(Lulur Mandi is a luxurious form of ritual massage and bath said to be handed down from the Royal Palaces of Jogyakarta in Central Java. This ancient tradition is used to prepare the skin of a bride for 40 days! prior to the wedding ceremony. This is now adopted as a body polishing and exfoliating treatment so that mortals like us can enjoy it too).
We caught a cab in front of our hotel in Jimbaran and the heavyset driver asked us where we are heading.
We told him – “To Ubud”.
He said “Rp400,000”.
We said no.
“Rp300,000”.
We insisted on the meter. He said no. We got out of the taxi. He said yes. We told ourselves not to get upset and let this spoiled our day. Throughout the journey the driver lamented that he would not be able to get another fare back to Kuta and asked us to let him wait for us. We refused to commit. The fare was Rp200,000+. We offered him half that amount if he will wait for our bath and dirty duck. He happily agreed. So that is how we found ourselves with anticipation in front of Zen Bali Spa.
The following description is from what I had written for another blogging site: eatery2u.com (check that out) -
Sorry for the delay but I was waiting for other members but since none stepped up in the meantime, guess I’ll have another go. But wait, you said – where is your dirty duck? Like any good
Hollywood movie, there is a prequel and a sequel. This is the prequel to dirty duck and it is about food, food for the body and soul and someone no less than Sir Winston Churchill said we got to nourish both to live “a good life”.
source: www.zenbalispa.com
What can you cook with sandalwood, turmeric, groundnuts, rice, yoghurt and flower petals? We traveled one hour from Jimbaran beach to the padi field of Ubud to find out. We arrived at “Zen” and were led to our private room. To prepare us for our feast, they took off our clothing and kneaded us with essential oil from head to foot. One blissful hour floating in a zone between dreaming and waking steeped in ethereal music.
A paste of sandalwood, turmeric, groundnuts and rice was made and gentle hands forcefully rubbed us with it till our whole body was coated orangy yellow. Liquid yoghurt was poured over us and our body shivered to the introduction of a new sensation. It was used to clean and exfoliate our skin. A hot shower followed after which we luxuriously soaked ourselves in a fragrant flower bath nibbling on yoghurt sweetened fruits and imbibing ginger tea. As sunlight filtered through the gap in the roof, I wanted to sleep among the flowers but the minutes in heaven were ticking away and were forced to reluctantly return to earth. We emerged totally refreshed having built up a ravenous hunger. Our body had eaten. Now our stomachs are ready to do “Bebek Bengil” – the famous Dirty Duck of Ubud justice.
(The 1 hour 45 minutes treatment cost Rp115,000 or approximately less than USD12.00. In the hotel where we stayed, it would cost us between USD50.00 to USD100. Please check out www.zenbalispa.com for more information. Please also check my Ghost Food blog for my further adventure with the Dirty Duck).
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