What should we do if Bali Silent Day comes? Easy people, before we jump to the activities, let’s discuss this special day, Bali Silent Day or Nyepi. The island of Bali is a special land where the majority of the people are Hindus. Since the Hindu vibe is kind of thick, no wonder if you’ll find any kinds of stuff that relates with Hindu ceremonial things. There are many Hindu feast days in Bali that you can see, however, the most fascinating one is Nyepi. The feast is an annual feast, and it lasts only for a day. However, before and after the Silent Day, you can find some interesting feasts.
The word Nyepi comes from the word Sepi or silent. So, practically when the Bali Silent Day comes, people are not allowed to do anything. The Nyepi day usually comes on March, local says it is the Saka New Year. This day is the time when the Hindus start to pray for better and new luck. When Nyepi day, anyone should obey the rules. Both locals and visitors are not permitted to go out from their place, working, traveling even turning on the light and electricity. So, what kind of things you can do to spend Bali Silent Day? Here’s a list of things that you can do, in order to kill some of the times on Nyepi day.
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Come before the Nyepi celebration
For your important information, if you want to come to Bali around March, better for you to look up the date for Nyepi celebration. When the celebration begins, people will not do anything, even airport and terminals close (except hospitals). So, it would be good to come to Bali before or after Nyepi. However, if you want to taste the unique cultural vibe, coming before Nyepi day is recommended. Well, what is the best day to visit Bali then? You can come for about three or two days before the celebration to see some religious festivals.
The first ritual is Melasti Ritual. On this day, all of the Hindu people in Bali will come to the beach or lake to cleanse their selves. Along with the cleansing, the Hindu priests will wash all the sacred heirlooms on the beach as well. They believe that the sea or lake water is clean and sacred water that will wash every bad thing. The next ritual is Tawur Kesanga. This moment is the best moment of Nyepi rituals, after cleansing day, people will start to make ogoh ogoh that represent human lust and sin. Locals creatively make the ogoh ogoh with Styrofoam, bamboo or any recycle thing. Then, they will parade it around the village, then finally they will burn the ogoh ogoh.
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Buy lots of snacks, food, and beverages
On the D-Day of Bali Silent Day, there will be no single shop on this island that open. The locals will stay quietly inside their homes, even they cannot turn on the electricity and lights. These things are the rituals of Nyepi itself, that are included on four prohibitions, which are Amati Geni (No fire, light or electricity), Amati Lelungan (No Traveling), Amati Karya (No Working), Amati Lelanguan (No Entertainment). So, better for you to buy lots of logistics since everyone is prohibited to come out, even tourists.
If you’ve got your snacks, food, and beverages, you can start your one-day hibernation inside your room! Since light is prohibited, you cannot enjoy your dining under the light. However, just chill out guys because the hotel staffs will give you a flashlight. So, you can savor your meal even though without a bright light.
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Watch a movie or play a game on your hotel
Besides enjoying your meal, you can watch a movie while spending your Bali Silent Day experience. This moment is a perfect time to catch up on every movie that you cannot watch before. Some hotels have cable TV so you can directly choose your favorite TV series or movies. On the other hands, the rest hotels just provide a DVD or CD player for their guests. Do not worry because you can rent numerous movie DVDs at the movie rent. The last option might be a bit difficult since everything is online. So, prepare your own DVDs or you can bring your external hard disk full of movies or TV dramas! Just pray for the hotel to have the USB port on its DVD or TV.
If you’re a gamer, just use the hotel internet connection and do the game war! Ask your partner to come along, and your Nyepi day will not be as quiet as before. But, make sure your voice will not disturb the others, or you’ll get the punishment from the Balinese guard patrols or Pecalang. Well, the punishment isn’t that hard. The patrols will ask you to clean the environment or help the locals, but better for you to stay as quiet as possible isn’t?
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Enjoy your calming holiday without any single sound!
The best thing about getting a trip right when Bali Silent Day, is the silent itself. Moreover, there will be no disturbing noise from the honk, people chat or anything! This kind of moment is perfect for someone who looks for tranquility. Without any noise, you can put a day full break time in a serene vibe. If in an ordinary situation you’re taking nap but still able to hear someone or anything, in Bali Silent Day you can sleep soundly. Or if you want to meditate, Nyepi will help you to concentrate more. You can either meditate inside your room, or at the outdoor area that has a nice view. Cleanse your mind and release all your stress, then start the “new” you on the following day!
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Get your once in a lifetime moment of clear starry night sky
The Bali Silent Day will last a whole day. When the night comes, the ambiance is getting darker since none turn on the light. However, you will spot another jaw-dropping view at this moment. Look up high in the sky, and see how clear the night sky is! Moreover, the star will be lighting up your night that might be nowhere to be found! Get a clear and wide scenery of the open milky way in the night, without any single disturbing. You can just sit on the veranda then enjoy your amazing natural show. Or go down to the hotel pool and enjoy the scenery while relaxing in the pool.
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Explore and try every single hotel facility
Since people are not allowed to go out from their place in Bali Silent Day, to spend your time you can do some activities inside the hotel. Book a room in close-nature accommodation in Bali, so you can get a direct natural scenery without going out from your nest of course. How if you’re booking a modern hotel or resort room? When the Bali Silent Day comes, the visitors are permitted to use any hotel facility for a whole day. Sounds great isn’t?
You can swim as long as you want while enjoying the fresh air and scenery! Even more, you can be more concentrated doing yoga with a quiet atmosphere. Or, you can search for some hotels or resorts that give a full day activity package for Nyepi day. All the activities are indoor activities, even for kids’ activities. However, make sure you’re not making any loud voice, in order to make the locals concentrate on their praying.
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Relax your tense with the spa service
You might have a tight trip schedule the day before the Bali Silent Day, so at the d-day, you might want to rest and release your fatigue. The first thing that you might do is sleeping, but sleeping will not help much. The one that you need to have is massage time! How could we get the service if we cannot get out of the hotel? Then book a spa service at your hotel! There are various kinds of massages and spa services that you can pick. You can either take the traditional one or the modern massage.
However, do not miss the Balinese or Javanese traditional massage when you’re in Bali. For your information, these kinds of massages have been passed down for centuries! Even the lotions are traditionally made with authentic Indonesian traditional ingredients, in order to keep its authenticity. Both Balinese and Javanese have a bit tense of massage, so if you’re unable to handle it, ask the therapist to make it softer.
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Read your favorite books while enjoying the tranquility vibe
The serene atmosphere of Bali Silent Day is perfect for bookworms. Without any disturbing noise, plus a fresh and clean atmosphere of Bali, your reading time would be beyond perfect. Get an extraordinary reading experience compare when you’re doing it in the library or at your house. A library might be the best place to spend your time reading countless books. With a wide room, tons of books from any genre, tranquil surroundings, surely a heaven on earth. But hold on till you go through a reading session in Nyepi day. You will surely get such an incredible experience!
You may buy some novels or books the day before Nyepi, or bring along yours. Since there might be fewer people who want to go out of their room, you can freely choose your reading spots around the hotel. You can go straight to the café, the hotel restaurant, or at the beach chairs near the pool. Relish your moment here, that only happen once in a year, or might be once in your lifetime!
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Escape from the boredom by visiting the nearby islands
Well, not all people love to spend their time inside the room, watching a movie, sleeping and lazing around. What can we do then on Nyepi? The best option for you is escaping from Bali. There are some small islands near Bali where Nyepi isn’t applicable. Gili Island, for example, is the most favorite island to escape from Bali Silent Day. The beauty of Gili nature isn’t doubtable. You can simply find any natural attraction both in the land or under the sea. However, the main gem of this land lays under the ocean blanket. Prepare your snorkeling or diving equipment, then explore the paradise inside the ocean. Here you can witness many kinds of fish, corals and any other sea creatures!
If you cannot afford snorkeling or diving, you can just enjoy the turquoise ocean inside the boat. Look how clear the water is as if you’re soaring above the crystal-clear glass! You might not meet as many sea creatures as if you’re jumping down to the ocean, but the fish will appear on the sea level sometimes. So, just be patient and wish for your luck. Done exploring the ocean, you can continue doing many activities. Sunbathing or doing beach volleyball would be the best activity that you can do in Gili Island.
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Watch the last ritual of Nyepi
If you think Bali Silent Day will just end on the following day, you’re mistaken for sure. The last thing that you must not miss from Bali Silent Day is the Ngempak Geni ritual. After spending a whole day “Nyepi” the locals will hold the Ngempak Geni ceremony. They will ask for forgiveness to the surroundings, as well as praying for a better future and luck. Isn’t just an ordinary ceremony? The incredible and nowhere to be found ritual only holds in Banjar Kaja Village.
For centuries, this place holds a smooching festival or omed omedan. Wait for a second, a smooching festival? Yes, you’re not wrong people, a smooching festival in Bali. Omed omedan participants consist of youth girls and boys. Not all ages can participate in this festival, only youth around 17 up to 30 years old can join as the participants. There will be two big groups at this festival, boys, and girls. When the Hindu priest starts the festival, each group will come closer and start to hug and kiss. This moment only lasts a moment, before they are pulled. Fascinating isn’t? (Ty)