Ubud Bali

Ubud is to Bali as Kyoto is to Japan, the cultural center of the country. A traditional dance performance of one kind or another is happening every evening. We saw a Legong and Barong Dance performance at the Palace. The musicians and dancers performed in the courtyard with the audience seated on three sides. The musicians playing gamolin, drums, flutes, cymbals and stringed instruments were seated on two sides of the dance floor. The dance floor itself was delineated with a red carpet outlined with individual plumeria flowers placed there and on the steps after a lady did a puja blessing the performance. The drummer began quietly with a rhythm which was picked up by the musicians on his side of the stage. The musicians on the opposite side answered with embellishments. This exchange continued with increased complexity and intensity of mood until the climax. The drummer then played another rhythm and the music began again. As the intensity built, we were excited to see the first dancer appear on the steps. Her head, eyes, hands and feet movements appeared to us to be fragmented. When other dancers joined her, the dance became more flowing and intricate reflecting the music. At times we found ourselves unaware of the dance and overwhelmed at the beauty and humor of some costumes and the amazing detail in all of them.

Everywhere we walked and Ubud is a town of many walking adventures, we saw stone statues protecting entryways of all kinds. To us the statues became more alive as they aged being clothed with black molds, green mosses and gray lichen. The Hindu temples we visited were made more appealing because of the many demon statues and the contrast of their patina to the gilded red and gold leaf doors of the smaller temples within.

One walk we took led us through a ravine where we found women carrying bricks and sand on their heads to men who were building a waterway to support the terraced rice fields just beyond. The people loved having their pictures taken and we talked and joked as much as we could without a common language. Thinking we could walk through the rice fields to our street, we tried several paths with no promise of a way through. We turned around and retraced our steps to avoid get more lost than we were.

Our venture in another direction took us to a lush green ravine formed by a river which was joined by another ravine and river. This confluence is always an auspicious place for Hindus. The beautiful mossy green temple here commemorated this special place. A path wound around the temple and up through the fields of grass. Some grass was cut and laid out to dry to later be used for thatching. At the ridge, we were grateful for the breeze and the expansive view below of the ravines to the rivers and above to the hillsides with fields and houses.

Mandala Wisata Wanara Wana was where a walk took us another day. This official name is what everyone calls the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Three holy temples in this dense jungle setting were completely overshadowed by the 500 monkeys who are protected and cared for here. The monkeys of all ages were healthy, gentle and playful with each other as well as with us when we sat quietly letting them approach. Many places have called us to take pictures but none more than here.