Monkey business is all just good karma at Karma Kandara

It’s early morning and I wake to the sound of monkeys on my roof.

More precisely, crab-eating macaques. I jump out of bed and go to the courtyard door. One of them clambers down an umbrella to greet me through the glass. I’m not sure whether to welcome him in. I’ve heard they are largely harmless but fond of making away with glasses, keys, wallets, handbags and other valuables.

So I bid him a brusque good day and start to turn away. He and his companions seem to contemplate a dip in the infinity pool but appear to decide against it, leaving me to get accustomed to my luxurious new surroundings.

For I am in a private villa — yes, each one does also have its own pool — on Karma Kandara beach resort, which is perched above the cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean in Ungasan, on Bali’s Bukit Peninsula.

Yes, I am.

You might be even more astonished to know that this is my first time in Bali, having arrived just the night before on an afternoon Jetstar flight from Perth. And that I’ll have only one day to sample as much as I can of what this extraordinary property has to offer before returning home.

As for exploring more of Bali, I’ll have to wait until my next visit.

Speaking of the night before, after being deposited at reception by my charming driver, Sidi Bell, I am introduced to the equally affable Karma Kandara GM Shaun Dunhofen and other members of the Karma Kandara crew, one of whom offers me a cool, refreshing drink. A mere 30 minutes later I’m settled in my villa and making my way by foot to the resort’s open, airy clifftop restaurant, di Mare.

(By the way, there are two, three and four-bedroom villas, all made from stone with teakwood decking and grass or tile roofs — mine has 2 bedrooms and is twice the size of my apartment back home.)

Shaun is waiting for me, and as I tuck into some spectacular vegetarian fare including a superb Indonesian vegetable curry with fried tofu, long beans, potatoes, green chillies, turmeric spiked coconut milk and steamed rice, he regales me with stories of his life in hospitality and early inspirations such as reading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha as a teenager.

Already, and over the next day and night, I come to realise the South African-born Shaun runs a tight but extremely collaborative and creative ship, where staff input is welcomed and community engagement is paramount. Especially where the arts are concerned. How refreshing. How inspiring.

After my monkey encounter the next morning, I head for an 8am yoga session at Karma Spa, which I had passed on my way to dinner. I’m the only male, but the make-up of the group is quite diverse, with a woman from the UK, two from Finland and two from Jakarta. It’s a rigorous, invigorating session, with some Balinese postures included among the traditional asanas. At the end of the class, bathed in sweat, we down a shot of energy juice, thank the excellent instructor and head for our respective showers before breakfast.

I should say here that Karma Spa’s “menu” is remarkably extensive, with a range of “world-class bodywork, wellness rituals, Balinese healers, intraceuticals, oxygen facials, yoga and sound healing”. All are run by Balinese masters. I only wish I had time for a Balinese tarot reading and reiki healing session.

And the use of traditional Balinese bales, here and elsewhere throughout the resort, means extremely well-ventilated buildings. Still wary of COVID, I’d worn my face mask on the flight, at the airport, and in the limousine. At Karma Kandara: not once.

Breakfast for me at least is as simple as it is delicious: black coffee and house-made granola with dragon fruit and other fresh seasonal fruits, all topped by Greek yoghurt. Again, at di Mare.

I don’t have long to wait to see more of the resort, and to sample more of the cuisine, as restaurant manager Pak Bagus kindly agrees to take me down the 360 steep steps to the beach. It’s a pleasant walk, through some dense foliage where colourful birds and butterflies flit . . . but I’m already concerned about the ascent. Pak shows me Tiki Beach Bar and Le Club 22, where I enjoy a refreshing coconut drink. They’re lovely, flexible spaces, which are often used for yoga and functions. And the view of the Indian Ocean is stunning.

It’s here that I come across a quirky, vibrant painting on a surfboard, by artist and surfer Reif Myers, originally from Western Australia and recently Karma Kandara’s artist in residence. Later, Shaun tells me that Reif has also been working with the kids at the nearby children’s charity and orphanage, Bali Life Foundation, which Karma has now supported for over 10 years.

I needn’t have worried about that ascent: the tide is coming in quickly, but there’s still enough time for us to make our way to the shuttle pick-up point. Little did I know then that I had not escaped the dreaded descent. For a mere couple of restorative hours later, I am walking back down those same stairs with the London-based Ed King, Karma Group’s head of curated events, for a wood-fired pizza lunch (delicious!) at Tiki’s.

As we enjoy our repast, people walk through the bar, some stopping to say hello, some — usually the younger and more scantily-clad variety — making their way to the shaded balcony just below us to pose for Instagram shots with the beach as a backdrop.

For contrast, Ed tells me how he was walking up the stairs one night and found his path blocked by a band of monkeys looking for trinkets. I asked him how he managed to get past.

“I just had to keep walking and ensured I didn’t make eye contact with any of them,” he says, matter-of-factly. A situation that sounds remarkably familiar to me.

Then the dreaded moment.

“Are you ready to walk back up the stairs,” asks Ed.

“Yes,” I lie.

It’s a killer, and by the time I reach the top I’m breathless and bathed in sweat. Ed, who plays a lot of tennis, cheerfully tells me it’s the third time today he’s done it. I want to strangle him. But instead smile wanly.

Fortunately, an infra-red sauna and soak in the Himalayan salt bath followed by a relaxing if vigorous massage await me at Karma Spa. Now, if you haven’t tried an infrared sauna, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Basically, infrared saunas rely on light to generate heat. So it’s not the air that’s being heated: it’s your body. Which means they can operate at much lower temperatures. And there’s no steam.

Before the sauna, soak and massage I had a splitting headache from climbing the stairs in such humid conditions. Afterwards, I felt like a million dollars. So I’m a convert. As I am of pre-dinner cocktails and jazz at the Temple Lounge above di Mare, where I find myself for my last evening, reunited with Shaun and Ed and senior executive chef South-East Asia Pacific Joseph Antonishek, whom I’d met briefly earlier in the day.

There are surely few experiences more pleasurable in life than watching the sunset from a rooftop bar in Bali with a jazz trio playing smooth standards and scintillating conversation to keep things really interesting.

One, however, is a private dinner with Chef Joseph in Karma Kandara’s wine bar, Veritas.

Joe is originally from Detroit and moved to New York when he was 17 to attend the Culinary Institute of America. He worked in New York until he was 26, when he relocated to Los Angeles, where he stayed until he was 40.

“So you know you’re in good hands with vegetarian food,” he laughs, alluding to LA’s reputation for being amongst the best cities in the world for vegans and vegetarians.

Joe is not only a talented chef. He’s seriously good company, and over the next couple of hours we talk about everything from skiing in Japan to flamenco guitar to phone photography (which, judging from the photos he showed me, Joe is also a master of).

All the while navigating our way through an astonishing range of dishes, all part of Chef Joseph’s tasting menus (veggie for me), the highlight of which is the Superfood Salad (goji berries, chia seeds, coconut, almonds, popped quinoa, rocket and pomelo torch ginger flower dressing) — which I refer to as an accidental masterpiece, as it’s a dish Joe just threw together one day yet became an instant hit.

Naturally all this is accompanied by a crisp Australian white, which by 11pm leaves me feeling drowsy and ready for my final sleep in the exceedingly comfortable bed in my palatial villa. As I walk slowly down the steps from the restaurant (not THOSE steps), across a small bridge and past Karma Spa to my repose, I think of how much I’ve managed to pack into two nights and one day, how many new friends I’ve made, and yet how I’ve barely managed to scratch the surface of what this paradisiacal haven has to offer fortunate guests and residents alike.

Not to mention the Balinese people and culture, which I could sense through the courteousness and generosity of the gorgeous staff at Karma Kandara.

But as I say: all that will have to wait for my next visit.

Will Yeoman was a guest of Karma Kandara. They have not seen or approved this story.

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