Nyepi in Bali, the Day of Silence That Changed My Life
I landed in Bali for the first holiday of my life, and found out the whole island was about to go silent.
When I arrived in Bali in 2017, I was told that two of my five days would be spent preparing for something called Nyepi, followed by 24 hours of complete silence, with no lights, no air conditioning and no anything, and even the airport closed. I had never taken a holiday just for fun, and the one time I finally did, the entire island was about to shut down. Through deep breaths and slight panic, I wondered if I'd made the wrong decision. Little did I know the surprise and shift of my entire life was about to happen, like walking through a portal God placed before you and from that moment you’'ll never be able to go back. It's the five days off I mentioned at the end of my FIRST POSTCARD.
Landing in Bali on the eve of Nyepi, the Day of Silence
I had come straight from a life of constant travel for work, was currently in Australia doing hair for Kelly Rowland on The Voice AU, and I'd booked the flight on a whim. I was already in slight panic mode, did I really just book this? Was I really going? To then land and find out from my homestay that this so called Nyepi was happening feelings of doubt crept over me. A white sheet of paper laid out clear directions.
Nyepi is the Balinese Day of Silence, a Hindu holy day that marks the new year in the Balinese calendar. For 24 hours, the island stops so the year can begin with stillness, reflection and a kind of reset for people and for the land. It's traditionally observed through four rules: no fire or light, no work, no travel, and no entertainment.
Do not leave the homestay for the whole day, not for the street, the beach or anywhere else.
No lights or electricity. Keep lights and A/C off.
Prepare food and water ahead of time, because shops and restaurants close.
No loud noises. Keep your voice volume low and refrain from TV or music.
Charge your devices the day before. Mobile data and Wi-Fi can be shut off.
Plan your travel around it. Bali's airport closes for the day, so don't book a flight in or out.
Join the Ogoh-Ogoh parade the night before: ask your host which village is holding one, dress modestly, arrive early, and be settled at your homestay before the silence begins. Ogoh-Ogoh are giant, handmade statues of demons and spirits, paraded through the streets on the night before Nyepi. The community builds them to represent negative forces, and the parade, with its noise, music and torches, is meant to drive those forces out. The silence that follows completes the idea: the island is so quiet and dark that any spirits left behind believe it's empty and move on. Many of the statues are burned or taken apart afterward.
What 24 hours of silence did to me
Then Ogoh-Ogoh parade was one of the most creative and hauntingly beautiful experiences I had ever had. I learned they build these giant statues throughout the entire year. As the parade died down, Nyepi arrived, and it was beyond my wildest dreams. For 24 hours the island went quiet, with all electric powered down, no traffic, nowhere to go, and nothing to do except be. I had been carrying things from my journey through life that I believed would live embedded to my bones and stuck in my mind until the day I died. Yet somehow, in that silence, with the people and the food of Bali, something in my heart opened. I had gone to Bali for fun without expecting much and in return Mama Bali gave me the gift of a lifetime… internal freedom.
19 flights, a split life and what I love most about Indonesia
From that moment, every chance I had when my clients didn't need me, I was on a flight, and in a year and a half I took 19 flights back and forth between Los Angeles and Bali. I lived a split life, hairstylist meets island girl, a feeling I'd had in the depths of my soul my entire life, and it was the beginning of the shift I wrote about in my last postcard, when I took my passion and set it down for my purpose.
People always ask me what my favorite part of living and traveling in Indonesia is, and my answer has always been the same: you can find blue water and tropical paradise in many places, but my love for Indonesia is about the people, and their ridiculously good food. It's why my work today is about more than beautiful places, because I photograph and film stays that honor their land and their people, and I give back to the communities that gave me so much.
This was a moment I really wish you were here. If you get the change don’t miss out on it.
Nyepi for the World.
xo, Desirae
