Friday August 21, 2015
Today was a travel day from Yogyakarta, Java to Denpassar, Bali. We flew from the small overcrowded airport in Yogyakarta to a big bright modern cream-colored-marble airport in Bali. We were in tourist heaven!
Patriotic flags were flying and the streets were still decorated for Indonesian Independence Day.
We stopped at the Sudi Dance School which teaches traditional Balinese dances to children ages six through thirteen. The director of the school, explained facial, hand, and body gestures and related the history and legends of the dances.
The stage was brightly decorated and a full ensemble of Gamelan instruments played Balinese music during several short performances. The director of the school also explained how particular instruments express moods and augment specific dances.
The visitors posed with the dancers at the end of the performance. It was a wonderful visual and auditory learning experience!
Then we drove to the interior of Bali to the tourist city of Ubud and checked into the modern Plataran Ubud Resort & Spa, located between the main street and a rice field:
The Lobby:
View from the back of the hotel:
Ubud was a real surprise. It suspended all my illusions of Bali. Instead of a lush tropical paradise, Ubud was a sprawling town full of vehicles, vendors, wall-to-wall shops, western restaurants, money changers, and tourists. My first impression of Bali is there seems to be a stark contrast between contemporary commercialism and traditional, historic values and culture.