Wow. I’m currently
writing this from a room in Legion on the famous and heavily-touristed island of Bali,
Indonesia. I don’t have internet, so by the time you see
this post I’m guaranteed to be somewhere else entirely. As for that initial wow, that’s about all I
have to say so far.
We happened to arrive in Bali
on the 22nd of March, which this year was the eve of Nyepi, the
Hindu New Year. That was yesterday, and
it was pretty cool, actually. Locals
carried elaborate floats down the street in seemingly endless parades while
clanging on gongs and banging drums.
It’s all part of a gambit to make as much noise as possible in order to
scare away any demons. The floats
themselves, carried by gangs of thrilled-to-be-up-this-late schoolchildren, all
depict blood-thirsty demons in horrifying detail and epic size. Paper-mache innards are hurtled, tridents
spear the innocent, and eye-balls are caught in bloody mid-pop. Seems a pretty fair go to try and scare these
things away, right? I certainly don’t
want any flying tri-breasted snake creatures in my room at night.
The downside to all of this is that today is, by law, quiet
day. No one is allowed to leave their
homes, and electricity and even speaking are technically illegal. This ban extends to tourists – Jess and I
have been reduced to sneaking down a back alley and into the grounds of a
nearby hotel for meals, meanwhile hiding out in our own room. The staffers have the air of co-conspirators
– they whisper us into their hotel and winkingly point out the best way to get
back to our own. It’s actually been kind
of fun, feeling like a pair of fugitives forced to sneak around for a bit of
pineapple juice and an omelette.
Regardless, I think we’re both looking forward to being allowed back on
the streets again tomorrow.
So what’s one to do on quiet day when confined to a tiny and
admittedly kind of dirty hotel room? Draw
pictures in paint, obviously. I leave
you with the bravery of Jessica, me, and our friend Tayelor fighting a
terrifying Macaque.
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