The internet is shut off and not a car horn is heard.
In Bali, Nyepi is being celebrated on Thursday, a Hindu festival of purification with a 24-hour period of silence. The silence is intended to trick demons into thinking no people are present.
Bali's international airport is probably the only one in the world that is closed for a full day every year (other than in emergencies). All shops, offices and restaurants are also closed on the Indonesian island. During the New Year of Nyepi, Hindus are indeed meant to stay at home, fast and contemplate how they can become better people. They are meant to be quiet and keep their lights off.
Surfing on your phone is also out of the question. The internet can only be used by the police, hospitals, and the like.
– By turning off the internet, we hope Hindus will celebrate Nyepi in peace, a spokesperson for Bali's local government told The Jakarta Post.
Even for the island's many tourists, it's time to pack away the surfboards and diving gear. Only emergency vehicles are allowed on the streets, which are otherwise filled with infernally honking cars and motorbikes.
The day before is even livelier when young people march in parades with large, so-called ogoh-ogoh – several-metre-high homemade papier-mâché demons.
On Nyepi, the real demons return to Earth, and according to tradition, they are tricked by the silence and darkness into believing that there is no one there to haunt. As a bonus, the villagers get cleaner air for a day and can enjoy a clear starry sky without disturbing light pollution, local media report.
Source: TT
