Ubud Continued

The Museum Puri Lukisan, "Palace of Painting" was the first stop of the day. Created out of concern in 1953 by Ubud's prince and Dutch painter Radolf Bonnet, because all of Bali's finest works of art were disappearing into private collections. The museum houses an extensive collection of paintings and carvings from the 20th century. Each painting is extraordinarily dense with detail and design, and show the imaginative world of Balinese culture and their fables.

Inside the museum grounds is a large lotus pond, with a few lotus in bloom. I never realized how large a lotus flower really is (almost 6 inches across), and its beauty is really quite stunning!

Pasar Ubud, is another large market place that takes place each day; selling food, textiles, and all kinds of crafts. Bargaining is always encouraged, but its almost impossible to know if your getting a good price or getting ripped off. Since I am not a very aggressive shopper, I'm almost positive that I could get a better deal, especially if I looked Indonesian. Like this set of bowls started at $78, and we got the price down to $36, but was told that he sold the same set to a Japanese couple for $100. Then as soon as we bought them, someone else offers us the same set for $15! I'm curious to know how much they are actually buying these crafts for, and how much of a profit they are making off of tourist like me!

The single most amazing thing I've seen in Bali, hands down is the Kecak dance! Performed by over one hundred dancers and singers this is not your typical show. Unlike most Balinese dances with many musical instruments, the Kecak dance utilizes only the sounds of the human voice and hand clapping. The story is a dramatizations of the eternal conflict between good and evil, and was taken from the great Ramayana epic written 100 years ago by an Indian Hindu author.

In the performance a large group of men serve as the singers, and in circle the flames in the center of the floor. They all move as one, and chant together, creating a sounds that are hard to believe only come from their voices.

The story is acted out inside the circle of singers, with beautiful costumes and traditional dance styles illustrating the battle between Dharma (good) and Adharma (evil).

In addition to the Kecak dance, we had the pleasure of seeing the Sanghyang Dedari Dance and Jaran Dance back to back. The Dedari Dance is used to drive evil spirits away and stop them from infesting the community with sickness or death. Performed by two girls who are always underage, for a virgin child is considered holy. The two dancers are put into a trace prior to dancing and never open their eyes during the entire performance. They moved together in perfect unison, and were brought out of their trance by a pemangky, who prays beside them and blesses them with holy water.

Finally we ended with the Jaran Dance, which is a single male dancer dressed as a horse. A pile of coconut husks are set on fire and he behaves like a horse, dancing around the bonfire. The chanting from the singers then leads him into the fire and he dances on top of the fire.

All three of these dances were unique and captivating. If you ever have the opportunity to see even one of these these Balinese dances, I highly recommend that you do! They show the beauty, mystery, and importance of the Balinese culture and will leave you speechless!