Ulu Watu

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Our last couple of days in Indonesia were spent in the surfer haven of Ullu Watu. These were definitely the most beautiful beaches we encountered but, not for the faint of heart. The waves are intense! The beaches are particularly special because you walk down a cliff- like area (800' descent) and enter the beach through caves. Dave was mesmerized by the surfers and suffered from acute surfer-envy.

In the evening we headed to a nearby temple to see one last Balinese dance, The Kecak. Situated high up on a cliff overlooking the sea, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Monkeys live all around the grounds so, Dave was in heaven. One monkey leapt onto a woman's shoulder and pulled out her earring and took off with it. Very funny. The Kecak dance was the best yet. The dance was held at sunset overlooking the ocean. A group of around 50 men come out chanting and singing. Then the characters are introduced and it's essentially a fairy tale. But, the chanters are awesome because they literally don't stop chanting for over an hour (by the end of the dance they were covered in sweat). This dance also had the most drama because the lead character, a white monkey, is surrounded by a circle of fire. He jumps through the fire and proceeds to kick the flames out toward the audience. Very cool.

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Photos

Uluwatu Caves
Take off cave for the world famous surf at Uluwatu.

Kecak Fire Dance
Set atop the seaside cliffs at sunset, the setting couldn't have been more idyllic.

Comments

[anonymous]

Temple Monkeys
We were at Uluwatu a couple of years ago and our "guide" self appointed and attached said watch out for the Monkeys they'll steal your glasses. Ever intrepid Magda laughed and the next thing a monkey swung down grabbed her glasses and was dangling them over the big cliff. Fortunately a temple "guardian" came by and suggested that an "offering" might persuade the monkey to give back Magda's specs. Well 5 bucks later (and a bannana to the Monk!) Magda had her glasses. The boys thought this hysterical and yucked it up with a French couple who were in the process of losing their glasses but the "offering" could of course been given. - Jon Statler