Having snorkeled my fingertips to prunes, I found my way back to the mainland for my grand Bali finale. Somehow, I managed to circumnavigate the ultra touristic, druggish/clubbish haven and dirty beaches of Kuta. Instead, I transported to within three kilometers of the famous monkey cliff temple of Uluwatu, and surprise! Surfers everywhere! Hidden cliff beaches lining the rocky shoreline, and surfers moto-scooting the back ways looking for their next break; I had NO idea this area was a such a mecca. What a relief to have found this magic place, especially since I was expecting something more resembling Mazatlan or Cancun. The easy, breezy attitudes of the people I met here was one of the best send offs from Bali. I could have definitely chilled here for quite some time. 
I had been saving my Kechek experience for this temple. Kechek, an ancient form of dance and music, was originally “invented” by Balinese villagers to to purge a person or a community from illness. The mouths of a hundred men shape the complex timed rhythms of a Balinese orchesttra, as human versioned sounds of gamelan, gong, bamboo xylophone, flute, and drums sung off of another man's spoken metronome. Finding it difficult to actually ascertain which man was speaking which part, one is enveloped in the fullness of it's totality. Shoulders start to bounce uninhibitadly, and hands quiver spirit fingers (from my cheerleading days). They were all bare chested, with the traditional Balinese checkered super “invisible” cloak wrapped around their waistlines in effort to hide themselves from the evil spirits they were trying to purge. Dancers of the Ramayana Ballet came forth, and danced their story (the same story now told to me 4 times, but equally as intriguing) among the formations of the Kechek artists. 
All of this amazing dance and music, perched on a cliff-top stage, surrounded by scavenging “holy” monkeys, at sunset.
Really good post! Dad
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