Ubud

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Arrived in Ubud from Kuta and found Bali Springs (some accommodation that had been recommended to us). It's a nice comfortable and friendly homestay.

Ubud is described as a magnet for tourists curious about Balinese arts and we were looking forward to a bit of culture after the chaos of Kuta....

We spent time wandering around the town which is full of art galleries, wood carvers, jewlery makers and boutique shops. We also enjoyed watching some traditional Balinese dancing (Legong dance, and Kecak fire dance) at Ubud palace and one of the local temples.

The national music of Bali is gamelan - jangling, clashing symphonies played out on percussion instruments. All the musicians dress up in the ceremonial uniforms and like the dancers the musicians take their role as entertainers to the Gods seriously. The dancers (similar to the Indian Kathakali we watched in Kerala) strike dramatic poses and use facial expression to emphasise feeling.

I really enjoyed the various dances and music but the Kecak dance was probably the most entertaining for us. Kecak is a classical dance style performed by over 100 dancers and singers. No musical instruments in this performance only the human voice and hand clapping. The story we saw was taken from the Ramayana (written by the Indian author Bagawan Walmik). It dramatises the conflict between good and evil. The final section of the performance was the Sanghyang Jaran dance where a young man on a horse danced around, through and over a fire of coconut husks. I'm glad we werent sitting at the front as there were some narrow misses when members of the audience raised their legs to avoid the burning husks hitting them!

For the hours of this latter performance (and while the Gods were entertained) the sky was clear and the stars shining. About 5 minutes after it ended the rain started - the performance had been outdoors and I think perhaps the Gods wanted more entertaining??

Whilst in Ubud we also did the Kintamani Volcano tour visiting:-
Go Gajah - elephant cave temple
Pejeng - Mount temple
Gunung Kawi - Rocky temple
Tampak Sring - The holy spring temple
Kintamani - Ulun Danu temple

The trip also provided us with some stunning views of Mount Batur and lake Batur (one of the islands volcanoes).

This was an enjoyable day save for the constant thrusting of some kind of wood carving or other in front of you while you were trying to admire the views....

Whilst at the holy spring temple we were able to observe a short ceremony and saw the women and children bathing in the springs. At mount temple we observed preparations for the nights full moon celebrations - food preparation, lantern making, decorating etc, all done with a care and attention and such great enthusiasm. We were encouraged to take photos by the villagers who posed happily and tried to share conversation.

The only thing that I havent liked about Ubud (apart from the volume of rain!) was our visit to Monkey forest...Lets just say we paid to go in and after about 15 minutes I had to leave. There were hundreds of monkeys all with evil looks in their eye and looking a bit flea bitten jumping on the passing tourists trying to get into bags etc...A bit like walking into the monkey enclosure in a safari park without a car and letting the little blighters wreak havoc on your clothes and belongings - they pull at bags and grab hair. When I saw the woman in front of me run screaming off as she had a monkey attached to her head and it wasnt for letting go and then saw that the path we were expected to walk down next looked like something out of gladiators and running a gauntlet....I was off!!!

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Photos

Those Monkeys!
I bet you think they're cute!!!

Comments

[Ceri]

G'day sis
So now you've reached the best bit (I think?) Enjoy and take loads of photos for me. Glad to see you managed to get some photos on this too. Nice tan! Take care campers. Love CERIXXXX