Where do the Balinese Go?

Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love is now a movie.

After her divorce, she spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life (Eat). She spent four months in India, finding her spirituality (Pray). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for “balance” of the two and found love (Love) in the form of a dashing Brazilian factory owner.

In the book, she gushed about her four transformative months on Bali, with yoga classes, drawn-out beach dinners, massage therapy and cleansing temple rituals, and of course, her new found love.

Gilbert’s search for equilibrium and self discovery – and love – is inspiring many from the west flocking to Bali and other Asian destinations.

Makes me wonder where do the Balinese go when they need to look for equilibrium and self discovery?

A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, Gilbert’s 2010 sequel has a considerably darker and more cynical tone.

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