Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi (and no, you may not go surfing)

To our Balinese brethren, Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi, which falls on March 21st.

To surfers: it shouldn’t need saying, but somehow every year it does: the surf is off limits. It used to be that one could paddle out and in, as Nyepi was more relaxed, but these days the rules are strictly enforced. Be respectful.

But take a look at this (I’m not in the habit of posting surf forecasts but it looks like Nyepi will be a good day to rest up for what will appear on the dawn’s horizon — and remember Nyepi is enforced until sunrise, so no sneaking out at 4:30 am to get to your spot:

Many people don’t know that ogoh-ogoh are a recently new cultural phenomena. Banjar Taman in Sanur always makes a good one:

And since this is Bali, where earthiness is an art form, the pig is anatomically correct:

(The bottom wording says “1 percent art, 99 percent haram”. Written along the bottom of the side shot and not in the picture is the warning “This pig eats genitals” although the wording used is a lot more earthy”