New Years (Balinese Style)

My first night in Bali happened to fall on their new years night. It was an incredible experience, and such an excellent way to kick off Bali. The night is Tawur Kesanga. The Balinese build these giant monsters (photos below) called Ogoh-ogoh. The symbolize the evil spirites surrounding the environment that need to be removed from their lives. They were paraded around the streets for hours with creepy music playing and at the end, they are taken to the beach and are burned, in order to get the evil spirits out of their lives.

The monsters were really full on. Most were quite creepy and gross, but hey, its traditon.

The next day is Nyepi, which is a day of silence. The Balinese are ment to be cleaning their life, soul, etc. You can't work, be in the streets, use electricity, you basically can't do anything. Police officers patrol the streets to make sure that everyone is in their homes.
So my first full day in Bali was spent trapped in the hotel. Which really wasn't a bad thing. It was a good excuse to catch up on some much needed rest.