Kecak and Fire dance at Uluwatu Temple

If there is one thing that I would recommend to a Bali's first timer to do, then it would be enjoying the Kecak and Fire dance at the Uluwatu Temple.
Why? Coz it's trully a blend of culture and breathtaking scenery, and it's hassle free, and it's affordable!

The dance is Balinese traditional dance, in which hundres of man will dance and shout in harmony. It has some story, with the leaflet that's provided to visitor (several language available) in order for easy understanding the story path.

Uluwatu temple is Hindu's temple that is located at the cliff of Uluwatu, close to the classy luxury complex of villa with the view overlooking the Indian ocean.

To reach there, taking a cab would be best, aside from joining the more pricey organized tour. Quote the cab for Uluwatu area, and it's almost at the end of the uphill road, where you will enter a monkey forrest with the temple, Uluwatu temple.

Shows start daily at 5 PM, so just be there, and while waiting, people can enjoy the monkey forrest on top of the cliff.

Pictures attached, don't lie...enjoy !!

While at the Uluwatu Monkey temple, Asri and I decided to watch the Balinese dance. Tickets are 5USD per person, and the show lasts about an hour.
Kecak is the most unique Balinese dance which is not accompanied by any orchestra but by a choir of seventy men has its origin in an old ritual dance: Sanghyang or Trance dance. In the sanghyang dance a person in a state of trance communicates with the dieties or ancestors. Using the dancers as a medium, the deities or ancestors convey their wishes. The story goes:
Due to a wise prince of Ayodya Rama the legal heir to the throne of Ayaodya was exiled from the realm of his father Dasarata. Accompanied by wis wife Sita and his younger brother Laksamana they went into a forest called Dandaka. While they were in the forest the demon king Rahwana found them and lusted after the beautiful Sita. Accompanied by his prime minister Marica, they made a trick to steal Sita. Using his magic power Marica transformed himself into a golden deer. Disguised as a golden deer they succeeded in luring Rama and Laksamana away from Sita. Rahwana making use of this opportunity, kidnapped Sita and took her to his palace Alengka. Discovering the deception Rama and Laksamana set out to rescue Sita from the clutches of the demon king, assisted by the huge army of monkeys under the command of their king. Rama succeeded in getting his wife back safely.

As an Indonesian, I would be very much biased when I said that this Kecak Dance is one of the must-do thing in Bali, but I don't care. I am really fascinated with it.
Kecak Dance is a musical-drama of Balinese religious origin. The story is taken from one part of "Ramayana", hindu epic about Hanuman (Monkey God) who helped Rama and Shinta. It is started with 100 men wearing checkered sarong on their waist, they sat down forming a circle and chanting the repetitive sound of "cak.cak.cak". Then the performers of Hanuman, Shinta, etc will appear as the story begin. There is no musical intrument used to go along with the story, only the chanting from them.
There are several places which has this performance, but recommended to watch it in Uluwatu Temple in open air theatre. The show started at 17:30 and the entrance (2007) was 50,000 Rp/person (less than 5 usd). The show will last for ~2 hours, so you might want to be prepared with some sarong or jacket to cover since it's quite windy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak