Balinese Adventure Part 39
In respect of Silent Day, a.k.a. the Balinese New Year or Nyepi, the Accidental Travel Writer will not publish from 6 am 31 March 2014 until 6 am 1 April 2014. Visitors are reminded to respect local customs and stay quiet.
The Balinese Saka New Year falls on 17 March in 2018. I wrote this blog post in 2014, where – by pure coincidence – I spent the island’s Silent day.
Known as Nyepi or Silent Day, it is meant to be “a day of self-introspection to decide on values, including, love, patience, kindness, and others,” a leaflet from the L Hotel Seminyak Bali, where I’m spending 4 nights, says.
This is a day when the “Balinese stay inside their compounds to wish for God’s will to sanctify their world.”
The entire island is supposed to go dark for 24 hours. Even street lights are turned off and flights to and from the international airport are canceled. The only exceptions are emergency services, hospitals, and hotels.
Activities Planned for Hotel Guests
Since hotel guests are not allowed to leave hotel compounds, the hotels organize special activities to keep their guests from growing bored. L Hotel Seminyak Bali has organized the following activities for hotel guests …
- Breakfast will be served indoors from 7 am to 11 am.
- A yoga guru will offer a ‘spiritual journey through a modern meditation technique’ at 7.30 am.
- Ala carte lunch willl be served indoors from 1 pm to 3pm.
- A towel folding lesson will be held fomr 2 pm to 3 pm.
- A mixologist will help guest create their own cocktails on the roof from 4 pm until 5 pm.
- Since there will be no television broadcasts, movies will be shown at 10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm.
- A chef will assist guests cooking their own dinners from 5 pm to 6 pm.
- A butler will assist female guests putting on Balinese style makeup.
Where
L Hotel Seminyak, 8L Jalan Petitenget Seminyak, Badung, Bali, Indonesia. Telephone: (0361) 894 7898.
Mum’s the Word
Out of respect for local customs and sensibilities, the Accidental Travel Writer will not publish any blog posts for 24 hours from 6 am 31 March until 6 am 1 April 2014.
Gratitude
I would like to express my sincerest thanks to L Hotel Seminyak for extending an invitation for me to spend an additional 4 nights at the hotel so that I can witness the processions of Ogoh Ogoh and experience the Balinese Day of Silence before returning to Hong Kong – Michael Taylor, Publisher, the Accidental Travel Writer.