Flights are grounded, shops remain closed, streets are deserted of traffic and pedestrian.
All residents lock themselves up in their houses and switch off their lights.
There is no talking, no music, no entertainment.
Some even stop eating.
This day is called Nyepi, the day of silence, where devout Hindus meditate and reflect.
Balinese Hindu devotees carry an Ogoh-ogoh effigy during a parade.
Villages and communities build large monster-like sculpture called ogoh-ogoh that represent the bad spirits.
The sculptures are made of bamboo frame wrapped with canvas and sometimes of Styrofoam.
Some of them are 25 feet tall.
On Nyepi day, everything goes into silence.
This period lasts 24 hours from six in the morning.
The next day, festivities start again, for it is the Balinese new year.
Families and friends gather to ask forgiveness from one another, and perform religious rituals.
A family praying together on the beach before Nyepi.
Hotels are usually exempted out of necessity, but guests are advised to keep noises low and lights dim.
Sometimes hotels will draw their window curtains to cut off the lights.
Nyepi is actually a great time to experience real silence, to deprive oneself of this constant sensory stimulus.
Photo:Denis Moskvinov/Shutterstock.com
Photo:crbellette/Shutterstock.com
