In the footsteps of Julia Roberts

In the footsteps of Julia Roberts


"SO you come to Bali for the loving and the eating and the praying, OK?" asks my driver, a savvy young Balinese called Ikomang, as we prepare to set off for our daytrip into the mountains.

So, here it is, the conversation I've been dreading. I try to head it off with a who-me-absolutely-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about-mister-you-must-be-on-crack eyebrow-raise. I fail. Well, that is a lot to ask from an eyebrow.

"The praying and the loving and the eating!" he persists. "You not see the movie?!"

Grudgingly, I concede I have seen the movie Eat Pray Love. Oh, all right, and I've read the book. But, I assure him, I'm not here because of that. It didn't even cross my mind.

"So many people come to Bali now to be having the eating and the praying and the loving," persists Ikomang. "Having the meditating, having the yoga, having the seck . . ."

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Err, the seck?

"You know the seck. The boom-boom." Ah.

"So, you want to go where Julia Roberts go?"

I swear it, I wasn't thinking about Eat Pray Love when my friend Katie suggested we go to Bali in October and do a retreat together. It didn't even enter my mind.

Which, in retrospect, is baffling. After all, along with pretty much every other Western female 30-something with an even vague interest in her sacral chakra, I've read the (seven million copy-selling) book and seen the (Julia Roberts-starring, more than $50 million-grossing) movie version. Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir of how she fled her marriage and roamed for a year - to eat pasta in Italy, pray in India and, as it turned out, find new love in Indonesia - long ago blossomed (some may say metastasised) into a bona fide pop-cultural phenomenon.

If you haven't read it, someone you know almost certainly has. Probably the one sitting cross-legged in the corner right now saying "Om".

If Italy is the stomach of EPL and India its soul, its heart is Bali, the beautiful Indonesian island where Gilbert concludes her pilgrimage and regains the emotional equilibrium upset by her ugly divorce.

Specifically, she winds up in Ubud, the fantastically lush, absurdly scenic hill town an hour or two's drive from Denpasar's international airport. As a result, Ubud has become metaphysical central for the hordes of EPL fans flocking to Bali.

And flock they have. In the first three months of 2006, the year the book came out, 237,260 foreign tourists visited the island, according to Time.com. In the first three months of last year there were 551,186 - mostly women aged between 35 and 65 - and visitor numbers are on track to hit a record 2.5 million for the year, with EPL given credit for the boom.

There are indications even the hospitable Balinese are wearying of their popularity, with reports of restaurant signs exhorting patrons to "eat pay leave".

For the most part, though, enterprising locals have embraced the opportunity, with EPL travel packages allowing soul-searchers to tick off a checklist of spiritual experiences (massages, meditation sessions, palm readings) as assiduously as they do the tourist spots (monkey forest, hot springs, gamelan orchestra).

However, as it happened, when Katie sent me the details of the (let's call it) Spirit of Saraswati Retreat, five days and six nights of yoga, meditation and inner-self work with a group of about a dozen women, EPL didn't, really did not, even cross my mind. Which is just as well or else I might not have gone.

There can be a certain snobbishness among retreaters, you see, and the more original and rigorous the experience the greater the bragging rights. Given that the essence of any kind of retreat is to seek truth, deeper consciousness and enlightenment, and generally become a better being, you may not imagine anyone being able to turn it into a competition.

But you would be wrong because human beings can make anything, anything at all, into a competition. Even hotdog eating. Even growing their hair long. Even childbirth.

So as much as mention you're about to go on a retreat and someone is bound to start telling you all about this amaaazing meditation wall cavity they were once immured in where no one was allowed to speak, make eye contact or register a measurable pulse for 10 days, after which half the group achieved nirvana and the rest probably got carted off to a mental hospital.

My favourite war story involved a highly charged weekend group retreat during which we felt our auras, identified our inner animal (I would like to report mine was a lioness but, no, it was a monkey) and spent a few traumatic and cathartic hours in a sweat lodge from which we eventually crawled on our hands and knees and staggered naked, exhilarated and most likely dangerously dehydrated in the moonlight down a frost-covered hill somewhere near, I think, Murwillumbah in NSW.

Obviously, I knew nothing was going to top that for fun, but I was perfectly willing to spend a week in a tropical paradise to try. I just didn't want anyone thinking I was only doing it because of Eat bloody Pray Love.

IT is my third full day in Bali and Ikomang is driving Katie and me to the hot springs, the volcanoes and the Kintamani temples. Later in the week we have booked him to take us to Tampak Siring, the holy spring water temple.

Yep, all of the EPL locales. As much as I try to avoid it, it's impossible not to wind up following in Gilbert's footsteps, or at least those of Roberts, who shot the movie's Ubud scenes on location last year.

If you want to go the whole hog, it's apparently even possible to visit the real people in the book and eat a "vitamin lunch" made by healer Wayan and have a palm reading from ancient medicine man Ketut.

A woman in my group tries to get a consultation with Ketut but he's busy every day.

However, my friend Lisa, who happens to be doing a retreat just up the road from my retreat, does get in to see another, equally revered medicine man, known colloquially as the Stick Man, who feels her skull, pokes the pads of her toes with a Y-shaped twig and diagnoses stress in her solar plexus.

"Follow your bliss," he tells her.

As Lisa tells me this story over dinner I realise I am feeling what is arguably one of the most ignoble and unenlightened emotions possible: retreat envy.

Whereas her retreat is pretty strict, with hours of yoga and lectures in Ayurvedic philosophy and Vedic astrology, mine is turning out to be undeniably soft, with yoga for inflexible people, meditation for people with short attention spans and inner-self work for people who think a clear spirit is Tanqueray No 10.

Plus lots of time off for massages and visits to tourist spots. On hers, you get in trouble if you're late. On mine, you get to cut out early to go to your 2 1/2-hour chakra dhara massage. This time, it is obvious, I will have no retreat war stories to tell.

Yet, despite my considerable ego and resistance, Bali and the retreat are working their magic. Ubud is a sensory feast. It sounds like roosters, feels like a warm sponge bath, tastes like smoke, looks like the Garden of Eden and smells like Nag Champa.

At the water temple, Ikomang shows us how to rinse our hands in incense before we swim in the holy spring and drink from the row of gushing spigots, carefully avoiding those reserved for cremation water.

The retreat leaders are cherry-picking religious rituals and cultural practices from all over the shop: a bit of goddess worship here, a dash of Bali's Hindu Buddhism there, a sprinkle of Mayan flavour on top.

I adore this, being in complete agreement with Gilbert when she writes: "Take whatever works from wherever you can find it, and keep moving toward the light."

We use cards to try to find different ways into our unconscious and mine say, in order, one a day: "Spend some time in silence." "Be still." "Find your centre." "Heal." "Connect." "Go outside."

I hear what the universe is trying to tell me: calm down and get over yourself, girlfriend.

Every day we meditate on one of the seven chakras and their associated colours and characteristics: basal (red; rootedness), sacral (orange; sensuality), solar plexus (yellow; strength), heart (green or pink; the emotions), throat (blue; expressiveness), third eye (indigo; inner wisdom), crown (violet; spirituality).

Once, semi-hypnotised during an evening meditation by tiredness and a wavering candle, I have a fantastical optical illusion that the tiled floor is billowing up and down on my breath. My cynicism sloughs off me like dead, unwanted skin.

Early each morning we do yoga in a sun-spilled, marble-floored space above a cooking school, and aromas blend with asanas as we breathe our way through the gentle Swara Cycle, led by an exotic Gypsy yogini called Cara.

"Every breath is a fresh start," she says. "Every breath is a new beginning."

Each day also, held in the safe, secret space of the women's circle, there are confessions, admissions, revelations and transformations. Some of them mine. But I can't talk about any of that here. What happens on retreat, stays on retreat. At least until I write my own book.

Sam Cooper and Lily Allen Get Engaged in Bali

Happy reports show that the well-known singer Lily Allen is to marry her boyfriend of 18 months. Lily Allen says that, without a doubt in her mind, Sam Cooper is the love of her life.

While other people were busy watching TV and spending time with family over the Christmas Holiday, Lily Allen was busy getting engaged. The singer instantly accepted the proposal by Cooper without a second thought about it.

Sam Cooper reportedly chose to ask her to marry him on the balcony of their £800-a-night hotel suite in Bali at sunset on December 25. One source went on to say that Lily had no idea at all that Sam was going to propose to her. However, once the question was asked, she did not have to think about it, she knew right away. Lily is absolutely beaming and emotional at the same time.

This happily engaged couple were reported to have celebrated their engagement in the hotel’s bar. They were drinking champagne and cocktails with other guests. One witness said that the two could not stop smiling. It could not have been more romantic. The resort is just so peaceful and picturesque that it was the perfect place to propose.

Allen, age 25, and Cooper, age 32, started dating back in July of 2009. By August of 2010, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. Allen suffered a miscarriage in November. Lily has suffered a previous miscarriage while in a relationship with Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons in January of 2008.

Of course, these two miscarriages are not going to keep Lily down. In fact, she confirmed that she and Cooper were going to be trying again in 2011.

New on DVD: 'Eat Pray Love' Filmed in Bali

DVD Eat Pray Love: This movie serves up nearly 2 1/2 hours of banal self-help platitudes, accompanied by soothing, picture-postcard images of Italy, India and Bali. The characters speak in the clichés of spiritual healing, and it implies you can achieve that by quitting your job and spending tens of thousands of dollars on a trip around the world. Yet there's also no denying that, for certain moviegoers, especially those who feel battered and defeated by a lousy economy and an uncertain future, it's going to strike a chord. The Elizabeth Gilbert memoir upon which the film is based did not sell more than 7 million copies for nothing. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

-- Christopher Kelly


Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/19/2645532/new-on-dvd-eat-pray-love.html#ixzz15smIdhU7

Mick Jaggers Ex- Jerry Hall recalls psychedelic omelette In Bali

Published: 8:24PM Tuesday October 19, 2010

Jerry Hall and Sir Mick Jagger had a terrible experience after eating a psychedelic omelette.

The former couple - whose nine-year marriage was annulled in 1999 - were left paranoid and ill after being served a hallucinogenic meal on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Hall recalled: "Mick and I were served omelettes in Bali which had psychedelic mushrooms in and made us have a really terrible, vomiting, paranoid trip."

However, the former model admits this experience seemed pleasant compared to the time she was tricked into eating bulls' testicles as a youngster.

She said: "Worse was when I was 12 or 13 and my sisters and I were out with some cowboys who castrated steers. As a joke they said, 'Try these Rocky Mountain oysters'. The taste was horrible. I still cringe when I think of eating bovine testicles."

These days Hall finds male genitals amusing and, admits one of her favourite things is a raunchy apron which features a fake penis and reminds her of an old friend, the late artist Andy Warhol.

She told Food Monthly magazine: "One of my sisters gave me a special apron that I've worn for cooking. When you unzip a little panel in the front a stuffed c**k comes out. It's the sort of thing Andy Warhol would have enjoyed. We were close friends for many years and I thought he was a generous, gentle, sweet guy. In the cupboards of his kitchen there were just lots of cans of Campbell's tomato soup - it's all he ate at home."

Visit Indonesia jumps on Eat Pray Love band wagon

Monday, 11 October 2010
Uluwatu Temple, Bali
Blimbing, Bali

There is no doubt that the release of Julia Roberts’ new film Eat, Pray, Love has had the travel industry a buzz with excitement about the three destinations featured in the movie – Italy, India and Indonesia.

With the film released in Australia on 7th October, the Visit Indonesia Tourism Office, represented in Australia by AVIAREPS Oceania, is set to capitalize on the film’s popularity by launching a major consumer campaign in cinemas across the country.

In partnership with Creative Holidays, the cinema advertising campaign will feature a 30-second commercial showcasing the experiences that Bali and Indonesia can offer travellers. Cinema–goers also have the chance to win a trip to Bali from Creative Holidays, simply by following the SMS call-to action at the conclusion of the commercial.

Bali has already enjoyed a 54% increase in visitors from Australia in the first six months of this year, with 279,539 Aussies visiting the much-loved island. The release of Eat, Pray, Love, combined with a total of 14,800 seats per week from Australia is set to make Bali a high priority on travellers wish lists in the coming year. The Visit Indonesia Tourism Office says that they hope the popularity of the movie will encourage Australians to visit other areas of Bali such as Ubud, the cultural capital of the island, which features heavily in the film.

“Australians have had a long time love affair with Bali with a high percentage of repeat visitors to the destination. We expect that Australian’s will become more interested in going beyond the traditional hotspots of Kuta and Legian after seeing the film”, said Alison Roberts-Brown, Country Manager for Visit Indonesia, “This campaign is a stepping stone to introduce Australians to the other 17,000 islands in the archipelago. Currently 87 per cent of Australians visiting Indonesia choose to stay in Bali, we want to show that the other islands also offer breathtaking scenery and unique experiences.”

The Creative Holidays campaign will officially launch on 14th October, with the commercial shown before screenings of Eat, Pray, Love in major cinemas across

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3583309360227573492Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Julia Roberts to adopt Indian child

NECN) - Fresh from filming in India, actress Julia Roberts is reportedly about to adopt a child.

Roberts, who recently converted to the Hindu faith, is now trying to adopt a child from India, sources say.

The 42-year-old already has three children, twins Hazel and Finn, and Henry.

She is said to have contacted an adoption agency in Bali, where she spent time filiming, "Eat Pray Love."

http://www.necn.com/10/10/10/Julia-Roberts-to-adopt-Indian-child/landing_arts.html?blockID=328557&feedID=4214

Iron Maiden to perform in Jakarta, Bali

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 10/03/2010 9:44 AM | World
A | A | A |

Prominent English heavy metal band Iron Maiden will perform in Jakarta and Bali in February 2011, a local promotor said on Sunday.

"They [Iron Maiden] have confirmed it," Tommy Pratama, a promotor from Original Production, said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He said the Iron Maiden concert in Jakarta may be held on between Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. "Bali will host the show either on Feb. 19 or Feb. 20."

Iron Maiden was established in 1975 in England.

Adam Lambert: Reborn in Bali

* October 2nd, 2010 6:39 pm ET

Yesterday, Adam Lambert alerted the world to the fact that he was reborn in Bali, Indonesia on his vacation this past week, a tight squeeze while in Asia as he takes time off between Glam Nation concerts in Singapore and Japan before heading to the Philippines and Hong Kong.

The singing sensation, particularly popular in this sector of the globe, tweeted his delight:

'Bali vacation was a rebirth! Such a beautiful trip. My heart is full.'

So is his mind as memories of the holiday will keep coming back, especially of those that had him staying in Jimbaran Bay at the Four Seasons Villas and that had him chartering a pirate ship while in this place many people call Nirvana.

No matter what it's called, this was quite a trip for one Adam Lambert, newly reborn in Bali, Indonesia -- and one he will never forget. Now on to Hong Kong for the musical magic man.

More soon on the travels of this former American idol now

http://www.examiner.com/celebrity-hot-spots-in-national/adam-lambert-reborn-bali-indonesia-photos

Eat Pray Love’ To Steal Show

Katrin Figge | September 24, 2010
United States actress Julia Roberts arrives for the screening of United States actress Julia Roberts arrives for the screening of 'Eat Pray Love' in Rome last week. Though the film flopped with critics, it remains in the spotlight in the run-up to the 2010 Balinale International Film Festival in Bali where the film was partially flimed. (AFP Photo)

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peterR
6:38am Sep 26, 2010

“Indonesia, with its 17,000 islands and more than 300 ethnic groups has great potential".

Why is it that just one island out of all of those thousands, can do anything?

I write this looking out over the rice fields of Ubud. The air is clear, its fresh, its peaceful and clean. I can see people from all over the World walking the country lanes every day.

Its just so different to anywhere else I have been in Indonesia. Why is that?

It is all about “Eat Pray Love.” Never mind that the movie, starring Julia Roberts, has failed to impress critics after premiering in the United States last month. This hasn’t stopped it from stealing the spotlight in the run-up to the 2010 Balinale International Film Festival.

The annual showcase will take place in Bali from Oct. 12-17. “Eat Pray Love,” which was partly shot on the resort island, will be featured on the opening day of the festival, but the nationwide premiere will come a week earlier in Jakarta on Oct. 4.

Based on US author Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir about her travels to Italy, India and Indonesia on a journey of self-discovery, the film has been deemed by some as “too preachy,” “superficial” and showing “a shallow view of Eastern spirituality.” But none of the festival’s organizers attending the Balinale press conference on Thursday afternoon in Jakarta seemed any less enthusiastic despite the mixed reviews.

And why should they? Even though some critics didn’t particularly like the film, the undeniable fact is that “Eat Pray Love” brought a lot of worldwide attention to Bali.

The movie, produced by Dede Gardner and Brad Pitt of Plan B Entertainment, was the first major studio film ever shot in this country, and it allegedly contributed an estimated $12.5 million to the local economy.

This is expected not only to have a positive effect in terms of tourist numbers, but the festival’s organizers were also optimistic and hopeful that Bali and Indonesia in general could become an interesting and lucrative location for international movie productions in the future.

Festival founders Christine Hakim, a renowned Indonesian actress, and Deborah Gabinetti, were both on hand at the press conference. They agree that “Eat Pray Love” is a major step in the right direction in putting Bali on the filmmaking map by showing that successful productions can be shot here.

“There have been concerns about bureaucracy and security, especially after the Bali bombings, but in the end, all obstacles were overcome,” said Christine, who also had a small role in the movie.

“Of course we hope that through this film and also the Balinale festival, we can promote Indonesia, and it is our wish that Bali can one day become the film center of Asia,” she said.

“Indonesia, with its 17,000 islands and more than 300 ethnic groups has great potential. Geographically speaking alone, there is nothing Indonesia can’t offer — we have tropical rainforests, we have mountains, we have the ocean.”

Christine said about 300 locals worked on the production. “The art director of the film actually told me that his favorite crew was the Indonesian one.”

Speaking about her own experience in the film, Christine said she initially wasn’t interested in auditioning for a role.

“At that time, I was focusing on my father who was in the hospital and eventually passed away,” she said. “So I didn’t really care about the fact that ‘Eat Pray Love’ was going to be filmed in Bali. Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, even those names couldn’t get my attention.”

In the end, it was Gabinetti who persuaded her to try out for a part in the film, and this is how she eventually ended up playing Wayan Nuriasih, a traditional Balinese healer. Once she got the part, she said she completely immersed herself in the project.

“I just wanted to be professional about it, so during the time we were filming, I didn’t answer any phone calls or text messages,” she said. “And I didn’t even think about the fact that I was going to meet and work with Julia Roberts.”

She had bigger things to worry about. “This was a role I had to speak English for, and ideally, I had to have the same pronunciation as a Balinese speaking English,” she said.

However, Christine remembers her time on location as a pleasant experience. “On set, there was a lot of joking and laughter,” she said. “At times, it was even hard for the actors to concentrate on their work.”

When the 53-year-old actress attended the US premiere of the film in August and walked down the red carpet alongside international celebrities — an experience that could be overwhelming to some — Christine said her main goal was to be a worthy representative of her country.

“I wanted to take the opportunity to promote Indonesia abroad,” she said. “But at the same time I knew ... that the international audience is probably more familiar with Bali [than Indonesia in general]. So I wore a traditional costume from Bali — after all this is where the film was shot.”

She added that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism also did its part to highlight Indonesian culture during the premiere by organizing a demonstration on how to make batik and providing Indonesian cuisine.

Despite all eyes being on “Eat Pray Love,” there are many other highlights at the Balinale not to be overlooked.

“This year, I think, we have the best program to date,” Gabinetti said.

“The short films that we reviewed were fantastic. We had a record number of submissions, and they were such creative and inspiring stories, interesting and unique, and so we are showing a series of short films — and I’m pleased to say that most of them are Indonesian.”

Some other notable films on the ticket for the Balinale are “A Good Day to Die,” the award-winning documentary about the Native American resistance movement, the Chinese drama “Ocean Heaven” starring Jet Li, and the musical comedy “Bran Nue Dae” from Australia.

Also three Indonesian feature films are on the schedule: “The Dreamer,” “7 Hearts, 7 Loves, 7 Women” and “I Know What You Did on Facebook.”

“We try not only to entertain but also show films that inspire young Indonesians to tell their own stories,” Gabinetti said.

For this reason, there will also be workshops for aspiring filmmakers as well as discussions with visiting directors and other experts from the industry. All these events are of equal importance to the festival’s organizers — even though nobody would blame them for keeping the spotlight on the big draw.

“ ‘Eat Pray Love’ is a commercial success, and a film festival should not be based on commercial films,” Gabinetti said.

“But this was an extremely important film for us, as they not only used the location but they used local talent and a local crew, so of course, we are going to feature that film.”


Tuesday, Oct. 12
7:30 p.m. “Eat Pray Love” (US)
8 p.m. “Eat Pray Love” (US)

Wednesday, Oct. 13
1 p.m. “I Know What You Did on Facebook” (Indonesia)
2:30 p.m. “A Good Day to Die” (US)
4:30 p.m. “As the Rain Was Falling” (France) and “Home by Christmas” (NZ)
7 p.m. “Jesusito De Mi Vida” (Spain) and “Babies” (France)
9 p.m. “Animal Kingdom” (Australia)

Thursday, Oct. 14
1 p.m. “Debt” (Indonesia), “Little Black Dress” (US), “Debris” (S. Korea) and “3 Onions” (Indonesia)
2:30 p.m. “Me, Them & Lara” (Italy)
4:30 p.m. “Initiation at Wangi-Wangi Island” (Indonesia) and “Made in India” (India/US)
7 p.m. “Ocean Heaven” (China)
9 p.m. “Stone” (US)

Friday, Oct. 15
1 p.m. “Transparente” (Belgium), Purnama di Pesisir (Indonesia), El Cortejo (Spain) and Anak Anak Lumpur (Indonesia)
2:30 p.m. “7 Hearts, 7 Loves, 7 Women” (Indonesia)
4:30 p.m. “The Big Happiness” (NZ) and “Exit Through the Gift Shop” (US/UK)
7 p.m. “Poetry” (S. Korea)
9 p.m. “The Social Network” (US)

Saturday, Oct. 16
10 a.m. “Manual Practico Del Amigo Imaginario” (Spain) and “Bran Nue Dae” (Australia)

Sunday, Oct. 17
10 a.m. “Birth” (S. Korea) and “The Dreamer” (Indonesia)

Roberts attends London premiere of 'Eat Pray Love'

Print
22/09/2010 - 20:07:19
London has rolled out the red carpet for one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Julia Roberts.

Roberts is attending the premiere of her new romantic drama 'Eat Pray Love', which is based on the best-selling book.

She plays a writer who packs in her job and goes on a journey of self-discovery.

Roberts said, of filming in Italy, India and Bali: "It had its challenges, but it was certainly something that we were prepared for and excited about," she said.


Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/entertainment/roberts-attends-london-premiere-of-eat-pray-love-474714.html#ixzz10ITjtYiU

Julia Roberts was stunning at the Rome premiere of her movie, Eat Pray Love,

Julia Roberts at the Eat Pray Love Rome premiere

Julia Roberts was stunning at the Rome premiere of her movie, Eat Pray Love, a third of which takes place in Rome. For the colorful premiere event, Julia Roberts wore a long-sleeved, floor-length, black lacy gown by Dolce and Gabbana.

Julia Roberts enjoyed a moment with her co-star Javier Bardem, who recently announced that he and wife Penelope Cruz are expecting their first child.

Julia Roberts at the Eat Pray Love Rome premiere, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

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Hotel prices on the resort Island of Bali have soared 57 percent thanks in part to the Hollywood hit “Eat Pray Love.”

Little Bit of ‘Love’ Goes Long Way in Bali
September 14, 2010
US actress Julia Roberts (middle) seen on set of the movie "Eat Pray Love" at Ubud Traditional Market, Ubud, Bali, in this file photo. Hotel prices on the resort island have gone up rapidly, partly as a result of the movie US actress Julia Roberts (middle) seen on set of the movie "Eat Pray Love" at Ubud Traditional Market, Ubud, Bali, in this file photo. Hotel prices on the resort island have gone up rapidly, partly as a result of the movie's popularity. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo)


Jakarta. Hotel prices on the resort Island of Bali have soared 57 percent thanks in part to the Hollywood hit “Eat Pray Love.”

According to Hotels.com’s biannual price index, released on Tuesday, hotel prices increased from an average $129 per night to $203, making Bali the eighth-most expensive destination for travelers from the United States.

The survey showed that some of the greatest price rises happened in cities associated with major events.

Other than Bali, where the film “Eat Pray Love,” was partially filmed, 2010 FIFA World Cup host Cape Town saw price hikes averaging 53 percent. Cannes, France, which hosts the annual Cannes Film Festival, also experienced a big rise in room rates.

The Italian island of Capri, Geneva and New York topped the list for the most expensive hotel rooms, according to the global survey, which showed hotel rates rising for the first time in three years as the global economy picks up.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Bali over the first six months of the year reached 1,180,118, a 10.2 percent increase from the same period last year.

Australians topped the list, with 343,091 of them flocking to Bali in the first half of 2010, a 50.9 percent rise over the same period last year.

Bali hotels and resorts have been quick to take advantage of the publicity from the movie.

In an article titled “Where can you ‘Eat Pray Love?’ — Everywhere!” published in USA Today last month, Kitty Bean Yancey wrote that “it seems as if every resort, and its brother or sister, is jumping on the Eat Pray Love bandwagon.”

However, Bagus Subhiksu, head of the provincial Tourism Office, conceded that his department had not capitalized on the movie to promote Bali, giving the credit to the filmmakers.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/little-bit-of-love-goes-a-long-way-in-bali/396153

Shilpa off to Bali for hubby's birthday

Shilpa off to Bali for hubby's birthday
IANS, Sep 10, 2010, 12.00am IST

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is off to Bali to celebrate her husband Raj Kundra's birthday Thursday.

"Yes, it is Raj's birthday today (Thursday). Thanks for all the wishes. Leaving (for) Bali now, got to be back in time to bring home Ganapati," Shilpa posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The duo will be back in Mumbai for Ganesh Chaturthi Saturday.

"Tiring, short trip but worth the smile on my hubby's face," she added.

Last year, Shilpa celebrated Kundra's birthday in Macau.

The couple had tied the knot November 2009.

Together, they are also part owners of the Indian Premier League franchise cricket team Rajasthan Royals.

Check out Shilpa Shetty's homepage


Read more: Shilpa off to Bali for hubby's birthday - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Shilpa-off-to-Bali-for-hubbys-birthday/articleshow/6524684.cms#ixzz0z7Lg14VH

Eat, Pray, Love' comes alive in Bali

'
Bali bliss: Visitors seek shelter from the sun under a pagoda by the serene waters off Sanur Beach, as traditional Balinese boats float in the background.
Enlarge image Enlarge By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY
Bali bliss: Visitors seek shelter from the sun under a pagoda by the serene waters off Sanur Beach, as traditional Balinese boats float in the background.

By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY
UBUD, Indonesia — A dozen tourists on an Eat Pray Love-themed tour in Bali are nibbling thin-crust pies with mozzarella, basil and tomato at a long table at Pizza Bagus.

Halle Eavelyn of Spirit Quest Tours, a striking redhead wearing peace-sign earrings, pulls out her iPad and reads from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love about the joys of Naples pizza. That has nothing to do with Bali, of course, but the group — mainly female fans of Gilbert's post-divorce journey to fulfillment by eating in Italy, meditating in India and falling for a sexy Brazilian in Bali — hopes to have her life-transforming experiences, or at least follow in her footsteps.

They've dressed in white to pray at Balinese temples and done yoga. After lunch, they'll consult with Ketut Liyer, an aged Balinese healer who is a central character in Gilbert's book.

"I read it and was so moved. I saw this woman become herself," says tour participant Kiya Coté, 60, a San Francisco-area holistic practitioner. "And I've always wanted to come to Bali."

EPL already has drawn fans of the 2006 best seller to Bali, a mystical island known for its natural beauty, vibrant arts community, colorful religious festivals and gentle, hospitable residents. More visitors are sure to follow after seeing Julia Roberts frolic on the beach and bike under lush palms in the movie, which opens today. In anticipation, hotels and tour companies here and elsewhere have dreamed up EPL deals, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

PHOTO GALLERY: In 'Love' with Bali
READ MORE: A sampling of 'Eat Pray Love' packages
IF YOU GO: Where to stay and eat in Bali

Tourism rebounds to record levels

The Balinese part of the movie was filmed here. Filmmakers were wooed by Deborah Gabinetti, casting director for the Bali Film Center. She went to L.A. and "pitched the benefits of filming here. It was uncharted territory, not having had a major (Hollywood) feature film here," she recalls, as a driver makes the rounds of EPL filming sites on a day when Balinese are buzzing down roads on motor scooters, with girls in sarongs riding sidesaddle, on their way to fill temples and commemorate their ancestors.

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Eat Pray Love'? More like 'Me Me Me'
TRAILER: Get a taste of 'Eat Pray Love'

Spain's Javier Bardem plays Roberts' love interest. Indonesians were chosen to play Ketut and feisty female healer Wayan. Some sets were built, but filming locales in the book include the Ubud marketplace and Liyer's compound.

"I knew Eat Pray Love would work here," Gabinetti says. "There's this whole spirit here, the magic." During filming last fall, the cast fell under Bali's spell, says Gabinetti, an energetic brunette. "Javier came into the airport and expressed concern about paparazzi. I said, 'We don't have any.' " Bardem's now-wife, Penélope Cruz, happily shopped the boutiques selling antiques, jewelry, carvings and batik clothing.

Bali "was humid, was hot, but it was good," Bardem told USA TODAY's Susan Wloszczyna while promoting the movie. "There is no bad sight in Bali," Roberts chimed in, when asked about what she liked here.

Long considered one of the world's dream destinations, Bali welcomes the attention the film brings (save for some expressing "eat, pray, leave" sentiments). It took a beating after 2002 and 2005 terrorist bombings in tourist areas. Today, cars entering hotels are checked for bombs.

But tourism is back, on track to reach a record 2.5 million this year, government statistics say. Australians (clustered in party-hearty Kuta) are the top market, then Japanese. U.S. visitors (in 11th place) were up 4.21% in the first half of the year, to 35,403. The government is inoculating stray dogs against rabies, in part to keep tourism humming.

Bali "is booming, madam," says John Safri, 39, an Oxford-shirted guide, scouting for business in Ubud, where fumes from a noon traffic jam make breathing unpleasant. "People come from other parts of Indonesia to make more money," he says.

What's good for the economy is bad for visitors who remember Ubud as a peaceful place where an art museum, market, crafts shops and Indonesian dance performances were the draw. Streets now are crammed with shops (including Ralph Lauren Polo), bars and restaurants, Circle K convenience markets and touts trying to sell "transport" to every passing tourist.

The low-key Cafe Lotus by a pond with lily pads and terraced Murni's Warung on a steep hillside overlooking a river still are gathering points. But so are cheesier spots where Sweet Home Alabama might be playing at midnight.

There's a big Starbucks adjoining the airport outside Denpasar. McDonald's and KFC compete with local eateries ("warungs") in Kuta.

The island has large resorts including the InterContinental in Jimbaran and ultra-luxe digs, such as the two Four Seasons resorts where Roberts and Bardem stayed. But it still offers hideaways under $150 a night where housekeepers strew sweet-smelling hibiscus flowers on your pillow and breakfast might include fresh watermelon juice. Clean rooms in guesthouses can be found for $60 or less.

Still spiritual amid booming commerce

The Hindu island's ritual-infused culture sets it apart from other tropical destinations. Balinese often greet outsiders with hands held in prayer at chest level, a sign of respect. Incense burns. Women trek along roads to temples carrying offerings stacked high on their heads.

Shops and homes give daily offerings to the gods — such as rice and other food, often laid on palm leaves. The EPL film had a "rain shifter" who used mantras to ward off showers.

In the Ubud-area compound of Ketut Liyer, potential patients and clients lounge on the porch and stone steps of his house or escape the sun in a pavilion near a family temple. Birds trill in ornate cages.

Liyer consults with a teen and his parents. They worry about his lack of focus on school, translates Liyer's granddaughter-in-law, Wayan Puspita Sari, 30. That calls for a cleansing ceremony, in which the father washes his son's hair with holy water while Liyer chants and rings a bell, to help evil spirits leave the boy.

The teen shakes his dripping head sheepishly. His mother shows Liyer their offering of food and money and sits to have her palm read.

What American teen would so calmly bear a public exorcism? "Indonesians still follow what their parents say," Sari explains.

Later, the nearly toothless Liyer — who says he doesn't know his age, though Sari ventures he's in his 90s — inspects this visitor through sharp, clear eyes. He hopes the movie captures Bali's magic — and brings him more business. (Sadly, Liyer was hospitalized this week for heart and prostate problems. Sari fears besiegement by fans also affected his health.)

READ MORE: Overworked 'Eat, Pray, Love' healer hospitalized

Back at Pizza Bagus, guide Eavelyn says Bali has deeply touched her charges. Coté agrees. The spiritual, community-oriented culture is a must-see, she says. "Beauty, bliss and belonging."

Robin Gilbert performs on point with Carlos Fittante in Bali.

The Joys & Travails of Dancing On Point in Bali
BALAM Dance Theatre | Aug 20, 2010 | there are 0 comments 0
Robin Gilbert performs on point with Carlos Fittante in Bali.


Have you ever tried rehearsing or performing on point on a cement floor? BALAM Dance Theatre's ballerina and lead female dancer, Robin Gilbert, knows from experience. She has been performing in Bali this month in the role of Tigerlily on point on some of the most challenging dance surfaces, ranging from cement to cliff side earth and flora.

Artistic Director Carlos Fittante sat down with Gilbert to discuss the joys and travails of dancing ballet fusion on point in Bali.

http://blog.danceruniverse.com/blog/story/2010/8/20/122120/509

Sanjay Gupta an avid art collector picked up some life-size rare paintings on his trip to Bali.

Sanjay Gupta is a Bollywood writer-director known for his dark thrillers

TNN, Aug 17, 2010, 12.00am IST
Article

And the filmmaker felt that perhaps he may have some answering to do at the Mumbai airport. However sources say he reportedly got away from scrutiny because his wife Anu’s designer bag attracted more attention than the paintings he bought in Bali. Sanjay was last heard telling folks that his wife is indeed his saviour!

Read more: Anu does the trick for Sanjay - News & Interviews - Bollywood - Entertainment - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Anu-does-the-trick-for-Sanjay-/articleshow/6319676.cms#ixzz0wuvjw7LF

Julia Roberts premieres in 'Eat, Pray, Love' while Bali tourism benefits from new film

Julia Roberts finds love with Javiar Bardem in Bali -- at least on film in 'Eat, Pray, Love'
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August 11, 2010 -- Last night Julia Roberts attended the premiere of her film 'Eat, Pray, Love' which features three destinations in Italy, India and Indonesia.

Bali has especially enjoyed the great anticipation for this top-notch film. In fact, tourism is up as travelers rediscover this Indonesian paradise some had abandoned due to alleged problems in the area, now proving the pleasurable destination is not only gorgeous but also safe.

Back during the pre-production stage, permits to shoot in this part of the world were difficult to garner. But, success prevailed after Ida Bagus Puruvita, the Gianyar cultural office’s chief of permits and films went to bat for the filming of 'Eat, Pray, Love'.

According to the Jakarta Globe, Puruvita said:

“Why impede [the filming]? After all, it will also promote [tourism] in Bali.

Indeed. And that it did.

Among locations, of particular interest -- in the film and for newbee travelers headed to this popular part of Indonesia -- are many Ubud highlights. The exotic setting makes any location shoot sweet, and the hotels are among the best in the world. Ditto the shopping, so be sure to pack an extra suitcase in your suitcase if you're headed that way.

FYI: Locations chosen and utilized in 'Eat, Pray, Love' that should be on your itinerary include Banjar Bentuyung, Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Pengosekan, the Ubud Art Market and Monkey Forest Park.

Also possible is the love part of 'Eat, Pray, Love' -- or at least that's what the Julia Roberts character experienced. So, go, see the film (opening wide this weekend), and then plan your Bali adventure where the tourism benefits in this seductive part of Asia will benefit you, the traveler, too.

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Julia said that " there’s not a bad sight in Bali " Movie Premiers in 2 days

Julia Roberts Eats, Prays, Loves, and Plays a Game With Me

Eat Pray LoveI’m sitting just a few feet away from Julia Roberts and I’m going to ask her to play a game with me. Yep. I’m in a room with 25 other people who are all here to ask her about her new film, Eat Pray Love, and I’m going to ask her to play a game.

The actress has revealed just a few minutes ago that she nearly didn’t take the part of Elizabeth Gilbert in the adaptation of Gilbert's bestselling memoir because the commitment just seemed too much: too long a shoot (three months), too arduous a daily schedule, and a too-distant trio of shooting locations – Italy, India and Indonesia. Those locations are the exact reason why I’m going to ask her to play my game.

Now, in a room at the Bardessono hotel in Yountville, California (part of Napa Valley's famed wine country), I’m sitting among several reporters and they’re all doing their reporter thing: asking various questions directed to Julia, her co-stars Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins, and Billy Crudup, and the film's director, Ryan Murphy. The questions all sound very professional. Not mine. I’m going to ask one of Hollywood’s biggest stars something altogether different.

"Favorite Sight and Favorite Bite" is a game that the wife and I play after any trip. We both pick our one favorite bite and one favorite sight from the whole trip. You may think that sounds easy — one sweet or savory mouthful and one singular spectacle — but it’s actually quite hard. We’re not talking one whole five-course meal here – that’s cheating. One taste. One moment. In this case, I'm going to ask Julia to pick one of each from each of Eat Pray Love's overseas filming locations. I hope the wife doesn’t mind me dragging Julia into this.

Some of the other people covering the junket are asking Julia whether she related to her character and if she'd read the book before signing on to the film? Lay-up questions. Softballs. Tantamount to Jim Grey asking LeBron James if he's still a nail biter. Screw that. I’ve got Julia Roberts cornered and I want some answers.

I’ve raise my hand and the gentleman moderating the press conference lets me know that I’m fourth in line to ask my question. Okay, I’m committed now.

I start to wonder if Eat Pray Love would have even been made without Roberts. I’m not entirely sure it would have. Sure, the book was an enormous success, but adapting it was an expensive endeavor, what with all of those exotic (i.e., expensive) locales. And its director, Murphy, has one other feature film under his belt. Without Roberts' star power, this film could be considered a huge gamble.Eat Pray Love

I’ve just gotten the signal that I’m up next. The heart starts to pound a little and … am I really going to ask this ridiculous question? Shouldn’t I ask Ryan Murphy about his interesting choice of musicians, such as Neil Young and Eddie Vedder, for the film’s soundtrack? What about Richard Jenkins' performance on that rooftop in India? That would sound more journalist-y, right?

Ugh, no. Everyone is going to ask that. I get the nod that it’s my turn and here I go. I set up the question very innocently, telling Julia about the wife and the game – disarming her with my smile and charm, which, on the outside, probably looks more like post-marathon stomach cramps and flop sweat. (You think it’s easy speaking with Julia Roberts? I’d like to see you try). I blurt out my question and Julia Roberts looks at me like, smiles, and then a long pause, blank stare and … "Oh, this is gonna take some thinking, which I really try to avoid at these things."

Panic! Abort! She looks uncomfortable. More panic! She doesn’t think this is cute at all! My mother was wrong: Julia Roberts won’t think I’m the most charming man in the room! I’ve spit the bit. Shat the bed. I need to get out of here immediately.

And then suddenly she says, "Okay, well …" Game on.

She begins in Rome (the "Eat" portion of the film) and she says tells me about this one bowl of spaghetti. It was nothing special, she says, just one simple and amazing bowl of pasta. I’ve been to Rome and I know what she means. She explains that her favorite sight was when they were filming this one scene at a restaurant where she does all of the ordering for the whole table in Italian. It was a table full of wonderfully committed actors doing what they do best.

Eat Pray LoveOn to India ("Pray"), where she reveals, somewhat sheepishly, that her favorite bite probably came from a granola bar, part of the 10 lb box of snacks that she packed for herself. Indian food, I suppose, isn’t for every palate. She jokes that the box was probably her favorite sight but then goes on to reveal that while filming a scene with Richard Jenkins in a small village, there were these "extraordinary women" who she says wore “bright, elaborate clothing and jewelry” and she went on to reveal how stunning they were and that she found all that in this village that meant these ladies were married and that when their husbands pass away, they remove all their elaborate clothes.

Julia said that there’s not a bad sight in Bali ("Love") and that their fresh mangoes were her favorite bite. By that point I’m just dizzy and relieved to have gotten through it, but I’m also thinking, "Roberts gets it." She was decidedly funny and charming and so I decide to let her off the hook for not picking one sight in Bali. It’s not an easy game and frankly, I’m not sure I should even be playing this or any game with another woman. Besides, when I go to Bali (and after Eat Pray Love you probably will too) I’m probably going to have a hard time picking just one bite and one sight.

Julia on Javier arriving on set: 'It was like deciding to get a puppy'

Wonderwall, August 2, 2010
Related: News, WW Features, Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem

By Molly McGonigle

Julia Roberts has been the business for a long time and -- no, she's not jaded. At a press day for her new film "Eat Pray Love," the mom of three talked about her character, loving her own life, and working in exotic locations. Oh, and she also talked about her hot co-star Javier Bardem. Check out her interview below.

What was it like working on so many locations and shooting in chronological order?

Julia Roberts: For me, it was a great luxury to shoot it in chronological order. New York, Italy, India, and Bali. I think it was almost a necessity of emotional evolution to … and you can't start any movie in Bali and then leave. So there's that. But I think that it was important for us to create the steps that she [Liz Gilbert] took and understand very clearly how she got from one point to the next and one place to the next and how the relationships evolved and got her to the next relationship. All which led her to Bali.

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Your character's ready for a life change, and you've made a lot of changes. Did you feel ready for the next step?

JR: Not in the urgent way, in the way that Liz experiences it. I definitely knew my life would continue to evolve until I found that place where I could fully occupy and live in, which is the home that I have now. But you know I relate to her search and her pursuit and it was definitely great to have a fulfilled sense of my own life. And be playing some of these scenes and come home at the end of the day and be like "OK. Good. Everyone's here. We're good."

How did you create your character?

JR: I met Liz in Rome, and I didn't want to meet her before that. I put my trust in Ryan Murphy [the director and screenplay writer] who was in very close contact with her in creating my character. So I knew that his paper interpretation of her, that he gave me as my reference, was all that I would need. And I was actually worried about falling too in love with her. That I would try to be her as opposed to just interpret her as an actor. I wanted to meet her after we had done so much I couldn't change it. She's just a delight and like a warm hug the second you lay eyes on her.

What was it like playing such an emotionally evolved character?

JR: Well, I think you have to find a way to relate to all of it. And this particular journey that she goes on ... it's a lot for me to think about and then intellectualize. And to let all of that go and connect with all of the people she encounters as a very open vessel, which is what I think she did.

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How do you take care of the pray part of "Eat Pray Love"?

JR: Well I think that if you've gotten to a place in your life where you have found a capacity to eat and nourish yourself and love and nourish your life in that way, then somewhere along the way you've figured out your own identity and how to pray. And ultimately relate to an energy or a creation that's more than you or else you can't accomplish those other things. And how you do it and how you relate to it and what you name it becomes insignificant to the way you relate to it. And Javier told me that once so I'm just repeating it, but it makes sense.

Your character spends all of this time searching for her word. What's yours?

JR: Optimistic. Oh Christ, I can't remember. I would say loyal is my word. Loyal.

What was it like working with Javier Bardem?

JR: Javier showed up in Bali and it was like deciding to get a puppy. You have everything in your house worked out. You're like "My life is so settled and so fixed, I will get that puppy.'"And then you do and you're like I'm way too tired to have a puppy. He came in with all of this gusto and enthusiasm and "Let's get lunch; do you wanna read some scenes?" And then you realize that this is getting good, you want to get that lunch and read lines together. His

excitement was so contagious. Each time we went to a new country we got amped up for a new experience. And it infused us with energies we thought were long gone and that's how it was when Javier got there ... It was just great fun and play. He comes across as incredibly comfortable with his acting and his ease.

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Julia Roberts converts to Hinduism Bali Filming

By Mick Jerome send a private message
Los Angeles : CA : USA | Aug 07, 2010
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Actress Julia Roberts poses during the launch of her movie "Eat Pray ...
Actress Julia Roberts poses during the launch of her movie "Eat Pray ...
Photo Credit:Reuters
Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts announced that she experienced her own “spiritual awakening” and has converted to Hinduism after her visit to India and Bali, where she filmed her latest film Eat, Pray, Love, which is based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert. In the movie, Julia Roberts portrays a recently-divorced woman that travels around the world hoping to find herself.

Julia Roberts, who is known to be highly spiritual and whose parents were Baptist and Catholic, is now a practicing Hindu and goes to temple regularly with her three children, five-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, three-year-old Henry, and cameraman husband Daniel Moder to “chant, pray, and celebrate.”

The 42-year-old Pretty Woman actress Julia Roberts told Elle Magazine upon returning from her trip to India, "I'm definitely a practicing Hindu. I've been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time, I want to be just something quiet and supporting after the stresses of my celebrity lifestyle."

Julia Roberts was so enamored by the ancient religion during the shoot that she became a Hindu, adopted the belief in reincarnation, and Julia Roberts hopes her next life will be a "quiet" one.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6468571-julia-roberts-converts-to-hinduism