5:00 p.m. February 21, 2025.
After a VERY quick return to the ship to freshen up, we were off to one of the highlights of our cruise so far: a traditional Balinese al fresco dinner and spectacular ritual Kecak dance show at Bali’s Bird Park.
Our drive began at dusk, and it was dark by the time we reached the park. looking out the front window of our coach made use really glad that we weren’t the ones driving!
The park is home to more than 250 species of birds from Indonesia, South America, Africa and Australia. Since we arrived after dark, we couldn’t wander the park, but we did get to interact with some gorgeous birds! The Bird Park rescues, rehabilitates, and breeds birds.
Bottom: Rudy, a green-winged macaw, native to South America.
After a truly delicious dinner, in a lovely open-air restaurant with servers in traditional Balinese dress, we walked down a torch-lit path through lush vegetation to the outdoor theatre where we would be watching the Kecak. The venue thought of everything; en route, we were offered mosquito repellant!
The Kecak is a ritual dance that recounts an epic tale from the Hindu Ramayana. On a stage lit only by glowing torches, around 60 men chant and sway in a trance-like rhythm while colorfully costumed dancers weave their way among them to tell their story. Our guide likened the chanting to beat-boxing, since it is the only “music” accompanying the dance. She also shared that it was the inspiration for parts of the soundtrack for the 2010 movie The Last Airbender.
Hanuman’s monkey army battles Rahwana’s demon army, vanquishing them so that Rama and Sita can be reunited.
After the play was over, a “horseman” was placed into a trance by a priest and rode out to quench the fires left by the final battle. It was thrilling!
After the performance, I was able to get a picture with the cast.
This legend is so much a part of Balinese culture, that there is even a huge set of statues along the highway in Denpasar depicting the monkeys, under Hanuman’s instruction, building a bridge across the water to rescue Sita from her imprisonment.
We returned to the ship around 10:30 p.m., tired but having had a wonderful day filled with Balinese food and culture.
Tomorrow: more temples! This is, after all, the land of 10,000 temples.
Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 
Thank you so much for the performance!!Couldn’t believe how tame the birds were!You make my life so much richer xxxx
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How fabulous, Rose. But, that poor man in the fire – I would not want to have drawn the short straw for that part of the show! Loved the bird pics, too. Such beautiful birds; to have them that close must be quite magical.
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How fabulous, Rose. But, that poor man in the fire – I would not want to have drawn the short straw for that part of the show! Loved the bird pics, too. Such beautiful birds; to have them that close must be quite magical.
LikeLiked by 1 person