...And the Adventure Continues

After our delightful dinner ended, some seventy of my shipmates and I were instructed to stroll over to the amphitheater for a performance of a ceremonial, tribal dance entitled "Kecak" - otherwise known as "The Monkey Dance." The name is derived from the sound monkeys make while at play in the forest. To begin the performance at least one hundred men dressed in their native attire of decades ago came onto the grass below and took a seat. They came in chanting "KEH - CHAK", continued their chant throughout the performance and exited without missing a beat. This chanting provided the only sound all evening. The story begins with the young lovers, Rama and Sita, in the forest. Laksmana, Rama's brother, apparently is jealous of the young lovers so he joins up with the devil who sends Marica in the form of a deer to cause trouble. Rama & Laksmana chase away the deer leaving Sita alone in the forest. But not for long. The Devil captures and imprisons Sita. Enter her White Knight, in this play in the form of Hanoman, the White Monkey King, dressed in white silks. Sita gives him her hair pin to show Rama she is still in love...

Act III: A mighty battle ensues between the forces of good and evil. Good prevails. Rama and Sita are reunited, presumably to live happily ever after. That's the jest of the Kecak Dance. So how do I know all this? I was given a handy-dandy program which described it all...

What I saw and heard: constant loud chanting by a hundred or so men dressed in the native attire of years ago surrounding beautifully attired dancers of both sexes... Then, a huge guy wearing a very evil looking mask entered and took one of the young ladies away.... Then entered the guy in white who sprinkled droplets of water on the chanters. After this, a young man took center stage and danced like a crazed person in the fire.... Every time the fire lessened, he stepped to the side giving room for them to rebuild it, then back he went! Just about the time I was ready to call EMS for him, he ceased, having defeated evil and the Devil - who sulked away stage right. Finally, Rama and Sita came back on stage happily reunited...

And after the dance ended, each of the performers - still dressed in their costume of the evening - walked out to the parking lot, jumped onto their motorbike and sped away.

Back on the bus, one of my shipmates asked our guide what kept the fire dancer's feet from being burned to a crisp? Good question! His response, "The holy water from the White Monkey King." Their belief... NOT an answer as far as I am concerned! Where else does one learn such interesting folklore? Wonderful excursion! Beautiful Country! Strange Culture! Happy, but exhausted I returned to my comfy bed.

The next day I lingered over my breakfast for the longest time drinking in all the watersports in the harbor below. Tourism must certainly be the major source of Bali's income. While there are areas of filth and poverty, there are luxury resorts providing whatever activity money can buy. My favorite was the para-sailing. I could have sat there and watched them all day. Too bad one of Oceania's excursions wasn't for that. I would have done it again in a heartbeat! I did get a little upset when I spotted two adults (one male, one female) both wearing life jackets, standing on their jet ski holding a young baby without a life jacket, while a photographer on a second jet ski circled them taking photographs of the three. Where is Child Protective Services when you need them?

Lunch on the Ship

Parasailing is one of the many ways to enjoy the water in Bali!

Our time in Bali was all too brief. I now know why Marlon Brando deserted the US to live here. BTW, his favorite bar/hangout was demolished to make room for a dock for cruise ships. Bet he would not call that progress...

Onward to our next port - Surabaya, the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second largest city of Indonesia after Jakarta. Surabaya is industrial, big time! It was settled in the tenth century by the Kingdom of Janggala, or so says our "Currents". My knowledge of Surabaya was limited to brief conversations with those very young people who dutifully dressed in their cultural attire and greeted all those going ashore. Once again, I did not find an excursion of interest fitting to my endurance level so I ventured no further than the pier. That is where I met the two young cultural ambassadors who graciously posed for/with me as did others of our welcoming party. My purpose for going down was to void myself of my remaining Indonesian currency as this was our last port. The already big bright smiles then grew even larger. A wonderful people! I now fully understand why Howie spent so much time here...

Cultural Headdress

Beautiful, smiling Cultural Ambassadors

I need his hairbrush...

Today Is Someday! Singapore, here I come!