read more travel tips for Bali? Click here.

Thinking of checking out Canggu? Click here.

Here’s another story I wrote about Bali …

The greatest luxury on earth is spending time with the person you’re in love with. Couple that with an Ocean View Villa at Ayana Resort and Spa and life is beyond sweet.

The Spark and I arrived at the resort on a Friday night, tired but happy, and were greeted with frangipani leis and quirky basil and soursop welcome concoctions. The reception area where you check in is pure wow – a dramatically lit central pagoda in a pond that floats surreally in darkness.

After you’ve checked in, your personal butler (!) drives you to your villa and shows you around. From the carved stone bathtub filled with rose petals, to the ceiling covered with traditional Balinese paintings, to the four poster bed where I would’ve been happy to spend the rest of my life, the whole effect is dazzling, like drinking Champagne too fast in too bright sun.

The main feature – the one that really rocked our already-quite-rocked world was revealed when we stepped outside into the inky tropical night; we had our own infinity plunge pool overlooking a moonlit Indian Ocean. Magic.

We did what all self-respecting water babies would do – stripped off and jumped in.

Sometimes in life you get that sense that everything that came before – all the sorrow and struggle and loss – was for a reason. That’s how I felt right then; that everything was leading to this one perfect moment.

5 comments on “How to have a happy ending…

  1. I think another valuable tip Em would be – If the massage girls are wearing mini skirts – be warned you might be in for a little more than you bargained for. I had a rather unfortunate experience at a place on King St in Newtown. I learnt that lesson the hard way.

  2. Hi Blond Duck! Wow – that is quite a pond you’ve got there. I loved Austin. I just wish we’d ‘met’ earlier.

  3. Wow, these tales of adventure are inspiring to say the least. So fortunate to share in your fun, excitements and discoveries….sounds to me like you have even more reasons to travel off , holiday and explore
    …do so try WA…our country is vastly arrayed with such beauty and pleasures….you’ll love it.
    Oh by the way, nana glen is DIVINE!!!!

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