"Gently for Gents"

Upon entering Prana Spa, one is delightfully disorientated…….,Middle Eastern architecture and striking designs warp you into a different world. Now, care for some ‘Turkish Delight’ ?

Smack-dab amidst the busting narrow traffic causeways fringing Legian and Seminyak is Prana Spa, an inseparable countepart to the equally striking presence of The Villas, which serves as a parallel sanctuary, and Chill, the favorite stopover for reflexology and kneading.

The palms and stylized arches so apparent in their stance, reflecting the notion of an oasis in the clamor of busy Seminyak,

Crossing the road from the Bali Deli, where free parking means ‘no sweat’ for Prana Spa guests, and past the gift shop in its foyer, I got the first glimpse of the garden and restaurant when proceeding towards the flight of stairs up to the reception.

After being greeted by the petite smiling ladies and served a refreshing ginger lemon tea, I further admired the interior the interior design and displays before meeting Prana’s Nicoline and Sascha, who gave me sneak-preview of the updated menu. Still fresh in my mind were the warm streams of oil dripping on my forehead during my last experience, the ayurvedic Shirodara treatment.

And was in for a surprise, “Prana and Chill has seen quite significant numbers of male guests in the previous months, ranging from 35-45% of the total guest,” explained Nicaline, who being in charge of the marketing and sales closely scrutinizes these types of statistics.

Sascha on the other hand, as the spa consultant and the one who arranges the various interesting packages, was happy to elaborate on these new additions directed specifically towards the gents.

During this chat, I found among the new additions the Prana Spa’s Male Package, a treatment that starts with tension relief via deep pressure massage, breaking down tensely knotted tissue as well as improving circulation and easing stress. The package also includes a refreshing facial, a gentle exfoliation sequence and steam. A hydrating mask of sandalwood is applied to the skin to restore a fresher complexion.

Then I was in for an extra surprise. “You’ll be having our all-new Turkish Delight,” exclaimed Sascha, “Those plump little sugar-coated jelly candy squares? I thought I was in for a spa treatment,” I responded. But then I came to realize it was the new male package….the name pun for the treatment inspired by and comprising a Turkish Bath, or ‘Hammam”. Now that surely brought me glimpses of wrong prejudice.

And to my sight of relief, there was no harsh rubbing and kneading in some steam room or beating-like massage by a heavily-built masseur. And going through the new spa pamphlets describing this package, it is surely focused on the rather esthetic side of spa experiences, “Okay, Istambul here I come !”

Prana Spa’s Turkish Delight is a 2-hour treatment comprising steam and exfoliation inspired by the Turkish Hammam. Hammam, or Turkish bath, is the Midle Eastern variant of a steam bath, which can be categorized as a wet relative of the sauna. In Western Europe, the Turkish bath as a method of cleansing the body and relaxation was particularly popular during the Victorian era. The process involved in taking a Turkish bath is similar to that of a sauna, but is more closely related to the bathing practices of the Romas.

Taking a Turkish bath firstly involves relaxing in a room (known as the warm room) that is heated by a continuous flow of hot dry air, allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room (known as the hot room) before splashing themselves with cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation.

In Prana’s version, you begin with the hot and cold plunge pools situated in the palace styled courtyard. The plunge pool starts the process of stimulating blood circulation by immersing the whole body first in warm water and then in cold, there minutes each.

As I was soothing in the final plunge pool of warm water, a beautiful therapist walked down into the atrium and gestured that I should follow her into the misty and high intensity steam chamber. Candri was her name, a pleasant and graceful soul and skilled therapist as well. She led me into the mist and steam of the chamber, and sprayed from a bottle what seemed to be scented water.

Then a combination of an invigorating full body exfoliation and a massage in the rain shower left my skin soft and smooth and revived. After this mild version of a Hammam experience, Candry escorted me into the cream bath salon to enjoy ab hour long hair and scalp treatment. Seated in the cool and dim salon, combined with the soothing scalp massage delivered by well-trained hands, I could have easily dozed off.

Then close to the end, back to relity, I was wide awake drinking a refreshing ginger and lemon tea plus sampling a small plate of Turkish delightful indeed…and you don’t have to go as far as the Middle East !

"Colorful, Communal"

From June 26-28 this month, along the rural pathways and roads of Bali you will see the celebrative ambience of Galungan and Kuningan, two of major holidays for the Balinese Hindu.

The beautiful and artistic bamboo poles erected along Bali’s roadsides signifies Galungan, while the celebrants dress up in their unique-only-to-bali attire and the traditional festive music resonates throughout the villages. Temples are thronged by the masses and the people feast merrily on food and cakes in between worship and blessing ceremonies, and such grand productions do take a great deal of preparation and coordination.

Legend has it that the Balinese commemorate Galungan as the legendary victory of God Indra in a long and furious battle against the self-proclaimed God-King Mayadewa. Powerful Mayadewa was thought invincible and considered the strongest God in the Universe, claiming there was no god but him. Commoners were made to worship him instead of God or receive dreadful punishments.

Angry, the people revolted but were massacred by the king. An army contingent from Java’s Majapahit Kingdom was also easily defeated. Then Indra descended from heaven to help the poor, battling Mayadenawa in a test of power.

The battle raged at Tampaksiring, the Gianyar home of today’s presidential palace and the sacred Tirta Empul Temple. After a long and tiring fight, Mayadenawa turned himself into a pig to fool the army, but this did not fool Indra. Knowing that there was no way to hide, Mayadenawa ran through a dense forest on the sides of his feet, hoping Indra and his army would not recognize his footprints. This area is known today as Tampak Siring, meaning “the sideways footprints”.

Indra was too smart to be fooled by this however, and his magic arrow eventually ended the rebelling king’s existence. The defeat of Mayadenawa has since been celebrated as Galungan, a day of victory, dharma over adharma, good over evil, and the Balinese erect bamboo poles to commemorate the victory, symbolizing that good stands upright against evil.

The festive Kuningan Day on July 7 finds thousands Of Hindu worshipers from various corners of Bali visiting the Sakenan Temple on Pulau Serangan, a tiny island south of Denpasar. The Sakenan Temple, along with Besakih Temple, is among the first, few, and most important temples built by the respected Javanese priest Mpu Kuturan before the turn of the second millennium. The priest Danghyang Nirartha built other beachside temples, including the famous and picturesque Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, and Rambutsiwi at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

Sakenan also has the special privilege of housing Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice, the symbol of wealth and prosperity, it also happens that the temple anniversary falls on Kuningan (yellow) Day, the color symbolizing gold (prosperity) and the god Wisnu, preserver of the universe. Worshippers arrive at the temple and pray at the shrine of Dewi Sri for the prosperity of their rice, or more accurately, their business.

Kuningan is celebrated every 210 days, a cycle known as “one otonan year”, Uniquely, Serangan is also home to one of Bali’s oldest Islamic mosques, established by the Bugis fleeing capture in Sulawesi by the Duth colonial army. There is both a Muslim cemetery and a Hindu cremation ground on the island, and the bi-cultural Serangan seems problem free. In fact, the skilled Bugis traders are the “suppliers” of the green turtles needed by the Balinese on festive days. The Bugis community does not eat turtle, since islam prohibits its followers from eating animals living in two worlds, water and land.

Closing the 210-day cycle and culminating with Galungan on June 27, it is also a time for the Balinese Banjar neighborhood associations to conduct their “annual” meetings. As with every other religious celebrative day, Galungan in so important in the Balinese lifecycle that everyone is supposed to return to his or her home village.