I’ve never considered myself a beach girl—the prospect of being in the ocean frightened me too much for me to ever feel relaxed. Sand getting everywhere was a nightmare to an uptight person like me. But somehow, as the pristine sand and impossibly blue waters of Bawah Reserve loomed into view from my window seat on the seaplane, something told me things would be different here. As we landed on the waters and coasted closer to the fish-tail deck that would lead us to the main island, I was ready to let it all wash over me.
To get to Bawah Reserve, it took a ferry ride to Batam, Indonesia, then an 80-minute seaplane. Perhaps the first thing that surprised me was how serene the island enclave was, situated remotely in the Anambas Archipelago in the South China Sea. As you wander from the decks into the main island, you’re greeted with a wall of verdant green for as far as your eyes can see, pulsing with the sounds of the jungle—sounds that will lull you to sleep in your villa. Wherever you choose to stay on the island—on the beachfront, over the water, or in the heart of the jungle—one thing is clear: that the city life is far away, and nature is here to heal. Stepping foot into my villa with its all-natural fittings, canopy bed and free-standing copper bathtub, I felt all the tension melt away from my body.
Everyone has a different idea of what a getaway should look like. At Bawah, you can choose to do everything or nothing at all. With a dedicated team ready to set it all up, you could snorkel, go on a boat ride, hike or have a sunset barbecue on the beach, or you could sunbathe, take a yoga class and read in the shade. For me, I wanted a little taste of everything.
Reset with a view
I spend most days hunched over my laptop, so the prospect of a daily spa treatment—included in your stay—already sounded heavenly. What I could not have imagined was the butterfly garden and lush green foliage of Aura Sanctuary & Spa, a spectacular sight that even the monitor lizards couldn’t resist basking in. Sipping on ginger tea brewed strong and unsweetened, I pondered over the extensive menu of treatments: facials, body scrubs, massages, body masks and more. Since my chief aim was relaxation, the massages and scrubs appealed to me most. Then the masseuse led me to my room in the treetop canopy, and the Indonesian Fusion Massage commenced. A mix of Balinese and Swedish techniques employed long, firm strokes to knead out every knot in my body. On days where I wanted to freshen up after the tropical heat, the Body Awakening Scrub—a mix of Indonesian coffee, brown sugar and organic coconut oil—sloughed off every dead skin cell to reveal soft, smooth skin.
The cherry on top? A contrast therapy circuit right in the heart of the greenery. Constructed with natural materials native to the Archipelago, the sauna, steam bath and cold plunge all opened up to the forest—giving me a full view of the flora and fauna as I rested between stations. As it turns out, nothing beats a crisp forest breeze on post-sauna skin. Perhaps my favourite part of all was taking a rain shower atop the rocks, before refuelling with a selection of healthy snacks and piping hot tea.
Rituals of nourishment
The body is a temple, and Bawah Reserve certainly treats it as such from the inside out. Meals were prepared fresh with ingredients harvested from the land. Breakfasts started off with a trifecta of jamu, kombucha and juice, with each concoction imparting different benefits. More than just a wellness shot or herbal drink, jamu comes with its own rituals—at a jamu-making class, our guide Tina taught us that it is an integral part of Indonesian routines. The herbal drink is believed to soothe everything from toothaches and menstrual pain to digestive problems and the flu. They can be made with ginger, turmeric, tamarind and pepper, but also chillies and wood shavings from the sappan tree. As I hand-pounded the ginger for a batch of wedang jahe, the rhythmic thud of the pestle against the mortar reminded me that our bodies deserve to be fed with intention. Before taking a sip, we said a prayer: mugi-mugi kanthi menika kula tansah pinaringan badan ingkang kesihatan. In other words: may I always be blessed with a healthy body.
Nourishment comes from the little things too. A freshly-brewed cup of Javanese breakfast tea gave me comfort in the mornings while I watched the tide from my patio. I soaked in the tub to the sound of rain pattering on my tented roof. The turndown service came with little treats on a tray and laundry that smelled like the sun, which ended up being the wind-down routine of my dreams.
The art of grounding
Serial overthinkers know what it’s like to live in your head, and to be trapped within it. But being on an island in the middle of the South China Sea gives you perspective—nothing feels urgent when I can feel the sand between my toes as I tuck into a hearty lunch made with local produce.
Nature at this scale can feel frightening—I’ve spent my whole life in the city, after all. But with Bawah Reserve championing marine conservation efforts as part of the second largest Marine Protected Area in Indonesia, the azure blue waters and the life within it was enough to draw me in. Enough for me to say yes to snorkelling for the very first time. My thalassophobia gripped me for a brief moment, until I felt the cool, crystal-clear water on my back. Then, a turtle swum into view from behind a restored coral reef; a reef shark, afterwards, and many schools of fish. It’s grounding to experience a world so alive that I have to return to my body and anchor myself to the present. I watched the sun sink softly over the horizon unobstructed and felt completely at ease.
As we prepared to leave, I spotted something scribbled on the chalkboard beneath the weather forecast. ‘Bawah will change you’, it read—and it has. I feel lighter in mind, body, soul, in a way that I never thought possible. Sometimes all you really need is to get far enough away from your own life, even just for a little bit—preferably to a picturesque island that certainly knows how to take care of everything.
