A Day of Silence in Bali

It’s not often one gets to celebrate New Year’s Day three times in a year. That’s why 2011 is such a blessing as I was able to do just that one month after the other. The first one was the turn of the year in January, celebrated with fireworks, feasting and fine champagne. The second one was Chinese New Year held last February 3, when we ushered in the year of the Metal Rabbit with lion and dragon dances, firecrackers and yee sang tossing for good luck. The third one –and a novelty at that—travel buddy Jan and I spent in Bali, Indonesia last Saturday, March 5, wherein we experienced for the first time a whole island welcome the New Year in a blanket of silence and darkness.

Nyepi, or the Day of Silence, is a Hindu tradition that marks the beginning of the Saka New Year. The Balinese celebrate this day with silence, fasting and meditation so as to purify themselves and enter the New Year “re-born” and cleansed of all wrong doings committed in the previous year. Now that’s my kind of New Year! For this, the main restrictions are Amati Geni (no lighting of fires, including use of light bulb or electricity, in all area of Bali), Amati Karya (no working – except for hotel staff apparently and other people with critical services, and no disturbing activities like jumping and screaming), Amati Lelanguan (no entertainment, TV or radio), and Amati Lelungan (no traveling).

As tourists, we were restricted as well, in respect of this tradition. Although we were free to do as we wish inside the hotel, no one was allowed onto the beaches or streets from 6 am to 6 am the next morning. All radio and cable channels were unavailable. No lights were switched on in the hotel, except in the rooms where curtains have to be drawn and glass areas covered to prevent the shine from being seen outside. And to prove just how the Balinese take this seriously, we received a call twice early in the night, just because we failed to completely close the curtains and the light from the desk lamp could still be seen outside. That small lamp? Curious, I took a peek from the window and – you betcha by golly wow –it was total darkness! I could not see a thing. I stood outside for a moment. So this was how it felt like to revel in nothingness. I stepped back in and I saw that the light was good.

For one who hasn’t experienced a Day of Silence her whole life, I entered this day with mixed emotions. There’s excitement (always a sucker for something new); wonder (so amazed how the Balinese could easily detach themselves from the world); and trepidation (could I really stand being unplugged for one whole day? eeek). Since screaming was out of the question, I opted to simply embrace the experience and just do as the Balinese do. As I found out, there are way more, cooler things you can do in silence than previously expected, such as these:

Meditate.
Spend a few minutes of contemplation by the koi pond or water garden. Rarely do you find a Balinese structure without one. In Avatar language, it is meant to represent the balance of life, yin and yang. Meditating upon this, you begin to understand about harmony and appreciate the flow of life. I remember one slogan from a nearby minimart, “Love life and life will love you back.”

Eat.
To my surprise, I found the Balinese way of cooking closer to home – not so spicy yet very tasty. The Rosso Vivo restaurant of Kuta Seaview hotel particularly serves great food with a smile. Though mainly Italian, they also offer authentic Balinese dishes. One can try their yummy vegetable spring rolls, Pepes ikan (fish in banana leaves), Udang balado (prawns), nasi campur or the coconut chilly chicken. For this day, we had to rush dinner though so we could finish before sundown or else, as repeatedly warned, we would be eating in the dark. Candlelight, kind sir? Not even.

Drink.
The Bintang pilsener from Java, Indonesia is by far the smoothest beer I’ve ever gurgled (no offense to our local products) without an aftertaste. I really couldn’t say more except ‘Cheers!’

Sleep.
Have you ever wished you could just disappear for a day, perhaps check into a hotel and get those precious hours of uninterrupted sleep? Don’t you sometimes feel that the world is rushing by so fast we fool ourselves into sleeping less lest we lose time? Well, it takes a place like Bali, which I admire for being reflective and brave enough to stop even just for a day, for me to realize that there is enough time for everything – for light, for darkness, for talk, for silence, and most especially, for sleep.

Spa.
There’s nothing like a few hours of nourishing and rejuvenating your body by the ‘bale’ (poolside) or in the midst of a garden – Balinese style. The sensation of rain showers, flower bath, herbal massage and spices will make you go… oohlala-life is beautiful!

Reflect.
Remember those old notes we jotted down who-knows-how-long-ago? Or the million photographs we took and stored in our smart phones, computers or somewhere in the web? A Day of Silence might be a good time to revisit memories and old inspirations to appreciate or ponder on where we’re going.

Unload.
One of the famous activities in Bali the day before ‘Nyepi’ is the burning of the Ogoh-Ogoh – a demonic statue made of bamboo and paper symbolizing negative elements or malevolent spirits. After the ogoh-ogoh has been paraded around the village, the ‘Ngrupuk’ ritual takes place, which involves burning the ogoh-ogoh, usually by the beach or water. Like the Balinese, we too can let go of old ghosts or burn useless baggage and skeletons in our closet to purify ourselves and perhaps, lighten the world around us.

Photograph.
Bali, dubbed as the ‘Land of the Gods’, is blessed with so much beauty and art. Its creativity is quite unique as evidenced in its Balinese structures, paintings, rice terraces, clothing and more. You simply cannot leave the island without a hundred pictures or so. You know what they say, “Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time.” So click on. Perhaps the pictures will say it best, when we could say nothing at all.


--SunStar Weekend, 12 March 2011