20 October 2013

with rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes


Legong dance

     The highlight of Bali, for me, was experiencing the Balinese culture. Indonesia is a Muslim country, and all the Indonesian islands practice Islam, except Bali. Bali has been able to retain it’s Hindi faith, and this is evident all over the island. I will have to split this cultural story into two parts. The first part will be about Balinese dance. I spent eight days in the central Bali town of Ubud, and could have easily spent a month there! My days were spent walking in the rice terraces, and looking through the plentiful art galleries. My nights were spent attending Balinese dance performances. These were all breathtaking, magical experiences! I was mesmerized during these dances, but was able to remember to snap a few pictures.


Legong dance


     The dancers practice for years, starting at an early age, and only the gifted ones get to perform in the ‘big’ shows. I enjoyed the performances at the Ubud Palace because of the quality of performers, quality of costumes, and quality of gamelon orchestra. My favorite’s were the Legong dance, the Barong dance, and the Kecak dance. I will post some pictures and let them tell the story.


Legong dance


Legong dance

     Each dancer was constantly moving. From their eyes, and facial expressions, to their head and neck. From their fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders, to their toes, feet, legs, and hips. Their movement was brilliant and stunning!

Legong dance


     The Legong dance was my favorite, as the dancers were breathtaking.

Legong dance

     
     The Barong dance was fun, with the fanciful Barong, and the masked dancers.


Barong dance
Barong dance
Barong dance
Barong dance
Barong dance
Barong dance


     The Kecak Fire and Trance dance was hypnotic with the men chanting like monkeys, dancers twirling among them.

Kecak dance
Kecak dance

     Twice a week, there are dance practices at the Ubud palace for any children interested. The Balinese take dance very seriously, and the children were learning from the masters.

girls's dance class

boy's dance class


     I have not ever experienced anything like the Balinese dance performances, and the memories will be vivid for years to come!

16 October 2013

paradise waits . . .


beach at Anturan, Bali

    I’m going to take off my ‘expat’ hat and put my ‘traveler’ hat back on! These next few blog posts will take a detour from land-locked Lao, to some of the islands of Indonesia. With over 17,000 islands in Indonesia, I narrowed my month-long journey to just three, Bali, Nusa Lembongan, and Java. I departed Lao, spent a few days in Bangkok, then flew to Denpasar, Bali. Upon leaving the airport, I was greeted with a fragrant, tropical scent, and a salty, marine air! I left Denpasar, and checked into a room near the beach of Sanur, on the southeast coast of Bali. Taking a walk along the white sands, I felt my skin sucking in the salty air. All my life, I have lived near the saltwater, and I now realized how much my body missed the marine air!


beach at Sanur, Bali

     This blog post will feature the beaches and coastline of Bali. I spent some time exploring Sanur, enjoying live music at night, and strolling the beach by day. I was taken back into my past, to the many times I have spent gazing at the ocean, thinking about life, the universe, and everything.

beach at Padangbai, Bali

     I headed north, to the east coast fishing village of Padangbai, and spent some time exploring the beaches in the area. This small town was slow-paced, and had a relaxed atmosphere. There was live music at night and plenty of freshly caught seafood. There is a ferry to Lombok that departs Padangbai daily, and most foreigners only stop long enough to board a ferry. They missed out on a lovely town, with a vibrant community!

beach at Kalibukbuk, Bali

     On the north coast of Bali, are a number of small fishing villages. I stayed at two of these, each similar, slow-paced, with fresh seafood. Kalibukbuk was the bigger of the two, and had a few foreigners, but most of my days were spent with the local Balinese. Anturan was another town I stayed a while, and I was able to listen to live music in the evenings. September is a low season on Bali, room rates drop, and foreigners depart. This is the perfect time to visit, as the weather is still good! The north coast, at this time, is calm and as flat as a lake.

beach on Nusa Lembongan

     I explored the island of Nusa Lembongan, and spent days walking around this small island. It is located east of Bali, an hour away by boat. Lovely beaches, fresh seafood, kind people, and days spent lazing on the beach! My time on Balinese beaches was meaningful to me, as I started thinking about my life in land-locked Lao. I was able to look at my Lao life from afar, and think about my future. It was great to be eating seafood again, and soaking in the salty, marine air! Balinese beaches are excellent, and I highly recommend this island in September! More to come, as I will soon post about the culture of Bali, and the ancient temples on Java!

beach on Nusa Lembongan with Bali in the distance