Meeting the famous Medicine Man

My Time with Ketut Liyer 

Being a big fan of “Eat Pray Love” (the book - not the movie) I had to participate in the cheesy tourist trap of visiting Ketut Liyer while in Ubud, Bali. I have read several blogs on people visiting Ketut and everyone has basically the same things to say about the elderly medicine man who was made famous by Elizabeth Gilbert. He is 97 years old and is probably not as sharp as he once was. He tends to repeat himself and make general comments that you know he says to everyone.
For example three of the main things I have read on blogs that he will say:
“You will live to be 100” - check!
“Your lips are sweet like sugar.” - check!
“Don’t be impatient with love” - check!

Yep, everything I had read was pretty much accurate. Regardless, it was still pretty neat to walk around his gardens and sit with him on his front porch. I was impressed with the amount of time he takes to talk to each visitor. When I arrived I was given a number (number 4) to wait my turn. I sat in his gardens and could overhear what he was telling the other visitors. Some things were the same as he would soon tell me, but others were quite different.

There was an Australian woman talking with him while I waited. I could overhear their conversation and her telling Ketut about her relationship. He said “Do not be angry with Ketut, but your relationship will fail.” I had to hold back my laughter when I saw how angry her face became. He then began to giggle and said “Ketut sorry”. 

When it was my turn to talk to Ketut, he began by studying my face. He wanted to see my ears. He told me my right ear is good and my left ear is very good..then he smiled. I asked him what that means and he said, “It means you are pretty”. Very deep Ketut, very deep.

Next, he looked at the line between my eyes and told me that it represents that I am a great thinker. I told him I thought it was just from squinting all the time. He then gave his classic Ketut giggle.
He told me I have two dimple lines which means I am very lucky and can make people happy. After observing more features about my face he said “Ketut happy you’re pretty. Ketut sad he is ugly”. We both smiled awkwardly and then carried on with our conversation.

Ketut asked me four times what country I was from. Each time I would respond with “Canada” he would smile from ear to ear and say he has had many visitors from Canada. He was especially excited when I told him I was a teacher in Jakarta. He asked me to come back to Bali to teach him English (just like in the book).

Next, Ketut read my palms. He showed me what each line represents. He said my life line is long and my health is good, but when I am elderly I will have breathing problems. He then studied the veins on my arms and said my liver, heart, blood, and brain are all very healthy but he is unsure of my gallbladder.

Ketut said the main line that is shown on my palms and in my dimple lines is my luck line. He said my luck is stronger than most. He also showed me a line that goes up the middle of my hand that breaks off. Ketut explained that this line represents wealth and I will be very rich one day, but I will only do good with my money. Let’s hope he’s right!!

Ketut assured me that I will be married only once and I will be in a happy marriage until I die. He said “Maybe you meet handsome boy in Canada. Maybe you meet handsome boy not in Canada.” Thanks for narrowing it down for me Ketut!

He repeated roughly ten times not to worry, not to fret, not to cry because this handsome boy will find me and I do not need to search for him. He then told me one of the lines on my hand shows that I am impatient. I told him I’m in no hurry and then he giggled again and said “Yes you are”.

He showed me three little lines on the side of my hand and said it means I will have three babies. 

He looked at the back of my neck and said my spine is very different and that makes me different from most people. He told me it makes my brain strong and I can be a good teacher because of this. 

After about thirty minutes of conversation with Ketut, he then told me “No more worrying, no more fret, you get married at Ketut’s house one day. You come back to Bali with your handsome boy and you marry at my garden.”
Considering his age.. that marriage might need to happen sooner than later!

We ended by having our photo taken together. He asked me if he could see the picture on my camera. He looked at it and giggled and said “You pretty. Ketut ugly”. He then looked sad and said “Ketut tired now”. He got up and walked into his hut for a nap. Too bad for the four people who were waiting to see him after me!

Overall, a cheesy but fun experience!