The Academy Award-winning actress reflected on the life-changing getaway during Travel + Leisure‘s annual World’s Best Summit
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Regina-King-attends-the-Travel-and-Leisure-Worlds-Best-Summit-2026-071626-3e1f1ec9fdce44568dbf3e36f339a1b2.jpg "Regina King speaks during the")
Credit: Noam Galai/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Regina King reflected on a life-changing 2002 trip to Bali during Travel + Leisure‘s annual World’s Best Summit on July 15
- She shared how the island’s culture, rituals, and talented locals deeply impacted her
- King also recalled Bali’s unique cuisine and aromas, saying she can “still smell” the island and has never had fish as good since that trip
Regina King is recalling one very memorable trip she took more than 20 years ago and the lasting impression it left on her.
The actress and director opened up about her travels to Bali and explained why it was a life-changing getaway for her family during a conversation with Travel + Leisure‘s Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Gifford at the magazine’s annual World’s Best Summit on Wednesday, July 15.
When asked by Gifford, “What is the trip that’s changed you the most and why?” King takes a moment to reflect before getting into the details of her time on the Indonesian island.
“Probably… [it] was in 2002, and we went to Bali. It was the first trip that, you know, just as a mom, that was a huge trip that I planned everything,” King said.
Credit: Noam Galai/Getty
Of her experience on the island, she continued, “We got a chance to be opened up to a way of thinking. The people in Bali were very happy, but only worked for what they needed. And we started praying every morning and started having just, like, little rituals based on what we were experiencing there.”
She then marveled at how talented all the locals were and how grateful she was to be able to experience their art.
“So many people, they were all artists,” she shared. “Someone either could sing, dance, draw, make something out of something.”
While she was certainly moved by the locals, King also took a moment to appreciate the comforting aromas she experienced at the tropical destination.
“I still can smell Bali. I still have a distinct smell of going out on the beach,” she recalled. “I love to eat, and they were cooking — they were grilling — but they were grilling on coconut shells.”
Credit: Noam Galai/Getty
Of the cuisine, King noted that she still has never tasted anything that comes close to the amazing seafood she had in Bali.
“I still haven’t had fish that good. And just the experience of choosing the fish... a lot of people probably have had that experience, but we never had it, and we had it together as a family. And so I still... there hasn’t been a trip to beat it,” she concluded.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
King is next gearing up for the January 2027 release of the Children of Blood and Bone film adaptation, in which she stars as Queen Nehanda.
People Inc. is a wholly owned operating business and subsidiary of People Incorporated.
Comments
Post a Comment