Day of Silence........

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Friday March 23, 2012 - Hari Raya Nyepi, the Silence Day, Island Wide

The month of March brings us Nyepi - Bali's official day of silence (24hrs). Nyepi marks the first day of the Balinese Saka calendar (1929) and is practiced island-wide where the Balinese dedicate an entire day to introspection and spiritual cleansing, embarking on a new year based on the Balinese lunar calendar. Nyepi is my favorite day of the year. The night before the silence begins, there is an island wide parade of paper mache monsters (Ogoh-Ogoh) sent about making a rukus to scare evil spirits off the island, back to where ever they came from. Starting from approximately 6 a.m. on Friday, March 23 and continuing until 6 a.m. the next morning, EVERYONE will stay in their family compounds (or hotels) and silence will overcome the island. There are no cars, no tv's or loud radios, no lamps or fires and no airplanes overhead as the airport is closed. This is the only place in the world where the government will shut down an airport for meditation & introspection!



And this brings about the plans for Nyepi.....if I stay at the Artini, we have to stay inside....silence, quiet with no activity....if I go with Joanna to Gili Twarangan it's a Reggae Festival...........hmmmmmmmmmm.....stay tuned to see how I spend Nyepi!

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