Nyepi days (Mar. 21, 22, 2015)

Mar. 21, 2015

This morning I got up slowly, did my yoga on the balcony, had a shower, and sat outside to drink my coffee. Reza slept until about 11:00 as he has been working a lot lately and hasn’t been sleeping very well at night. Last night, he had a few beers, and we watched a couple of movies. He fell asleep, and seemed to stay heavily asleep until this morning. It was good that he was able to get some needed rest.

It is Nyepi today, and there is absolutely no movement around the city. All the motorbikes and cars are parked, no one is on the streets and all you can hear from the balcony is the wind in the trees and the birds. It’s really quite a cool experience. No one goes out today, and are at home without electricity, eating, and work. They will eat after sundown today, as this Hindu tradition indicates. I think I got it wrong about when they burn the huge demon statues. Perhaps they do it tomorrow or after prayers tonight. I’m not sure, but would like to see that.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies, eating, and colouring my hair. I tried to find a hair salon that did colour, other than black or dark brown, but no one here seems to like any other colours. So, I went to the supermarket and found a Chestnut Mahogany Dark Blonde colour, and did my hair today. It turned out surprisingly well, and I was happy with the result. 

New colour and cut

Closer view 

We went to bed around midnight and had a really great, silent day. During the evening, we had to put up cardboard over the windows, because no one is supposed to have lights on. There were many other houses around here that did the same, as many are not of the Hindu Religion but must observe the ‘no going out’ rule and low lights, for the sake of those who are.

The stars were incredible as I looked out over the black balcony. There were no street lamps or city lights and the stars could be seen so clearly. It was quite incredible to see. I think it’s a really interesting experience to have been through. There is nothing quite like this in Canada, where everyone observes the same rules and use of lights and electricity. They are very serious here about Nyepi. Only Bali is this serious because it consists of mostly Hindu’s. Other places in Indonesia are primarily Muslim, so they don’t have this custom.

Mar. 22, 2015

This morning Reza had to go out to work, very early. I had the place to myself and got ready to go out and get a hair cut, with my new coloured hair, do some errands and prepare myself for diving on the 23rd to Ahmed, with Yulia, and my departure from Bali, on the evening of the 26th.

I had to go to Air Asia to see about the credit they were giving me for the cancelled flight to Bangkok. This got rectified after two visits, but when we tried to apply the credit to my new flight to Bangkok, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it miscalculated the amount and wouldn’t allow the credit to work. Thankfully, I was at the Air Asia office when I did this, so they took screen shots of the mistake, and sent it to Head Office for review. I hope they can get it resolved before I leave on the 26th, as it’s the last flight I need to book, in order to use the credit. I think it will work out, but I have to go there again tomorrow when they call me, to see if it is fixed. What a pain, but hopefully worth it.

In the afternoon, I came back to Reza’s place and relaxed for a while. It was really hot out, and I got caught in a sudden down pour, so was hot, wet and tired by the time I returned. After resting for a while, I watched some movies, and cooked some noodles and vegetables. Reza didn’t return until after 10 pm, so I was happily entertaining myself for the whole day. I had a great day.

Tomorrow, Yulia and I will leave early to drive to the eastern coast of Bali, about 1-2 hours drive, to go to Ahmed, for diving. We will do two dives and then drive back to Denpasar. I am excited to be going diving, as you can imagine…..lol.

More tomorrow.