Tranquil travel hits Bali as the entire island falls silent during Nyepi

by Jessica Festa on

While many cultures around the world celebrate their New Year with fireworks, parades, and loud parties, the island of Bali in Indonesia takes a different approach. In fact, travelers looking to enjoy some peace and quiet in a beautiful setting should consider taking a trip to the island on March 23 to take part in the Balinese New Year, or Nyepi, “Day of Silence”.

During Nyepi, the entire island of Bali falls silent in an effort to cleanse and purify. In fact, shops aren’t allowed to open, vehicles and machinery may not be used, work is forbidden, electricity must remain off, and even the Bali airport closes down.

Just because the island falls silent, however, does not mean you shouldn’t visit. In fact, an array of cultural activities and package deals are offered in honor of Nyepi, making it the perfect time to visit Bali.

AYANA Resort and Spa

For those who would like to experience Nyepi for themselves, the luxury, cliff-top AYANA Resort and Spa allows guests to stay on the property and continue to use the restaurants, spa, and other facilities during the event as long as noise is kept to a minimum. They also take part in the festivities that lead up to the day of silence, including creating a giant paper mache figure called ogoh-ogoh (shown above). On the night before Nyepi, locals from all over the island come out to show off their own ogoh-ogohs, which tend to resemble skeletons and monsters, while live bands play in the background. It is believed that those taking part in this cultural ceremony confront their own negativity and purge it from their souls.

Rates start at $239 per night plus taxes and gratuities. Email reservation@ayanaresort.com or click here to book. The Radiant Hotel and Spa

The Radiant Hotel and Spa is a 5-star boutique hotel that sits on 50-acres of pools, palm trees, tropical gardens, and magnificent fountains. In honor of the Balinese New Year, the hotel is offering a 3 day/2 night Nyepi Package which includes two nights in a Superior room, daily breakfast for two, an evening at the buffet, unlimited soft drinks, a 45-minute foot and shoulder massage, and 10% off beverages. And to help you enjoy the tranquility a little more, you can add-on one of their relaxing spa packages, like a 30-minute Jacuzzi soak followed by a 70-minute full-body natural oil massage, shower, and snack, or a combination that includes a sauna session, massage, body scrub, and facial.

Package rates start at $154 plus taxes and gratuities for the dates of March 22-24. E-mail info@theradianthotel.com or click here to book.

Conrad Bali

This contemporary designed, beachfront property is all about creating unique and worthwhile experiences for their guests, from cooking classes to brunches on the beach to tennis lessons. For Nyepi, the Conrad Bali is helping guests cleanse their souls by hosting an array of holistic and healing activities, like yoga and meditation. They are also keeping their spa open so that guests can enjoy treatments like a tea-infused aromatherapy bath followed by a marine mud and sea salt body wrap, or a full-body massage and natural yogurt body mask.

Rates start at $168 per night plus taxes and gratuities. Click here to book.

Sun Boutique Hotel

The Sun Boutique Hotel is a modern hotel with enjoyable features like spacious rooms, soothing wall art, a delicious bistro, and a beautiful rooftop garden. In honor of Nyepi, they are featuring a Sun Nyepi Package which includes a welcome drink, daily buffet breakfast for two, daily tropical fruit basket, two water bottles each day, coffee and tea, and lunch and dinner for two on March 23.

Package rates start at about $174 for a standard room. E-mail info@sunboutiquehotel.com or click here to book.

Komaneka

If you love being surrounded by nature in a peaceful setting, this is your perfect hotel. From March 22-March 24, Komaneka will be offering a Nyepi Package, which includes two nights in a Bisma Suite room, a 60-minute Balinese massage, two lunches and dinners, welcome drink, daily breakfast and afternoon tea, daily en-suite cookies, fruits, and flowers, daily entrance and return transfer to Neka Art Museum, free mineral water each day, free activities like cultural offerings, dance lessons, and wood carving, and free shuttle service to and from central Ubud.

Package rates vary depending on when you book. E-mail reservation@komaneka.com or click here to book.

Photo of the day: Lombok landscape

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Sometimes you want to look at a pristine landscape completely devoid of humans. Other times, as in this wonderfully verdant Lombok landscape snapped by Flickr user Bernard-SD, the inclusion of a human being is an engaging detail. This blue-shirted fellow, after all, allows viewers to imagine themselves within the scene itself.

And there are certainly worse prospects than imagining oneself wandering Indonesia‘s Lombok island. Situated east of Bali–still Indonesia’s biggest tourism draw–Lombok boasts rural charms and beautiful beaches both.

Upload your photos of landscapes (peopled by solitary humans or otherwise) to the Flickr Gadling Group Pool. We pick our favorites from the pool to be future Photos of the Day.

Video of the day: Bali, Indonesia

by Elizabeth Seward on

BALI, JE T’AIME! from artisland on Vimeo.

Now seems as good a time as any other to take a trip to Bali. To sprawl out on the sands and relax in the waters under the sun amid such beautiful culture certainly seems like a dream as the intensity and work load that come with every new year continues to pile. Luckily for all of us not currently embarking on a voyage to Bali, Andrew Melikov put this gorgeous ‘Postcard from Bali’ type video up on Vimeo. Complete with images of local artisans, droplets of water on blades of grass, crashing waterfalls, gentles breezes making the vegetation dance, children climbing trees and flying kites, this video effectively captures a vacation destination on film beyond the resorts wherein so many tourists find themselves confined.

Exploring the diverse scenery of East Java, Indonesia

by Jessica Festa on

The area of East Java in Indonesia is home to beautiful and diverse landscapes that include beaches, volcanoes, mountains, plantations, lakes, natural reserves, and a lot more. There are also many natural, cultural, and adventure activities to partake in, like scuba diving, hiking volcanoes, surfing, witnessing traditional ceremonies, hearing folklore stories, learning the cultivation process of tea, and photographing wild animals like zebras and cheetahs.

To get to East Java you can fly into its capital, Surabaya, via their international airport, Juanda Airport (SUB).

If you’d like to explore East Java from the comfort of your computer chair, check out the gallery below.

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The diverse diving destination you probably haven’t heard of: Raja Ampat

by Jessica Festa on

Located off the northwest point of the Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Indonesia is Raja Ampat, an archipelago full of diverse habitats. The name literally means “Four Kings” and is a great destination for adventure travelers who want to get off-the-beaten path and explore a location with more fish, coral, and invertebrate species than anywhere on the planet.

To experience Raja Ampat, travelers can catch a connecting flight from Jakarta or Bali to Sorong. While Sorong is not actually in Raja Ampat, most Raja Ampat resorts pick up their guests here and transport them to the facilities. If you plan on scuba diving, liveaboard dive boats pick up guests in Sorong and motor them to the dive areas. While Raja Ampat is not typically a tourist destination, it should be as there is a lot do in terms of exploring the waters and marine life, from kayaking and snorkeling to diving and beach combing.

I got the chance to speak with Burt Jones, who has spent the last three years in Raja Ampat doing photography diving tours for Secret Sea Visions and consulting for Conservation International. He explained to me how, while Raja Ampat is full of life and beauty, it is also in need of help, especially because not a lot of people have heard of it.

“If we, as a people, can save any place on the planet, Raja should be high on the priority list,” he explains. “It has the highest marine biodiversity of any tropical reef system on the planet, but fewer than 8,000 people visit Raja Ampat yearly. Part of our job [at CI] is to promote tourism within the region so that it will be considered as a viable local income resource. Most Raja Ampat villages profit very little from their land’s natural resources: timber, fishing or mineral wealth. And, exploiting these resources damages the environment while sustainable marine tourism promotes environmental protection and directly benefits local people through jobs. In our books, we explain local customs and encourage traveling divers to stop by receptive villages where casual contact can enrich both hosts and visitors.”

For more information on diving in Raja Ampat or taking a tour with Secret Sea Visions, click here. And, to get a better idea of just how beautiful Raja Ampat really is, check out the gallery below.

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