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Indonesia

Bec
2004-09-17 15:00:10

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Legian
Moving north from Kuta along Legian street, the dense fabric of hotels, shops, restaurants and bars becomes Legian-Seminyak.

Legian Street would normally be crowded with tourists all year round but now, all the businesses here are hurting because of 9/11.

I have always enjoyed traveling in Indonesia because of the colorful and varied cultures, the kindness of the people and the low prices.

On my previous visits I had found Bali overcrowded with tourists but this time it is quite pleasant. I stayed at the Sayang Hotel in Legian were I had a fine room with bath for only 8 $US.

After a hot day's sightseeing there's nothing better than a cool dip in the Sayang's pool.

Kuta
Kuta beach empty, this is a measure of how severely tourism dropped all over the world after September 11th.

All the fancy shops on the fashionable Kuta Square were open but there were no shoppers.

No photo album of Kuta can be complete without a picture of the famous Bemo Corner where Legian and Pantai streets meet.

No photo album of Kuta can be complete without a picture of the famous Bemo Corner where Legian and Pantai streets meet.

Pesanggaran
Several roundabouts are decorated by elaborate representations of Hindu myths like this one in Pesanggaran.

Kecak Dance
Most dances in the Hindu influenced cultures represent some aspect of either the Mahabharata or the Ramayana, the two great Hindu epics.

The Kecak Dance tells the story of the Ramayana The chorus chants "Kecak, Kecak, Kecak" in a wild hypnotic rhythm while swaying and waving their arms in unison. Very impressive!

At one point, the divine Prince Rama is in the forest with his wife Sita and his brother Laksamana while the evil demon Rawana lurks nearby. Rawana tricks Rama and Laksamana into leaving Sita alone with her maid servant.

Then, Rawana kidnaps the terrified Sita and takes her to his kingdom.

Sita is very unhappy in Ramana's palace but the monkey general Hanuman visits her secretly and gives a ring from Rama to prove it is a friend.

Informed by Hanuman of Sita's whereabouts, Rama arrives in a fighting mood and challenges Rawana

Rama fights Rawana and kills him in battle.

Finally, there is a happy ending demonstrating that virtue always overcomes evil and Rama returns to his kingdom with his wife Sita and brother Laksamana to live long and prosper. Just like a Hollywood ending.

It was a good show, don't miss it if you get a chance to see it. If you liked these pictures, you might enjoy some I took of a Kathakali show in Kochi, India in 2002. The story is similar but it comes from the Mahabharata. Naturally, virtue overcomes evil in the end, as it should!

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