Noisy but atmospheric temple, convenient to those staying near the Monkey Forest as it's dead on Jalan Hanoman (with all the traffic noise grinding past) just north from the road intersection where Monkey Forest road splits off. Not a good place to make a clean audio recording of this fine troupe. But you will likely be very engaged and forget about the traffic once the performance starts. Seasoned Sandhi Suara troupe provides the kecak chanting. Older men than in some of the larger troupes around town, and there are some fine staging and movement elements to this group, which you won't see in the Kecak at tiny Taman or even the Ubud Pura Dalem performances. This troupe has some great voice leaders. Really great chanting, and it's always fun to spot the leader and see how the men take their cues from him. Fine vocals makes this a great performance, and the small venue means everyone gets a pretty good seat. However, they cut the usual Ramayana dancing short, probably to make way for the TWO (that's unusual) trance performances that follow. So you're there letting the story of Sita's kidnapping unfold, and all of a sudden it's over, and you ask yourself, did good triumph over evil just now? Sorry I missed it. But, nevermind, out comes the ladies chorus (beautiful singing) and 2 legong dancers who dance under smoke inhalation-induced trance. When I was there last, only one girl dancer was performing, so some of the charm of "how do they stay in sync with their eyes closed:" was missing. The thrill of the evening comes when the man dances on the coals of the burning coconuts. This venue is so small, you stand a real chance of having soot get all over you, if not come into contact with a burning ember skittering over to your feet! Men who catch the dancer in the end were a bit less graceful and enthusiastic than in some other troupes, who really get into the moves of "let's nab this guy before he flips out". A fine performance if you don't mind the buzz of traffic.

We loved it, we expected a touristada and we found a very dignified and interesting cultural show. A very affordable price for an anthropological experience difficult to see anywhere else (well, bridging the distance in San Pedro Manrique, Soria😉)