Local traditions and culture in Bali

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Lunch time and Bali started to shut down to ready itself for the Ogoh Ogoh Parade. Which is held all over Bali in many villages on the eve of Nyepi Day.
We made our way to Bemo corner in Kuta to stake our spot on the road side to view the parade. At sundown the flaming bamboo torches and gamelan music started and we could see the start of the parade coming our way. The Ogoh Ogoh monsters are works of art, but represent the evil spirits the Balinese want to exorcise from their life's and country. The Parade goes till late in the night.
Next morning at 6am is the start of Nyepi Day, a day of silence for the Hindu Balinese to rid their life's and country of the evil spirits.
For the visitor it means 24 hours in the hotel and all over Bali has shut down. A great time to just relax around the pool or read a good book or watch a few DVDs. The hotel holds the monopoly with food and drinks for the day and some hotels want you in your room at 6pm with the minimum or lights and noise on.
The next morning Bali has a public holiday and most of Bali is still closed , but there is a market on Kuta Beach which is very busy and very cheap and well worth the visit.
My tips for this time is to stock up on snacks and drinks , but don't leave it to the last minute as many others will be doing the same. Check with the hotel about the food it will serve at breakfast lunch and dinner. And if you don't have a DVD player maybe see about hiring one and a few movies and find a good book. Also change a few dollars to get you by for a few days .

Photos of the Parade http://travel.webshots.com/album/579885885Iqxhew

and here http://andysitchyfeet.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/bali.html

Almost all temples in Bali, there are certain rules that you must follow. You are required to dress appropriately before entering any temple. Women should not wear shorts or bare their shoulders.
A sash must be tied around the waist. If the temple requires a sarong to be worn, there is always one for hire around the area. (See picture)

Ladies take note; do not enter the temple if you are menstruating. I ended up staying outside the temples and massage my legs after too much of walking..or sembang kuat (gossiping) with Ngahteng (our supir)

Bali is so strict with its tradition and culture, and we must highly honor this.

If you are in Seminyak only use the Blue Bird taxis, the are good and make sure to ask them to turn on their meter each time you get in. The Blue Bird guys are good and typically always turn on the meter.

Blue Bird 119 - this cab driver is wonderful, nice and you can trust your stuff with him. I used him when going out on an excursion about an hour out of town when I went to Uluato. He waited on my for the hour I was at Uluato, turned off the meter while I waited and I left all my belongings in his taxi!

He hangs out in Seminyak Square.

Galungan (every 210 days) and Kuningan (10 days after Kuningan) are major events in Bali, celebrating the victory of good over evil .

Galungan is a celebration of the creation of the universe, in which the Creator is worshipped, and all the ancestral spirits are called to come down to earth and dwell again in the homes of their descendants. Welcoming offerings are placed in the family shrines, and penjor - tall arching bamboo poles decorated with palm leaves and flowers - are erected at the gate of each home. Penjors are the symbol of Mount Agung, the most sacred Balinese mountain.

Kuningan is the last day of the event, when the ancestral spirits are honoured with food before they leave the earth by dusk.

As you will most probably catch a glimpse of,
are the Balinese and their many ceremonies.

Amongst many of the reasons to have a ceremony for,
there are ceremonies that celebrate
respecting the enviorment.

But by what one may observe
once the cermony has taken place and has left;
there seems to be a problem with trash.

It seems the Balinese get caught up and trapped
under the whole creation of the ritual,
and they don't seem to be seeing the message
that lies underneath...leaving behind
the left overs of the ceremony scattered all around
to be engulfed by the sea or simply nature.

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Somewhere in Bali there is a ceremony of one sort or another, some are more important than others, some are held in one of the thousands of temples, others are held in people's home, or in the meeting place at the local Banjar (Area Administration Office).

Sometimes whole streets/roads are blocked and detours have to be made, due to the number of people attending.

You might encounter a procession of a few people or many hundreds of people, some carrying huge baskets of fruit and other offerings to the Gods. If you do encounter this, and you are driving by yourself, then it can be a little bit frustrating, but you must be patient, don't try to pass them, unless you are instructed to do so by the security people, who control the procession, and traffic.

If you intend to visit temples and shrines (which are abundantly scattered all over Bali), ensure that you cover up - legs, arms and shoulders. I would have thought that something like that is common sense and applies generally all over the world with regard to religious sites. Yet, I saw people turning up and tank tops and shorts to visit such places.

If you do forget and find yourself inappropriately dressed, no worries - they have sarongs to lend to you...for a fee of course.

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One of the favorite past times
of the Balinese men is cockfighting.

Supposing, gambling is illegal here,
but that doesn’t seem to stir the men away
from bringing out the cash
betting on their favorite cock.

On an event such as this,
you will see the owner of the cock,
holding his pride, before it gets into the ring.

He then places the killing hook on the cocks leg.

In these events,
it is mostly, if not totally, attended by men.

A circle is formed amongst them
and they place 2 cocks in the ring to start the fight.

Then RING….the fight begins.

While the cocks furiously fight,
yelling and cheering fills the air,
until finally one is beaten down to the ground.

One sees the blood scattered across the floor.
Not sure if this is such a good thing
with the bird flu hovering in the air.

Once the did bird is thrown in a corner,
they bring out the next cocks for the following battle.