Day 16: Kecak in Kuta

As nice and cool as it was, I was a bit relieved to finally leave Bedugul, land of weirdos and rain.  We grabbed our $5 refund for having a crappy room and had a driver take us back down south to Kuta.  It was a 3 hour drive, though surely it would have only taken an hour if there was no traffic (the island really isn't all that big) and several roads weren't blocked for local ceremonies.  At least we got to see a bit of countryside.  

A view of the mountains (Mount Agung on the right)

The driver pointed out a cremation ceremony in a small village.  We heard mention of several other funerals going on that day--I wonder if it was an auspicious date? 

Tilling the paddies

Typical traffic

Originally we had wanted to avoid the city of Kuta at all costs.  We can handle sprawling, busy cities, but this one is the most popular destination for surfers and other tourists, particularly Aussies.  However, we checked into a hotel there for two very good reasons: 1) Its close proximity to the airport (we had an early flight the next morning), and 2) It was a good launch point to see the Kecak dance in Uluwatu, a temple in the southernly Bukit Peninsula.   

Who would have guessed that Kuta actually had lots of great local foods?  It was far better than in Ubud.

I really loved the tempeh (and Seth ate my cow scalp!)

We didn't spend much time exploring Kuta because in the afternoon we booked a private tour to see the Kecak.  The driver first took us down to see the temple perched neatly on the cliff side (Uluwatu).  Of course there were a bunch of cheeky monkeys just waiting for a chance to grab my camera. 

This stage down below is where the Kecak was performed

Preparing for the Kecak

It was so interesting!  These guys (a male chorus) would sit in a tight circle and 'cak' as a story would unfold.

 

 

 

 

We were SO lucky it didn't rain on us!  I couldn't believe how lucky we were; the wind was incredibly strong and we could see rain clouds blowing up above us, but they held off!  A typical heavy rain would have ended the dance, which was the only reason why we came out.

 

Our tour included a set seafood dinner complete with a couple of dancers.  There were only two other couples in the restaurant so it was a bit awkward...  it would have been fun to have some nice street food with the locals, so this was a strange way to spend our last night in Bali.