Balinese Dance and Massage

Tonight we saw a Balinese dance performance at a restaurant. We didn't plan on seeing it, but we lucked out and the restaurant we went to had one. It was excellent. Balinese music is rather ominous sounding, and has alot of chimes and drums and that sort of thing. The dancers looked very striking in their elaborate costumes and it was cool because it seemed like their eyes were part of the dance. They would stop moving for a moment, open their eyes really wide, and then look from side to side. It was kind of freaky looking actually.

Today I finally had a great massage, which is good because we are about to leave Bali. So far, the massages have been cheap and only worth as much as I paid for them. (So, basically they are not worth much at all.) It is almost like they don't understand the concept of the massage, they just figure, "Hey, this whitey is going to pay me to rub her a little bit? Alright, whatever." I went to one place and requested a woman masseuse and the man at the desk told me to wait for a few minutes. So I sat and waited, and proceeded to watch him scour the street for women and ask them if they wanted to massage me. I left immediately because in Bali I have learned a lesson: Yes, there are actually some bad massages that I would prefer not to waste my time on. Previously I had been under the impression that there was no such thing as a bad massage, but now I know better.

Today I decided to splurge and get a 15 dollar massage. It was fabulous, so I also got a scalp and hair conditioning treatment, which I definitely needed after all of the time I have been spending in the water. My hair felt great when it was over, and they even blow dried my hair and I thought, "Great! Now I will have nice, clean, straight hair for the plane ride home tomorrow!" But no, Balinese people seem to LOVE oil, so after my hair was dry and done, they put a handful of oil right on the top of my head and said, "Alright, you're done." I was heartbroken. But anyway, the massage was nice and I am glad I am leaving Bali with at least one good massage experience!


Balinese Dancers