Ubud

CONTINUED FROM HERE: Legian | Tanah Lot

Backpacking Indonesia: Day 003(16-April-2025)

Yakshagana in Bali?

As soon as I woke up, I headed out to the common area to meet Michael who had arrived late last night. It was a pleasure meeting him after a year. We caught up on the updates during breakfast. I spoke to the lady of the house and got our tickets to Ubud booked. 

We got ready and left the hostel at around 12AM. On our way, we took the alleys to find some local food. Unfortunately, the vegetarian place I was looking for was closed. Instead, I found a small restaurant selling Hummus-falafel wraps. Since we were off main road and in a local area, the prices were extremely reasonable. Fresh fruit juices were available at 10K IDR (Rs50). The hummus and falafel were not that great but I was glad to have found an area where locals eat. 

The transport arrived exactly at 2PM - a Toyota Innova for the two of us. I have noticed that people are punctual here. The drive was comfortable and it took us around 1.5 hours to reach Ubud. However, we had to walk for about 3KM to reach our hostel. Though the hostel rooms weren’t that good, the location was beautiful. It was basically a house and the family lived there. The courtyard had shrines for Hindu gods and goddesses. The dinning area opened to a beautiful view of the hills and stream.

We stepped out to take a walk along the town which was filled with tourists. At the palace entrance, we bought tickets for a dance performance to be held later in the evening. 

While we had to wait for the show, we decided to go to an Indian restaurant and have some Mango lassi and Samosas as Michael desired. I also enquired about the Scooter rental price in a few places and realised that the hostel price is the best. 

The Legong and Barong dance performed at the palace was very interesting. The show began with an instrumental piece showcasing the dynamic Balinese Gamelan music which uses some unique musical instruments.  This was followed by Legong Keraton,  a form of classical dance. The dance drama was based on a 13th century historical romance involving Prince Lasem, Princess Rangkesari and prince Kahuripan. 

Next, there was a performance by Barong character, a magical creature accompanied by a monkey. 

The final segment was a dance drama called Sunda Upasunda. The performance comprised of 4 acts.  It was so similar to Yakshagana that I enjoyed every moment of it. The story is taken from the epic Mahabharata. Instead of damsel Tilottama, here  goddess Niatama breaks the penance of two demon siblings, seduced them with her beauty to eventually fight each other over her. The Barong and Keris dance form have the same music-dance-dialogue format of Yakshagana, including an appearance of a Hasegara (Comedian). 

After the show, while Michael went back to the hostel, I decided to stay back in town. I found a nice place called Local bar that was playing live music. I was delighted to hear the rock band play Pink Floyd (Break in the wall). Unfortunately, the band only played until 10PM. 

To Be Continued...