Eat, Pray, Love
Trip Start
Oct 03, 2010
1
5
11
Trip End
Dec 01, 2010
Balikpapan, Borneo, Indonesia
Monday, October 11, 2010
I really wanted to meet Ketut Liyer from eat, pray, love. I asked several people if they knew anything about him and no one seemed to know. I took a shuttle from Kuta beach where is where i stayed in Bali to Ubud which took about an hour. I then asked around and found a nice man who told me that he is Ketut's grandson and drove me to his house for free!! There was a long line of people waiting to see Ketut and i was told that I would have to return but was not planning on coming back to ubud. I was able to tour the house which is the same house that was used in the movie. I figured that maybe getting to see Ketut and also going to his house were enough but then his grandson offered to pick me up from my hotel in Kuta (an hour away) and bring me to ketut in the morning before tour groups come and take me a few places in ubud before bringing me to the airport as it would be my last day in Bali. I later decided that I really wanted to see Ketut and made plans to meet up the next day.
I was beyond nervous about meeting Ketut as I was unsure of what he would say. I had read internet reports that he says the same thing to everyone- that you will live to be 100 years and that you will come back and teach him english. I wont' say exactly what Ketut told me when I met him but it was a magical experience. He is 95 years young and a month ago he had stomach surgery. He was tired and usually takes his breaks when he was about to see me but he was told that I had come to see him twice and was leaving Bali to he agreed to see me. He is just as charming and cute as the actor that plays him in the movie. He told me that he was very tired as he is very old! He first read my face starting with my nose and then my eyes. Then he told me that he tells the truth and if he sees something bad or something good that he will tell you the truth. Then he read my palm and felt my energy in my wrists. He told me that I have nice lips and am very pretty and will stay pretty. He also told me some things that I was surprised that he knew. He said he was very happy to see me and asked me how I heard about him. I told him that I had read the book and saw the movie. He read my back and told me that I am Lotus flower and he also read my legs and answered all the questions that I had. He did not tell me that I would return and teach him english but he did say that I would live until I was 100.
I don't know how to explain how amazing it was to be in his presence. I was told that he really wanted to be in the movie but that Elisabeth Gilbert who wrote the book told him that is a healer and not an actor and said that she thought that he should continue to do what he does best and he finally agreed. Ketut has many animals on his property. He has a monkey that kept trying to crawl on my back which I admit freaked me out a bit. He has tons of birds and other animals so just walking around his property is a treat in and of itself. I was told that he went to the Eat, Pray, Love premiere and he has several copies of all of Elisabth Gilberts books around.
I left Bali feeling relaxed and that I accomplished one of my goals for this trip. I really wanted to see if I could meet Ketut. I was not sure if he was sick or alive or even up for meeting people. There is no number to call or website to visit you are just told to go to Ubud and ask people for him in order to find him. But it was def an amazing experience to meet him and to see his art work which is amazing. I have tons of pictures that I will upload when I can!
