Bali Travel Series | Part 1
Kecak Fire Dance at Uluwatu Temple (Full Show)
Kecak Dance Ticket Price: 100,000 IDR
Duration: Almost 1 hr. Starts at 6:00 pm

If Uluwatu Temple is on your itinerary, I recommend you to be there at around 3:00 pm, so that you have a chance to go around the area, have your pictures taken and enjoy the beautiful view of the Indian Ocean. Since this video is about the Kecak Fire Dance, I will focus only with it. A separate video will be uploaded about Uluwatu Temple. Please subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell for upcoming videos.

Kecak Fire Dance starts at 6:00 pm and the ticketing booth opens around 5:00 pm. If you want a good sitting spot, you have to buy your ticket as early as possible. Thanks to my tour guide, while I am exploring other areas of Uluwatu Temple, he already bought a ticket for me. Expect a long queue at the ticketing booth. 30 minutes before it starts, my tour guide led me to an open theater where the dance is performed. The open theater has a very beautiful view of the ocean and sunset. I find my seat on the 5th row, not too close from the stage (take note: there is a fire in this dance) but not too far as well.

Before you can fully understand what Kecak Fire Dance is, you first need to know the story of Ramayana Epic. Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys.

Kecak pronounced "kechak" is a form of Balinese Hindu Dance and music drama developed in the 1930's in Bali, Indonesia. The dance is based on the story of Ramayana and is traditionally performed in temples.

The Kecak Fire Dance story goes like this:
It starts with a group of male performers, neatly wrapped in black and white checkered garments, came onto stage singing, "cak...cak...cak...chakchakchak" before sitting crossed legged in a circle. Rama and Sita, the two protagonists, enter the stage to perform beautiful and poignant dance routines depicting the vibrant love between two humans. When Rama leaves to go hunting, a vicious and evil giant called Ravana delegates his men to kidnap the Princess. Lakshmana, Rama's younger brother is startled to find Sita missing, but waste no time going to Lanka (Ravana's Palace) to rescue Sita. Jatayu, a demi-god who takes the form of a vulture, helps to rescue Sita, but in the process he is badly injured.

At the last minute, savior comes from Hanuman and his followers. Hanuman is a Hindu deity, the incarnation of Lord Shiva, and the central character in the story. Sadly, Ravana captures the brave Hanuman. The monstrous giant has the White Monkey King tied up while his men prepare the wood and fire to burn him alive. This is where the nickname of the Bali fire dance came to fruition.

But of course, it’s not that easy to defeat the mighty Hanuman. The wood is burning bright flames around him, but with magical, supernatural power Hanuman releases himself and rises from the blaze. At the same time, the sun is setting. The sky is patched with red, orange and pink hues; a breath-taking end to a great story.

#BaliTravelGuide #KecakFireDance #UluwatuTemple

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