I was so busy eating my pathetic excuse for lunch (Garuda airline food is possibly of the worst kind) that I almost missed the fantastic views of the amazing volcanoes on the outer edges of Java, which can so easily take ones breath away. The many islands of the Indonesian archipelago could be seen from so high up in the sky, and it made me wander why it had never occurred to so many people to visit this fantastic country with such lush tropical flora and fauna.

Indonesia consists of some thirteen thousand, seven hundred islands and occupies an area of roughly 1.9million square kilometres. Considering that a large percent of the population is concentrated in Jakarta and on the main island of Java that leaves a lot of uninhabited jungl

Even though I'd read about Buddhist attitudes to death and I'd seen Christian funerals, I'd never seen people react so calmly to loss of life before, and that wasn't just when it came to cats. It brought back memories of the funeral, and I wondered if maybe it could be a lot easier to live happily if we didn't fear death so much and simply accepted it as everyone's fate and destiny just like the Balinese do.

There is a story behind every dance in Indonesia, and the Kecak tells a very simple tale. It depicts a sub-plot from the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The wife of Rama is kidnapped by his archenemy and taken to his palace. In his search for Sita, Rama asks for help from the red monkey king. Together, with a white monkey with magical powers, they set out to rescue Sita. The White monkey is caught whilst attempting to destroy the palace where she is held, and in one of the most dramatic scenes, is bound and placed in a ring of straw that is set on fire. Soon however he uses his magical powers to free himself and soon returns with an army of monkey warriors, defeating Rama's archenemy. Sita is reunited with Rama, creating a wonderful ending to the story and dance.

The smells, the sights and sounds, everything was so different and diverse. The aroma of chicken satay momentarily overpowered the stench of the open sewers; I was in a state of sensual overload. What had begun, as quiet tremors in the bottom of my stomach became loud rumbles, so I immediately demanded that we find a nice restaurant to relax in and enjoy our first meal in Bali. The choice of restaurant could not have been so perfect. Our table was right next to the dance floor where we were promised The Kecak Dance would soon be preformed.

The next day at the break of dawn we climbed aboard a bemo to Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. It was extremely hot and crowded in the small bus, and I could almost feel the breathing of the person behind on the back of my neck. We seemed to have been driving on for hours through streets and passing the small shanty towns with men crouching by the side of the road when suddenly we found ourselves deep into agricultural land, the rice paddies whizzing by. An older man with leathery skin, prematurely aged by the harshness of the tropical sun worked the patties in the morning shadow of a still active volcano. His sinewy arms struggled to guide the plough pulled by his haggard looking oxen. A postcard shot just waiting to happen. Another man sat on his porch reading the paper. Women swept the dirt.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ali Balinese, Sita White, Indonesia Bahasa, Jakarta Soon, Funeral Season, Bali I've, Kecak Dance, Western Brand, Tags Rolexs, , white water, white water rafting, water rafting, i'd seen, balinese funerals, witnessing balinese, magical powers, white monkey, story dance,
Approximate Word count = 2591
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)