Kecak Dance

Despite the heat and humidity we did not want to spend the week swimmin' and relaxin'. We made several trips to see the sights and of course I was spoilt for choice as to what to blip - temples, sunsets, terraced rice paddy fields in the mountains, scooter culture,...

Uluwatu is a cliff-top temple on the west coast overlooking the Indian Ocean. Just after sunset there is a dance performance based on a Hindu epic - the Ramayana saga. The dance itself was basically a tale of goodies v baddies. Rather than being accompanied by a gamelan ensemble this performance had a seated chorus of male singers.

On a side note, Mrs H was once, many years ago, interviewed by Radio 3 after she attended an Indonesian gamelan event in London. She commented that it sounded like a load of old pots and pans and was reminiscent of Schoenberg - not her cup of tea. While we were out for dinner one night in Bali there was a local 3 piece acoustic band playing and singing - mostly 60's & 70's pop & rock songs and they were very entertaining. At one point they stopped and we could hear a rising crescendo of what sounded like an approaching gamelan ensemble. It turned out to be the kitchen staff banging their pots and pans as they marched forth carrying a large cake and chanting "happy birthday to you" and gathered round one of the other tables.