Bali's Best Massage Really Is At Jari Menari

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Second agenda for Day 2 in Bali: a couple of hours at the spa!

And not just any spa, we were after Bali's best massage that many expats, locals & regular tourists say they have found at Jari Menari. (An opinion backed by my trusty copy of AsiaSpa's Bali Edition, too!)

inside Jari Menari's small garden courtyard

Walking into Jari Menari's simple storefront in the Seminyak area along Jalan Legian, one would definitely not expect to find what was supposed to be the very best massage on the island of Bali here. No entrance gongs or heavy aromatherapy burning in the air... No extra spa frills like welcome drinks or cold towels that we've grown accustomed to in many other spas in Asia. Even its lobby wasn't grand, just a small reception desk and a small boutique selling all kinds of spa stuff from oil burners to sarongs, from fragrant aromatherapy oils to honey ginger bath gels, from yoga pants to silk robes... everything you could possibly need to recreate the spa experience at home!

walking into Jari Menari

We had made bookings thru their website prior to our arrival in Bali (a must for this spa that's almost always fully booked!). The Mister was booked for The Perfect Massage (Rp350,000/90min); I was booked for the Tibetan Singing Bowl Enhanced Massage (Rp350,000/90min); and because we wanted to share this spa experience together without having to take turns with watching the Little Boy, we decided to book the Kids' Massage (Rp300,000/60min) for him, too!

This was probably my favorite thing about this place. That they were so accommodating to guests with young kids. I mean, not a lot of spas welcome young kids so warmly (and for good reason, too!), let alone have a massage designed just for them! So this definitely added points for Jari Menari in my books!!

the small changing room / shower area at Jari Menari

the courtyard right past the sheer white curtains
of the female changing room at Jari Menari

It worked out great since they put us all in a family room that could accommodate all 3 of us. What lovely rooms they were, too! Surrounding a small Japanese-style courtyard with simple shoji doors and pebbled walkways, the rooms themselves were all open-air with a stone wall waterfall & a koi pond to one side. Very simple, very Zen. And with so much green & white everywhere, Buddha figures & the sound of water flowing in little corners, we were all in a relaxed state of mind by the time we had changed into our sarongs and led to our massage room... and the massage hadn't even started yet!

coming out of the changing room
and into the Jari Menari courtyard

the Jari Menari courtyard

One thing to note about Jari Menari is that their massage staff is made up of All-Male Professional Practitioners. Now, I have always preferred female massage therapists and this was my first massage with a male masseuse so at first, I was a bit apprehensive. But Agus, my therapist for that afternoon, was so warm and polite and so professional that I felt very much at ease with him in just seconds.

our massage room for 3 at Jari Menari

Jari Menari translates to 'dancing fingers', and really, what a dance it was! The Mister and I are huge spa addicts & regularly have massages back home and whenever we travel but this, hands down, was the best massage we've ever had in Bali or anywhere else for that matter!

Whoever trained these men is a genius. None of those lazy, repetitive kneading and rolling. At Jari Menari, you could tell there was a system, a choreography... that they were dancing to a silent rythm in their heads. Now, I don't mean to wax poetic about just a massage, but if you ever get the chance to get a massage in Jari Menari, I doubt that you won't end up sounding just like me when that massage is over!

According to the Mister who was stealing glances at me (atleast during the few seconds he managed to stay awake), my therapist looked as if he really was dancing, pulling on my legs, doing stretches and getting into all these strange positions to really get to those tired muscles! When I took a peek at how his massage was going, his therapist had this intense serious look on his face that was set on getting all the knots out of the Mister's tired body. This was some serious bodywork. Why, they even say a silent prayer before they start the massage!

As for the Little Boy, he was fast asleep for a full 45 minutes, almost throughout the entire gentle Kids' Massage. (He did wake up quite abruptly towards the end of the massage though and probably panicked when he realized where he was so he freaked out for a bit, but would later on tell us that he actually enjoyed his massage as well!)

Since I got the Tibetan Singing Bowl massage, the last few minutes of my treatment was devoted to having the Tibetan Singing Bowl placed above certain points of the body where the chakras are and the therapist then strikes the bowl to produce sound vibrations that penetrate the body encouraging adjustments in the energy flow as well as produce a deep sense of relaxation...... I don't even have the words for how this felt but let's just say that I have never felt as relaxed and calm as I have in those few minutes, in my entire life.

Post-massage, we were left in the room to relax for a bit while they prepared our ginger tea. I honestly think they let us rest a bit longer than usual since I'm sure they could tell that we were too blissed out by the time they had finished with us and that we could hardly pull ourselves off the massage bed.

Needless to say, as we left Jari Menari weak-kneed and beyond relaxed, we now agree with everyone who says that Bali's best massage can indeed be found at Jari Menari!

A Spice Rub at Rei Spa & a Ketupat Dinner Surprise

at Rei Wellness Spa

Bali being one of the spa capitals of Asia was a dream trip for such a big spa addict like me! Having said that, all of our spa treatments for this trip were already booked even before we left for Bali. And I wasn't about to let Day 1 end without a spa visit!

One of the traditional Balinese spa rituals I have always wanted to try is the Balinese Boreh - a traditional home remedy for tired & sore muscles for farmers' that had worked on their fields all day. What it is is basically a mixture of hot spices & herbs they pick out from their own gardens & fields that they grind & pound into a paste which they then rub all over their bodies to create a sort of heat pack. It is said to relieve muscle aches & increase blood circulation.

In AsiaSpa's special Bali edition, I had read that Rei Wellness Spa in the Kuta area was one of the best places to get a Boreh. They supposedly make their spice rubs only when you get there so you can be assured of its freshness and that they don't use commercial readymade Boreh pastes. The thing was, there was hardly any reviews online (I found mostly blog posts in Japanese!) and for $115+ for their 3-hour 15-min Boreh ritual, I was a bit hesitant to book.

The deal clincher though was how helpful they were with all my email inquiries, and that they were willing to extend their hours just for me! We were coming from Uluwatu & weren't sure if we could get back to the Kuta area by 8pm (which was usually their last call) but when I emailed them my concern, they immediately offered to extend their hours to wait for me & even offered to have their driver drop me off back to Puri Damai afterwards. I was sold!

So after a long, exhausting day (a 3-hour flight from KL to Bali, running after the little boy in the pool in the afternoon, and a couple of hours stuck in traffic in the car), I was more than ready for my Boreh ritual!

Rei Spa's canang offering and
burning incense cones at the lobby

The thing with Rei is that it's not easily accessible. I was surprised to be driving through a narrow road in the middle of rice fields to get to Rei (in the dark!!). But as soon as I stepped into its reception, the smell of burning incense instantly relaxed me and got me excited for the 3-hour long Traditional Bliss ritual I had booked. I was met by the lovely Tanti, the spa manager, and she explained to me that Rei is actually made up of just 4 spa villas surrounding the reception courtyard so it was very private. I didn't bump into anyone else the whole time I was there and felt like I had the whole place to myself! She also explained how most of their guests were Japanese tourists booked thru travel agents, which explains why I was only able to find Japanese blog posts about it. A little Japanese secret spa! She then introduced me to my therapist for the evening who brought me a cold towel and a small glass of refreshing hibiscus juice, before leading the way to my own spa villa for the next few hours.

a glass of refreshing hibiscus juice

Rei Spa's reception area

Upon entering the gate of the spa villa, I was asked to take off my sandals to let the stones & pebbles around the villa to massage the soles of my feet. Interesting & indeed very stimulating. I was asked not to shower yet since the treatment begins with a body wash anyway so I willingly obeyed & just changed into my robe and began the 3-hour long ritual with a foot wash. And not just a regular foot wash. First, my feet were soaked in warm water with sea salt and antiseptic betel leaves; then rubbed with slices of lime & ginger until my feet were squeaky clean! and then lovingly wrapped in fresh clean towels while the therapist does a short massage on the legs & feet before finally drying it off.

fresh towels, sea salt, betel leaves,
slices of ginger & lime for my foot wash

I was then asked to lie face down on the massage bed while my excellent therapist for the evening began the body wash, followed by the application of the Boreh paste. The fragrant spices (I smelled cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, clove, nutmeg & fennel!) immediately put me into a state of bliss. After a while, I started to feel the heat from the spices penetrating my skin and warming the muscles and after a few more minutes, the heat started getting more intense but also a lot more relaxing. Then, the rub was gently sloughed off before fresh aloe vera gel was slathered all over my body to cool it back down. After an hour of this, I was instructed to shower off the scrub & aloe vera before another 90 minutes of massage. Of course, I willingly obeyed and walked jelly-kneed to the bathroom.

fresh aloe vera gel & the Balinese spices for my Boreh scrub / mask

Showering in the spa villa's semi-outdoor shower was also an experience in itself. I mean how often do you get to shower under the stars and with a bit of a view out the empty rice fields, while listening to crickets & frog song just outside?

the inviting bathtub

And then another hour & a half of bliss begins with a mind-melting full body massage using a mix of Green Tea & Lavender oils. I was beyond consciousness by this point and was sound asleep throughout the entire massage.

And as if all that wasn't enough, after the massage, I walked to the bathroom to find a tub filled with bubbles and leaves and citrus fruits for my fruit bath and I lay in there soaking for a few more minutes of bliss.

slices of fruits & kaffir lime leaves & bubbles in the tub!

ready for my fruit bath

The whole ritual ended with a plate of fresh fruits & a glass of fresh fruit juice to get my sugar levels back up. I was just ready to head to bed and crash by this time so they asked their kind driver to take me back to Puri Damai as soon as I was finished with my fruits. I was back at Puri Damai in less than 20 minutes!

a bowl of fresh fruits post-massage

and a glass of fresh fruit juice!

But my day wasn't over yet. I had missed dinner since we were in a hurry to get to the spa after getting stuck in traffic coming from Uluwatu; so on the way back to Kuta, we just bought take-out from McDonalds for the Little Boy & decided to just look for a place to eat at when I got back from the spa. When I got to the apartment though, I was surprised to find that it was dark & empty so I started to worry. But when I went back out & checked the kitchen, the Mister & the Little Boy jumped out of the counter to surprise me with a small feast of Spicy Seafood Soup, Chicken Sate Lilit, and a fresh Coconut from Ketupat. As tired and ready to crash as I was, I couldn't say no to that!

our mini feast from Ketupat!