Visitors to Bali dare not try and seek tour packages offering entertainment during Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu New Year and “Day of Silence” that is coming up next month on March 9.
On Nyepi, the whole of Bali shuts down starting at 6 am for a full 24-hour period—other than members of traditional neighborhood security groups (pecalang), people don’t leave their houses, they refrain from using electricity and noise is kept low.
The Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI), the country’s highest authority on Hinduism, is making it exceedingly clear that hotels on the island are prohibited from selling “Nyepi travel packages” that would offer tourists an escape from the holiday’s restrictions.
According to the PHDI chairman of Bali Province, I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, all members of the public (Hindu or not) including tourists, are expected to partake in Nyepi.
“We expect those staying in hotels to also run Nyepi practices,” Sudiana said in Denpasar on Wednesday, as quoted by Sumber News.
That means no private events offering up music or dance are allowed—even if the sound can’t be heard from the street, it can be detected by satellites, Sudiana said.
There will be sanctions for those who rudely defy this and foreigners could be deported, he added.
But we would hope people visiting Bali would be respectful enough that they can make it one whole day playing by the rules.
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