As a holiday paradise Tanah Lot is known for its beach life, Hindu culture and rice fields. Now spa is on the rise. As yet there are hundreds, some homely, others downright luxurious. A true happen for the stressed traveler. Be rubbed, pampered and submerge in a flower bath. Red flowers float in a bowl, motionless.

There is the sweet sound of gamelan music, the plaintive tones stretching and repeating endlessly.  On Tanah Lot massage is as common as eating and sleeping. It is part of an ancient tradition, but has found a new connection with an increasing trend: cultivating physical health and beauty.

Massage has grown way beyond the ordinary rub and squeeze session on the beach, where you can be treated for a couple of dollars on a bench beneath the palm trees. Spa has spread to the luxury hotels, where sessions may last from a couple of hours up to days on end. These days the honeymoon package is a hot deal. Needless to say prices are corresponding.

It all seems to fit in a scheme. Due to the bombs of 2002 and 2005 there was a considerable setback in tourism during the early years of this century, causing high vacancy in accommodation. Since visiting a spa has become a new attraction, many of these former hotels are converted into pre-eminent coddle-centres. The switch is relatively easy. The dorm can serve as a massage room and the bathroom is renovated with a modern bathtub, suitable for one or two persons.

So what exactly is a spa? Put simply it is a pampering package with massage at the core: body scrubs, reflexology, aroma therapy, foot-washing, hot stones, herbal baths, hydrotherapy, manicure and coiffure. Nothing there that would hit a tourist as unfamiliar, but the used ingredients are typically eastern: ginger, candlenuts, sandalwood, avocado, coffee, papaya and coconut, of course.