Ubud for Nyepi
on Really Out There Experience (Indonesia), 24/Mar/2010 13:19, 34 days ago
15– 16 March 2010 For details of Nyepi read entries for March 2009 earlier in my blog. This year the ogoh-ogoh (monsters) parades were allowed to take place and as I travelled from Lovina to Ubud I saw vast numbers of these being prepared for the local parades which take place in each village. In Ubud the parade was massive with all the ogoh-ogoh initially being taken to the football field then in turn going to the main square where the teams carrying them made them‘dance’. Most villages seemed to have submitted 3 ogoh-ogoh, one from the kindergarden, one of school children and then a very large one from the adults. To get these large ones through the streets needed guys with long poles to lift the wires up whilst the teams lowered the monster as much as possible to get underneath. As if the monsters on their bamboo plinths were not heavy enough a couple of men would be stood on the plinth to help the monster to gyrate and to let of fireworks, doves etc. For the day of silence I stayed in a small hotel with two other volunteers. We had the luxury of a swimming pool and WiFi. There were lovely views over rice fields and it was wonderfully tranquil. Basic Indonesian food was provided for out meals.