Ira, Hanoman and Neni
Our friend from college, Neni, came over to Bali last weekend. While thinking of the places to visit, watching Kecak dance was the first idea popped up, since I had been longing to do it. There were a lot of place to choose, but GWK and Uluwatu were the ones close by Kuta. Based on a friend recommendation and the stunning picture of the dance, we choose Uluwatu.
Kecak (pronounced: /‘ke.t?ak/, roughly “KEH-chahk”, alternate spellings: Ketjak and Ketjack), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting “cak” and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. More from Wikipedia
Even though, I have not experienced this, visitor should be careful with their belongings while visiting Uluwatu. It has always been known for the monkeys which sometimes bother the visitors by taking shiny items e.g. glasses, earing or necklace. Most of the them stay on the paths to the temple. However, I don’t think they are that bad, perhaps they are just hungry.
On Saturday, from Padang-padang beach we went to Uluwatu. The ticket was IDR 50000 /person, IDR 3000 for a cloth belt and IDR 1000 for bike parking fee. We came early to make sure we get the tickets and good seat location. The guide of the place was very friendly. She told that the performance had been often crowded and sometimes they ran out of ticket.
The weather is usually quite hot, so for those who don’t want to get burnt by sunlight, you might want to use sunblock or perhaps wear a hat or bring an umbrella. For us, it was not that big of deal though, if other visitors were busy taking pictures of the view, we were taking ours he..he..he.. Continue reading Kecak Dance Performance at Uluwatu Temple →