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INDONESIA
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November14
If you’re up for venturing out of
Seminyak to experience more of
traditional Bali, sign up for a tour of
popular Uluwatu Temple on the southern
tip of the island (around 30km from The
Oberoi). It was built as a place of worship
in the 11th century and sits along the
cliff, 250 feet above sea level. You can
walk along the temple walls, which
stretch along the coastline and provide
an extraordinary spot for watching the
sun setting over the open sea. The fun
bit? Monkeys are everywhere – they’re
said to protect the temple from bad
spirits, but I think they mostly enjoy the
bananas and sunglasses.
Once the sun disappears into the
ocean (amazing how it doesn’t get
extinguished, really) and the sky is
stained red, a fire dance begins in
the temple amphitheatre. You need a
ticket for this, so grab one as soon as
you arrive – it’s a couple of bucks and
seats fill up fast. Now, I wouldn’t be able
to recount the exact narrative, but the
dramatic Kecak dance is performed by
100 men in a series of circles, singing
and chattering like monkeys. Their
monkey leader is charged with rescuing
the evil King Rama’s wife Sita, and
there’s a fair amount of fire and burning
coconut husks involved. I’m pretty sure
there’s a happy ending, although it’s
touch and go for a while.
Having had a wonderfully relaxed
holiday, getting up for a dance around
the fire with 100 pretend monkeys (and a
few real ones in Raybans) was an epic, if
somewhat unexpected way to complete
my trip.
Make it happen
Luxury suites at The Oberoi Lombok
start from $500 per night, pool villas
from $937.
oberoihotels.com/oberoi_lombok/
Luxury suites at The Oberoi Bali start
from $531 per night, pool villas from
$1,000.
oberoihotels.com/oberoi_bali/
There are five direct SilkAir flights
to Lombok per week, with Garuda
providing connections from Lombok
to Bali. Lots of airlines zip between
Bali and Singapore, including Tiger
and Jetstar.