The Gods Are in Town

We arrived on Bali at Gilimanuk in the northwest. LP assured us there were “frequent” buses to Denpassar (capital) in the south. It turns out frequent refers to buses between 3(!?) am and 6 pm. We arrived at 7 pm. We putted around what we believed was the bus station for 2 hours waiting for a bus that might be leaving at 9 or maybe 11 or maybe it already left at 6 or maybe there are buses at “another” bus station or maybe we should just stay in Gilimanuk! So we did. We arrived in Denpassar the next day and transferred immediately to Ubud.

Our first night in Ubud introduced us to a peculiar brand of people. They are westerners who have moved here to Bali to "work." They fill the bill perfectly of pseudo-hippie, spiritual junkie, yoga practitioner etc... But what struck me as odd was that though I had a whole conversation with a couple different people I really have no idea what kind of work they are doing. Everyone I met was extremely light on details but alluded mysteriously to some form of "project"they might be working on out in the middle of a rice paddy. I think there is a distinct possibility they've enjoyed a few too many special local herbs.

The Gods are in town today. It’s a three day Hindu festival that’s as popular as Christmas but celebrated twice as often. At least, that’s what I understood from, Madi, the woman who runs my guesthouse. People have spent the past two days preparing food and offerings to give to the gods today. Today the streets are full of people jetting about on scooters dressed in their best white shirts and coloured sarongs on their way to temple the women with a plate of food and offerings in her lap. Everything is closed but there’s a lot of activity in the streets and it feels a little like xmas. Beautifully decorated bamboo poles have been set up by every family in front of their homes in a way that feels decidedly like the equivalent of an xmas tree.

Offerings to the gods. You can find a small offering house like this at every home on Bali.