After breakfast, we met Alled and headed out early for our first dance show, the Barong Kris Dance. The quick summary is that the play depicts a battle between Barong, a mythological animal, and Rangda, a mythological monster. It represents that eternal battle of good versus evil. On the way into the theatre area, we took a picture with one of the beautiful dancers.
We found our seats as the gamelan music was playing and the Barong appeared in the stage doorway. A quick note here about gamelan music, which is amazing. This type of music has been around since at least the 8th Century in Java. Its modern form involves metallophones, xylophones, and gongs. I have heard the sound described as "jarring" but I never felt that. If you would like to hear a sample and view a slideshow of Balinese images, check out this link that is not my own: Gamelan Music in Bali Anyway, maybe now you can hear the music that accompanies the next several images.
Here are the players arranged to the right of the stage.
The monkey is the best actor in the production.
The women who perform Balinese dance blow my mind. The culture in Bali is so laid-back and relaxed but the dance is so precise. Every movement of the foot, every finger gesture, every slight neck movement, even the eyes darting back and forth, all that is choreographed meticulously. The whole time women are on stage their knees are bent and their hips tilting. The basketball player and coach in me can't help but think of the intense thigh burn that comes with wall sits. These ladies must have killer thighs!
Some characters are about to get taken over by witches.
The crazy dude with the long white dreads? That's the Rangda, the bad guy.
Everything was fine until the little person showed up. He was quite a ham on stage. Things also got a little uncomfortable when they started to disembowel this boar, I think it was. I won't even tell you what they did with the tail.
And of course, in the final battle, good always defeats evil. So we took our picture with the Barong. We really like the barong. Ted found a t-shirt with one and we even bought a wood carving of one. Not here, but later on. The Barong is kind of a big deal in Bali. We too are big fans.
After the show, we had a very long drive ahead of us. We were going to check out Mount Batur, one of Bali's volcanoes. The children were entertained with various electronic tablets and the adults were mesmerized by the scenery.
This is a woman doing her laundry while standing in a storm drain in the sidewalk. This was a regular sight.
One of many rice fields.
Finally, we could feel the air grow cooler as we climbed the hills around Mount Batur. Okay, I thought this was a dormant volcano, especially because Abhinav kept referring it to it that way. Reading later though I discovered it is actually still active, last majorly erupting in 1968.
You can see the crater at the top.
And you can see the lava flow area in black around it.
We had thought we might get to hike here, but apparently it is a tough climb and needs to be arranged with guides. The kids wouldn't be able to do it. We had to settle for stopping for lunch overlooking it, then hiking along the bottom later. The biggest challenge we would face is escaping all the hoards of people selling stuff: bracelets, t-shirts, bags, pencils, wooden bicycles, and on and on. They would never take "no" for an answer but would instead respond with "maybe later?"
After lunch, we rode down to the bottom of the volcano. Ted asked our driver to pull over so we could walk around a bit in the charred soil covered in lava rocks.
This is a pretty clear view of a mountain that has blown its top.
After exploring, we drove a little farther to some hot springs. We changed into our suits and swam in the different pools for a couple of hours but could not take pictures. The setting was gorgeous though. The hot springs were lakeside with sweeping views of the whole valley and surround mountains. We even were able to watch some fishermen in small boats catch some fish with their nets while we soaked. It wore Wyatt out, here sleeping with the Barong t-shirt.
There were plenty of road-side stands selling fruit and clothing.
The drive back to the hotel was another long one, very scenic.
We stopped for dinner at a restaurant overlooking some rice fields. We were the only ones there, but the food was delicious.
Day 3 brought the promise of white-water rafting! Before the ride to the rafting site, the kids went for a quick swim.
What are those pigs doing?
Here we are finally loaded up and ready to go.
Now the sad part. Once we arrived at the rafting place, it was hard to determine if rafting would be safe for Wyatt. Technically no one under 7 was supposed to be able to go. The guides were explaining that the rapids were Class III, which Ted felt was too much for Wyatt. We couldn't tell if they were saying Class III because they wanted people to think the rapids would be great or if it was the truth. After trying on the gear and realizing that it just couldn't fit Wyatt well enough to feel safe, we decided that Wy and I would sit this one out and meet them at the finish. We had been told the trip was about an hour. Well, it ended up being about 3 1/2 hours. Yikes. Still, Ted said afterward that the water was pretty intense and it was a good call to not risk it. Wyatt and I had some ice cream as a consolation while we explored a little and awaited their return.
Alled carried Wyatt as we walked down a million or so (only a slight exaggeration) steps to close to the river's edge so we could check it out. There was a sign here that said this was a filming location for "Eat, Pray, Love."
Look at all these steps. I knew we had walked pretty far down, but it was looking up that really hit me. We passed several women who had come from the very bottom. They deflate the rafts people use and then carry them on their heads all the way back up. All day. Yikes.
And then we walked back across the street to where the family would be arriving. We only had to wait a couple more hours. Ugh. Well, at least there was coffee, ice cream, and Bintang.
Srimathi took the rafting pictures. Shortly, I will be able to check those out and will share the best of them.
After a big meal, we headed to the hotel to relax. Actually, Srimathi and I had appointments for Balinese traditional massages. We had nice foot baths followed by a steam in a zip-up bag-like contraption. After that, there was over an hour of aromatherapy massage. Delicious. And then ginger tea. Deliciouser.
We rushed back to the hotel afterward, smelling like sandalwood and rose, to pick up the rest of the family for a big night out. First stop was another show. This one did not have gamelan music or any instruments really. It was a kecak show, which means there was a choir of men (the pamphlet says 100 men, but it didn't seem like quite that many) arranged around the stage who chanted the music. It is a trance dance. If you have the time, check out this link instead of the photos because the sound is really spectacular and unique. Also, my pictures are lousy and don't do the show justice. This video was taken by someone else, but it's the same show we saw. I'm telling you, it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen so please do check it out. Balinese Kecak Dance
The dance tells the story of Prince Rama and his wife Sita as they fight with King Rahwana. The dance ends with a man actually dancing on fire. Crazy.
Here is a shot of the kids with Hanoman the monkey.
And even though it was very late, the adults still had not eaten so we went into Ubud Centre and found a very good Indian restaurant.
Volcano dosas for the kids!
Pretty great day, right?
Day 4 was calmer. The Bach Family took an hour-long ride to the beach known as Sunrise Beach. On the way we stopped at a black-sand beach to check it out. Our driver told us that the waves were too rough here for kids so another place would be better but he let us know this was a hot spot for wedding photos.
I wish we had taken more pictures at the top of the beach because the sand up there looked like coal, absolutely jet black but sparkling too. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of trash. The best part was this old man who had buried himself in the sand under an umbrella. The only parts of him sticking out were parts of his feet, one hand, and his head. He had the biggest smile, too.
More black sand beach shots.
OK, so quick stop there, then back in the car to the other beach, Sanur. Here we are, the Bach Fanta-Sea. The kids had chilled Fantas in the Indian Ocean.
Ted bought a $2 kite from a stall. For the kids. Right, for the kids.
Quickly, Ted made friends with some local boys who didn't speak English (except words like, "hello," "cool," and "ice cream") but did know how to get that kite going. Here is a video of Ambassador Ted and the kids: Ted Flies a Kite in Bali
Some other guys brought a giant kite and really got it going high. Look at how blue that sky is!
After a bit, we found Alled who took us to a friend's restaurant for lunch on the beach. What a sweet breeze.
And after the beach, there was shopping. We found some fun clothes for the kids, including some beautiful beach dresses.
Mostly souvenirs. We found a lovely patchwork quilt that I have no idea how we're going to get home. A lot of nice stuff.
That night, we walked around Ubud Centre a bit and had dinner at a terrific restaurant. One of my favorite sites as a mom was seeing Wyatt looking out the van window at all the things around us. While the older kids had faces in their gadgets, Wyatt was often content to just check stuff out.
The next morning, the kids had a quick swim while we packed up.
I had a very upset stomach, but somehow made it through the packing up. Here, we say goodbye to our lovely Taman Harum Cottages and get back in the van one last time.
The kids see, hear, and speak no evil.
And it was a smooth return trip.
Bali, I wish we could visit you all the time.
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