 |
| taken from tanahlot.net |
As a tourist in Bali, there is not much you can do except to remain in your hotel especially if you are in areas which enforce strict observance of these rules. Shops, restaurants and tourist attractions will be closed. Vehicles are not allowed to ply the streets and local officials will be going on their rounds to ensure that the silence is maintained. The airport will be also be closed for 24 hours, so don't even try to leave!
Being confined to the perimeters of your hotel, you might take the opportunity to enjoy the facilities there. Therefore choose to stay in a hotel or villa where you can attend a cooking class, enjoy a spa treatment, yoga class or laze by your own private pool. For the more amorous, your hotel room and room service would be ideal but do keep the noise level down since the silence in the air will only serve to have an amplifying effect on every whisper.
Melasti - The day before Nyepi Day
Nyepi celebrations begin the preceding day with Melasti which traditionally marks the end of the rainy season in Bali. Offerings of rice wine, food and blood are laid at crossroads where the butas and kalas loiter. These are the demons that interfere with human life causing suffering and the offerings are meant to appease them. Cock fighting is permitted as the blood spilled is necessary for purification and blood sacrifices are required from every known domestic and wild animal on Bali. In Balinese Hinduism, this is not seen as a cruel act but sacrifices such as these are treated with reverence. Mantras are recited for the sacrificed animal to request an improved status in the next life hence improving their karma.
Ogoh - Ogoh
Massive papier mache statues called Ogoh-Ogoh are made and paraded through the streets of Bali on Melasti in a deafening cacophony of cymbals, drums, gongs and even pots and pans. All in the efforts to chase away the dark forces before Nyepi.
Visiting Bali in the weeks preceding Nyepi offers you amusing sights of towering devilish monsters ranging from fanged chickens to box office Superheroes. The largest Ogoh-Ogoh processions on Melasti Day are in Denpasar, but you will see equally vivid characters and large noisy processions in towns such as Ubud.
Visiting Bali during this period offers the tourist colourful photo opportunities and a holiday to remember.
About the Author
Trias Bali Travel is a travel services company based in Bali, Indonesia specializing in Bali hotel reservations including Bali packages. Check out their website at http://www.triasbali.com
Taken from GoArticles.com
