Bali Uluwatu Sunset, Kecak Dance & Jimbaran Dinner

4.82

(22 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to start the day with my toes buried in cool sand at Melasti Beach, watching a group of local kids chase each other around a half-finished shrine. Our driver Wayan explained that “Melasti” isn’t just a name — it’s a whole purification ritual for Balinese Hindus. The air smelled faintly of incense even though the ceremony wasn’t happening that day. I tried to picture the beach crowded with families in white, but honestly, it was just us and a few fishermen pulling in nets. Felt like we’d stumbled into someone else’s morning.

Padang Padang was next — famous for surfing, apparently, though I’m more of a “watch from the shade” type. The water looked almost fake, turquoise and glassy, and there were monkeys everywhere (one tried to steal my bottle of water; not today, buddy). Our guide Li pointed out the spot where they filmed Eat Pray Love — she laughed when I admitted I’d never seen it. There’s something about sitting under an umbrella here that makes you forget about time passing. I still think about that view sometimes when I’m stuck in traffic back home.

By late afternoon we wound up at Uluwatu Temple. It sits right on the edge of this wild cliff — you can hear waves smashing 60 meters below if you lean over (not too far). The temple itself is old stone and mossy carvings, but what got me was the Kecak dance at sunset. Sixty men chanting “cak cak cak” in this weird hypnotic rhythm while the sky turned orange behind them. It was loud and kind of chaotic but also… I don’t know, moving? Maybe it was just being surrounded by so many locals and travelers all staring at the same thing.

Dinner was on Jimbaran Beach — plastic chairs in the sand, grilled fish straight from someone’s boat. I got chili sauce all over my shirt (worth it). There were families lighting little lanterns nearby and a salty breeze coming off the sea. We talked about everything and nothing until it got dark enough that you couldn’t see your feet anymore. That last bit felt like Bali letting us go gently.