The weather is just perfect; sunny and hot, but not too hot. We have a lazy start with breakfast on the terrace over-looking the paddy field. There is no hot water (apparently the gas has run out) and the toilet doesn’t want to flush, but we can over-look these small irritations, because this is such wonderfully calm and verdant setting and our Balinese hosts are very welcoming. Late morning we set out on an orientation walk around Ubud with the intention of visiting the Monkey Forest. But we immediately go wrong and find ourselves at completely the opposite end of the village. The so-called village of Ubud, is an amalgam of several villages, which together could be more accurately described as a town making up part of the urban sprawl that characterises this densely populated corner of the island. But as we are beginning to discover it is not all built up and several streets back onto small areas of rice paddy. On our wanderings we find the local market, which like many south-east asian markets is packed to the rafters with stalls selling everything imaginable; from fresh meat and vegetables, to acres of sarongs and we pick up a good quality one at the ridiculously low price of £2.50! In fact, we are soon on a bit of a spending spree and pick up a pair of earrings, a batik sarong and a pair of fisherman’s pants all for the princely total of £14. By this time we are starting to flag a bit and stumble upon a small restaurant perched on the hillside above a stream – another little oasis away from the hustle and bustle – and stop for a relaxing lunch lounging on cushions.
We eventually find Monkey Forest, a little bit of dense jungle in the southern part of the village which is the site of three Hindu temples. But the main draw is the hundreds of grey-haired monkeys that live here and roam freely amongst the many tourists who come to photograph and feed them with bananas sold at the entrance by enterprising Balinese. Cute juveniles scamper around or hitch a ride by clinging to some part of their mothers’ anatomy whilst the adults are on the lookout for a food handout and, as we found when one grabbed our shopping bag and tried to make off with one of the sarongs, are not averse to helping themselves.
Bali has a rich and unique culture and Ubud is the place to come to experience it. There are several art galleries and a variety of courses from Balinese cooking to dance as well as numerous venues offering a range music-and-dance performances every night of the week. This evening we go to see a performance of Kecak trance dancing. There is no musical accompaniment to this type of dancing. Instead a ‘choir’ of about 100 men, bare-chested and dressed in black and white checked sarongs with red sashes, provide the chak-a-chak-a-chak chant which characterises the dance. Seated in three concentric circles they also provide the boundary of the performance space where much of the dance action takes place. Throughout the dance, which tells the story of the Ramayana, the choir provides a non-stop, trance-inducing accompaniment whilst swaying, stretching out their arms and fluttering their fingers in unison. Meanwhile, three female dancers in exquisite brocade costumes and elaborate head-dresses as well as several other masked characters in fabulously colourful and ornate costumes act out the dance-drama. Balinese dance movements are precise and jerky with particular emphasis on choreographing hand, wrist and finger movements and even the head and eyes in some cases. The result is quite beautiful and accomplished, and in the case of the Kecak very dramatic and hypnotic. The Kecak is followed by a fan dance and a fire dance. The latter provides a dramatic finale to the evening as the male dancer circles a fire of coconut shells before kicking them around the performance area and proceeding to dance across the embers – in bare feet. All of which he does several times, with seemingly no ill effect. An impressive performance.
We eventually find Monkey Forest, a little bit of dense jungle in the southern part of the village which is the site of three Hindu temples. But the main draw is the hundreds of grey-haired monkeys that live here and roam freely amongst the many tourists who come to photograph and feed them with bananas sold at the entrance by enterprising Balinese. Cute juveniles scamper around or hitch a ride by clinging to some part of their mothers’ anatomy whilst the adults are on the lookout for a food handout and, as we found when one grabbed our shopping bag and tried to make off with one of the sarongs, are not averse to helping themselves.
Bali has a rich and unique culture and Ubud is the place to come to experience it. There are several art galleries and a variety of courses from Balinese cooking to dance as well as numerous venues offering a range music-and-dance performances every night of the week. This evening we go to see a performance of Kecak trance dancing. There is no musical accompaniment to this type of dancing. Instead a ‘choir’ of about 100 men, bare-chested and dressed in black and white checked sarongs with red sashes, provide the chak-a-chak-a-chak chant which characterises the dance. Seated in three concentric circles they also provide the boundary of the performance space where much of the dance action takes place. Throughout the dance, which tells the story of the Ramayana, the choir provides a non-stop, trance-inducing accompaniment whilst swaying, stretching out their arms and fluttering their fingers in unison. Meanwhile, three female dancers in exquisite brocade costumes and elaborate head-dresses as well as several other masked characters in fabulously colourful and ornate costumes act out the dance-drama. Balinese dance movements are precise and jerky with particular emphasis on choreographing hand, wrist and finger movements and even the head and eyes in some cases. The result is quite beautiful and accomplished, and in the case of the Kecak very dramatic and hypnotic. The Kecak is followed by a fan dance and a fire dance. The latter provides a dramatic finale to the evening as the male dancer circles a fire of coconut shells before kicking them around the performance area and proceeding to dance across the embers – in bare feet. All of which he does several times, with seemingly no ill effect. An impressive performance.