We're FREE again!

Nyepi has passed and we're free to roam the island again!  This morning, we decided to check out of our beautiful (but $50 a night, ugh, expensive) hotel on the hill...

and made the small trek down to the beach to Bungalo No7, where we had stayed on our very first Asian vacation together 3 years ago!  This time, we got a beautiful room on the 2nd floor of their brand new building (room #2 with air con, hot water, and free breakfast) for 300,000 rupiah a night ($30), which is $15 less than the regular rate for this particular room. (FYI: The prices on their website are outdated by a couple years.) 

So, in other words, we got a GREAT DEAL!  We may or may not have said it was our honeymoon!  One of the locals that we met at our last hotel told us to say that because we can get better deals, and because we just got married not too long ago!

 Lucky for us, it worked!

 We dropped our stuff in the room, jumped on the scooter and headed to a little restaurant / water sports rental spot near the mangroves on the far end of the island.  Aaron had taken a little scooter journey while I was busy blogging the other day and said I had to meet Dino, a baby monkey that lived there (He's the owner's personal pet)!

He may look cute, but Dino is fiesty and VERY energetic!  When I went to say hello to him, he literally leaped at me from the tree, arms out, and mouth open wide and snatched my water bottle!  Then, he proceeded to climb all over me like I was his own personal jungle gym!  He was particularly interested in my belly button for some reason...  I'm not gonna lie, after seeing that lady in America who was mauled by the monkey, I wasn't quite as brave as I used to be!  I'd like to keep my face the way it is, thank you very much!  But, they said he'd never bitten anyone, so,  I gave Dino the benefit of the doubt and played with him for a couple minutes, then back in the tree he went to eat a banana and some rice!

We scooted over to the opposite side of the island to Dream Beach, which is one of our favorite beaches on the island!

 

... but before we jumped in that gorgeous water, we ordered some $3.50 Nasi Goreng and a drink to share...

and sat here at the bar, taking in the fresh air, blue skies, and warm sun!

... and did a little swinging... why not?! :)

Then it was back to the hotel for some swimming and $1.80 beers and $3.00 cocktails in the pool, dinner while the sunset and a walk around town! 

 We're loving Nusa Lembongan and having so much fun being back at Bungalo No7, reliving our vacation from 3 years ago!  Who knows, maybe we'll come back here in 3 more years - that is if we book enough weddings to stay afloat! :)  Anyone looking for a wedding photographer?!  lol ... No, seriously!

Happy Nyepi.... sshhh, be quiet and don't leave!

Happy Nyepi everyone!

Most of the hotels are actually closed today for the holiday and NO ONE, I mean NO ONE is out on the streets!  Nyepi is a Hindu / Balinese "Day of Silence" that goes from 6am today (March 12th) until 6am tomorrow.  There are special restrictions for Nyepi: No lighting fires, no working, no entertainment or pleasure, no traveling (yes, even the airport closes in Bali!), and for some, no talking or eating at all.  In fact, according to wikipedia, "the only people to be seen outdoors in the town are the Pecalang, traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed!"  I couldn't tell you if that was true or not, because we spent our entire day here, in room #1 of Lembongan Reef Bungalows on the hill.

But, we didn't mind being cooped up in our hotel room!  

Not with a view like this from our balcony!

Luckily, our hotel was really relaxed about Nyepi and let us use the pool...

...talk with the other hotel guests and even order food (which was all made with NO electricity or a flame)!  Not quite sure how they did it, but I was impressed! We were just so happy to have some real food and not have to rely on what we had stocked up on in our mini fridge! lol  #vacationdiet

I also didn't mind being cooped up, because while I'd like to say I'm a big reader, the truth is, I get antsy and bored with books and typically either never pick them up, or put them down after the first chapter! (I'm working on this and have a goal to read more books this year!)  So, with no TV, no internet, and no iphone games to distract me, I read and finished Look After Mom, which my co-teacher Okk had given me FOR MY BIRTHDAY almost a year ago.  -sad-  It was fantastic and I got lost in the haunting and sweet story within it's pages... not to mention, it reminded me of Korea, which still has my heart!  Thank you Okk!  

When I wasn't reading, I was laying out by the pool with these 5 kids!  Aaron and I lovingly gave them the nickname, "the kids" which they really didn't deserve, because while they do happen to be recent high school graduates, they are mature, cultured, smart and funny enough to be people we would call actual friends in real life!  They all graudated from the same high school in a small town 30 minutes outside of Heidelberg, Germany a couple months ago and are all traveling for between 3 weeks and 4 months!  Mom, can you imagine me traveling Asia with my friends when I was 18!?  Actually the 3rd one from the left (Larissa) and the 5th one, which is hidden by Cora, (Marie), traveled through Africa together before meeting the rest of the gang in Indonesia!  A.F.R.I.C.A!  These are some lucky kids here and we were pretty lucky to have them to hang with on Nyepi!

As soon as the sun went down, Aaron and I ordered some dinner and played cards, in the candlelight, on our balcony overlooking the black ocean in front of us, black sky above us and the black island all around us... until we drifted off into dream land in our candlelit hotel room on the hill...

Happy Nyepi from Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia!

Nyepi Eve Parade: Tawur Kesanga

Tonight, Aaron and I witnessed one of the most colorful, interesting, haunting, exciting and beautiful events we've seen in our 4 years of living in Asia!  Nusa Lembongan, the tiny island we are staying on is primarily Hindu and there are A LOT of Hindu celebrations throughout the year, but none quite like Nyepi!  Exactly one day before Nyepi (today), the village people hold a large exorcism ceremony at the main village cross road, where they believe to be the meeting place of demons. (I didn't know all of this before we walked down there to watch "the parade" and plopped ourselves on a wall, right at the crossroads.)  In fact, we didn't know it was an exorcism parade. If I had known that I probably would have been too freaked out to go!  Luckily, it seemed as if it was all in fun.  Everyone was laughing and clapping, so I  knew it wouldn't get too crazy and for 2 or 3 hours, I just took in the haunting sounds, traditional smells, colorful sights and intricate details of the whole thing. 

The people in the village handmade 8 Ogoh-ogoh monsters (a form of a parade float) to symbolize the evil spirits surrounding the village.  These things were freaky looking!  The local guys got up underneath the monsters and held them up, bouncing them up and down along the street, back and forth, back and forth, while traditional Balinese musicians played a mix of percussion and traditional instruments and small children and girls held bamboo torches and walked behind.

The parents propped the little kids up on a temple statue behind me.  Even they were loving it and stayed around until all hours of the night!

 When the parade makes it to one side of the town, they shoot off 5 fireworks into the sky before coming back down the street.

If you've ever seen the movie Life of Pi and fell in love with the scene of the Hindu Festival on the water where tens of thousands of candles lit up the area, you'll know the feeling of this night. It was magical, rich with culture, community, passion and colors, and I couldn't keep a smile off my face the entire time.

Being there for tonight's parade was a chance of a lifetime and something I'll never forget!
Happy Nyepi from a little island south of Bali, Indonesia!

Nyepi Eve, Dream Beach, Mushroom Beach, Scootering and a Broken Bridge.

We rented a scooter from a random local who approached us in front of Mushroom Beach last night and decided on 70,000 rupiah ($7) a day.  The only thing is, it was before we had decided where we were going to be staying, and we never decided when we would leave it when we were finished.  I guess that's just Island life for ya.  He'll eventually find it, I guess!  We headed for the bridge this morning, excited to scoot over to Nusa Cennigan Island, only to find out that a cyclone demolished it 2 weeks ago!  Oooouuuuurrrr briddddggggeee.  Such a bummer.

But the rest of the day made up for the broken bridge!  :)  We road the scooter back towards Mushroom Beach, but stopped here at one of our favorite views on the island... 

... before ordering lunch here on the beach! 

 1 Mie Goreng ($2.50) and 1 hamburger ($3.00).  Gotta love the prices around these parts, and the fact that you can see the beach reflected in your husband's glasses at lunch!

Nusa Lembongan is a Hindu Island, so seeing offerings like these laid out all over restaurants, small shops and hotels are common place!

We did a little swimming at Mushroom Beach, but Dream Beach has our hearts and we were eager to get back over there to see how it had changed since we were there last!  The view looking out to the water was EXACTLY how we remembered it!

This pic's for you, Sam McElwain!

Sadly, or not so saldy, depending on how you look at it, the bungalows at Dream Beach have gone from charming and rustic to fancy schmancy, and they've even added a pool, where if you pay $5.00, you can swim and rent a beach chair for the whole day.  We opted for the FREE soft white sand! 

Since it was Nyepi Eve, we knew there would be a BIG night time parade in town and that we needed to get back to that side of the island before it started... otherwise we'd be stuck!  So, we jumped on the scooter and drove through the 1st little town (on the inner area of the island) where we were asked to stop our scooter while this parade of towns people walked from the Hindu temple on the hill down through the village, doing blessings to the gods and carrying their special offerings baskets of only the most pristine fruit, all along the way. 

It was definitely a sight to behold. It's a very holy ceremony for them and while it seemed eerie at times, it was a really cool thing to witness!

We made it back to our hotel just in time to take a quick shower, say hello to "the kids" (a group of 5 German high school graduates who we've become friends with.  LOVE THEM!)  Here are Marie and Larissa...

... and walked along the hillside path and into town to catch the festivities!  

The hill to the left is where our hotel is.

Literally the whole town shut down for a prayer ceremony around the temple area.

...and all of the locals came out in their best Hindu clothing and gathered around the temple... spilling out into the streets.

They would, in unison, push the smoke from their personal incense sticks up into the air, then grab a wildflower and hold it tightly in their hands, say a prayer, and then tuck the flower into the back of their head pieces.

The ceremony at the temple went on for hours, I think.  The whole center of town was shut down, so Aaron and I walked the back roads in search of a closer view of the temple, where all of the cool stuff was happening (cultural dances, etc).  Instead we came upon the Ogoh Ogoh monsters, waiting for their big debut at tonight's parade!  These are ALL handmade with foam, by locals in the village, and are more than 20 feet tall.  Talk about artistry.  I'll explain what they're for in my next post about the Tawur Kesanga (Nyepi parade). 

This was my best attempt at a colorful Nyepi Eve outfit!  

We went into town a little too early for the parade, so we walked back along the water to our hotel at sunset to put our bags down and change... We were told it would be best to both wear a sarong around our waist if we were planning to attend the parade. :)

So, after dark, we walked back over into town, BOTH wearing sarongs, tied like long skirts around our waists, to witness one of the most interesting, colorful, exciting, traditional, and cultural events that either of us has ever seen in our 4 years of traveling Asia.