Bali, Indonesia

HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH

It is true, heaven is a place on Earth. There are actually 18 'heavens on Earth'...and I live in one of them :) I was browsing through the website Fantastic View Point and found some pretty interesting articles.
If you are work currently like I am, here is the list and a few pictures to get you through the next few hours:

1. Laguna Beach, California

2. Matterhorn, Switzerland

3. Mount Fiji, Japan

4. Gullfoss, Iceland

5. Florianópolis, South Brazil

6. Honolulu, Hawaii

7. Prague, Czech Republic

8. Nirwana Bali Golf Club, Indonesia

9. Lake Garda- Alpine Region, Italy

10. Tahiti

11. Baku, Azerbaijan

12. Cenote Ik Kil, Mexico

13. Lake Moraine- Banff National Park, Canada

14. Portofino Resort- Ambergris Caye, Belize

15. Vermillion Lake, Banff National Park, Canada

16. Yoho National Park, Lake O'Hara, Canada

17. Palawan, Philippines

18. Hallstat, Austria

I'm dreaming of these places...can summer come sooner so I can travel?! Only about 3 or 4 more weeks now. Seems almost too far away. 

The girls and I have decided to make our fall break trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. We have to of course buy plane tickets and get the visas sorted out but we are really looking forward to going! Fingers crossed! 

Back to work and writing the Italy post (I made an oopsie at the end of yesterday's post).

Travel on wanderlusters!

A must-see in Bali: The Kecak dance performance

Bali, the city of temples, is also famous for its unusual yet extravagant and extraordinary dance performance – The Kecak Dance performance. Apart from the obvious beautiful temples in Bali, the Kecak dance performance also attracts rather urges tourists to take up Bali packages to enjoy this magnificent form of dance.

The Kecak dance performance is a must watch performance in Bali. A trip to Bali is incomplete without experiencing this form of art. The Kecak dance is performed mainly on Hindu holidays, especially on the biggest Hindu holiday, Galungan, at Pura (temple) Luhur Ulu Watu and it’s also performed to welcome visitors. Its unusual trait attracts not only music lovers or dance admirers but also other non-music or dance lovers. It is atypical because this dance performance is not accompanied by any music like other Indonesian dance performances. The Indonesian dancers perform to the tune of ‘monkey’ chorus. But this dance performance is tuned by a troupe of over one hundred fifty bare-chested men, making a wondrous dissonance of synchronized “chak-achak-achak” clicking sounds while swaying their bodies and waving their hands. This chanting sound of cak-cak-cak lead to the name Kecak. The theme behind this Kecak dance is based upon an incident from the story of Ramayana, where Lord Rama’s beautiful wife, Sita, was kidnapped by the evil Rawana when Lord Rama goes hunting in pursuit of a golden deer. The story depicted through this performance is secondary though as it does not depicts the full story. More than any other Balinese dance, the Kecak turns every audience into a child, wide-eyed and transfixed, craving for more with every passing moment. This spellbinding performance is surely a reason for travelers to visit Bali through Bali tourism and Bali packages.

Attending a Kecak recital is a must for any tourist to Bali. It is a wondrous experience and a window into the musical and artistic culture that make the Balinese so special. Online bookings for Bali tourism are readily available up for grabs.