I'm back - with my Raw Guide to Bali

Sarah here. As some of you have noticed, this blog has been dormant for a while. Rather a long while. I have had emails enquiring as to whether I am still alive, and if I am, whether I have decided to opt for a life of leisure. The answer to both questions is yes, but the latter was, sadly, over all too quickly ; )

If you are wondering why this post comes accompanied with a photo of a baby monkey, it's because I recently returned from three weeks in blissful Bali (and a day either side in skyscrapered Singapore). Sometimes a holiday's gotta be a holiday, so I left my laptop behind and re-charged my chi with 21 days of complete R&R. And let me tell you, after a particularly mad, manic and multi-tasking start to 2008, I slept for England.

But enough about England.

Bali: I fell in love with this Indonesion island the first time I visited it, in the year 2000. This latest visit was my third and, wonderful as it was from start to finish, I was in agreement with my five-year old son about the absolute highlight: feeding bananas to the impossibly cute wild macaques (a Balinese breed of monkey) in the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. If there ever was a real-life enchanted forest, this is it, as nestling among the trees and creepers is a lost city of ancient temple ruins. 

Bali... I celebrated my birthday at a beachside restaurant that was all candles, crashing waves and chilled music. No, it doesn't get much better than that. 

But is Bali a good place to go if you want a 'raw holiday'? Well, fresh juice is fairly widely available in restaurants and cafes (much more so than in the UK), within two minutes of where I was staying was a juice and smoothie bar (mostly raw), and across the road from it were two markets selling durian. Young coconuts (you drink the refreshing, nutrient-rich water and then scoop out the flesh) are widely available in swanky hotel bars and humble beach shacks alike.

Our location turned out to be about as ideal as it gets for the raw food fan, but as this is an island where neither juice nor durian nor ripe tropical fruit nor young coconuts are hard to come by, it is hard to go wrong. On the gourmet food front I was expecting slim pickings as I knew from past experience that it's hard to get a decent vegetarian, let alone vegan, meal in most restaurants on the island, whether western or traditional. On the whole, that hasn't changed.

But serendipitously, a mere ten minutes away I discovered what is arguably Bali's best vegan cafe and shop, Zula. Although macrobiotic (and therefore theoretically anti-raw), it served some imaginative raw salads as well as raw treats such as carob, date and coconut truffles. Also on offer were wheatgrass shots and packaged raw snacks such as flax biscuits and crackers.

Further investigation revealed that Zula is owned by Down To Earth, the Balinese company that produces these dehydrated goods as well as a range of other vegetarian foods.

Even Bali now has a company that produces raw gourmet snacks? I'm blown away!

The shop offers a huge range of natural body care products, most of them from 'nearby' Australia. AND, just when I thought it couldn't get any better I discovered that Zula has a sister establishment, also in the town we were staying, called Earth Cafe. If you are planning a trip to Bali, find out more about Down To Earth/Zula/Earth Cafe and its store, Earth Market, here.

Zula Jalan Dyana Pura No. 5, Seminyak, Bali. Tel: +361-732723

Earth Cafe/Earth Market Jalan Laksmana Oberoi No. 99, Seminyak, Bali. Tel: +361-736645

Further proof that gourmet raw has reached the Indonesian archipelago: I found out too late that a top Balinese spa has recently started offering a six-course raw 'degustation menu' on selected dates. Chefs Chris Miller and Diana von Cranach offer living food with a Balinese and Indonesian twist, adapted from traditional recipes and using the freshest local produce. Although largely plant-based, the fare is not strictly vegan as raw fish made an appearance on the sample menu I saw.

The Como Shambhala spa is in Ubud, the geographical centre of Bali and also its main cultural centre - and home to the magical, mystical Monkey Forest. In all it's boho coolness, Ubud also has the highest concentration of vegetarian cafes and restaurants on the island so deserves a place on any itinerary.

Como Shambhala Estate Begawan Giri, Ubud, Bali. Tel: +361-978888

Although I remained resolutely 'unplugged' while away, I kept my journal nearby at all times so I could jot down flashes of inspiration as they occurred to me, and self-indulgently document the ramblings of my 'enlightened' mind ; ) Contained among the scrawlings is a long list of subjects I want to write about, many of which will appear right here, and others of which will appear on the brand new Fresh Network website or in Get Fresh magazine.

The day after I returned to the UK I was privileged to attend the grand opening of Chad Sarno's new all-vegan, mostly-raw restaurant in Shoreditch, East London. Stay tuned for the inside scoop on Saf...