Bali 2012 - Part 1 - Light

 

Amed skies - sweet return







Valentines Day sky... for real.



 

 



Meditation caves around temple of Gunung Kawi, Ubud

Padang Padang, near Ulawatu, southern Bali tip

...continued in Bali 2012 part 2: Shade...

Bali 2012 - Part 2 - Shade

The volcano Batur - an active crater and lake surrounded by its original crater





Street tagging in Amed. The only bit of wall for miles. Go RNGMOT!!

Stacks of bikes down a remote country road - can mean only one thing...



Cock fight...

I'll spare you any graphic images. I've had plenty from other tourists shoved in my face like a trophy, unappreciated. 

Just a crowd and atmosphere shot reveals plenty 

And the winner is...



Yes... we know....



Re-revisiting Monkey Forest in Ubud. Mother and child statue.

... and the real thing.

Check out the tripper riding the lamp post...

Huge Ogoh Ogohs, built by each village, carried by a dozen or more youths and paraded through the street on New Years Eve to raise the evil spirit and then finally exorcise them from the land in a cremation ceremony. Streets are filled, mythological battles enacted, complete with full soundtrack coming from one man's microphoned mouth. 

And then the streets go silent, lights go out, people hurry indoors before midnight.
Ten minutes to midnight I stumbled upon this night soccer match.
Problem: How do you see the coconut when the lights go out?  Solution: Set it on fire!





GOAL!!

And on the following day, Nyepi, Bali completely shuts down, airports close, people stay indoors and curfews are enforced, so any remaining evil spirits are "tricked" into thinking no-one lives on the island anymore. They just fly somewhere else. Like Lombok...

It's a day of meditation and reflection on a New Year to come...

... everything is in stillness, just bird sounds, wind, roosters and the rumblings of fasting stomachs...

...and then, 24 hours later, life, traffic, noise and commerce begin again.

So that's my attempt at creating narrative over random photos at the end of a blog.

Please enjoy this parting image of coffee art - Balinese-style