Universal hush unlikely on Bali's day of silence

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): This Sunday, Bali will be the most isolated island in the world. It will be quiet all day and dark during the night.

On that day, Hindus across the country will celebrate Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence. It marks the beginning of the year 1920 in the Balinese Saka calendar.

For 24 hours, Hindus will fast and observe the catur bratha panyepian (four elements of Nyepi): no travel, no entertainment, no fire and no work. People will just stay at home all day long in contemplation of their past and future lives.

If past years are anything to go by, Bali will have the appearance of a dead island. Towns like Denpasar, Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua, usually teeming with traffic, will witness a dramatic change. The hustle and bustle of the urban life will turn to silence. At night, the glittering lights will not come on; the moon and the stars will provide the only illumination.

In recent years, however, the situation has changed a little as the tourism sector sees the holiday as a business opportunity. For tourists, the chance to observe Nyepi is a dramatic and unique experience.

Travel agencies and hotels have been selling Nyepi holiday packages hard. The government backs the scheme by allowing the international section of Ngurah Rai Airport to remain open. Hundreds of tourists are expected to check in at hotels across Bali on the day.

The local authorities in Badung and Denpasar issue "dispensation certificates" so travel agents and hotels can pick up their guests at the airport.

Last year the Denpasar municipality issued 215 dispensation certificates for hospitals, journalists, travel agents and hotels. This year, it has received 174 applications, according to Wayan Sudiartha, spokesman of the Denpasar administration.

More than another 100 certificates were issued by the Badung regency last year. The authorities say they issue the certificates selectively.

However, there has been rampant abuse of the system by travel agents. The papers only give agents the privilege to travel from the airport to the hotel. But after picking up their guests, they have often shown the tourists around Kuta, Denpasar, Sanur or Nusa Dua.

Nyoman Raja (not his real name), who works as a guide, told The Jakarta Post that on several occasions he had taken Japanese tourists to sightseeing spots in Kuta, Denpasar and Sanur, on the way to the hotel.

"I myself did not want to do this, but my boss told me to do that," he said. He added he wanted to take a day off on the holiday but was not allowed.

Nyepi packages are advertised in local newspapers to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Two ads for Nyepi packages appeared in Nusa Tenggara daily last Thursday. A hotel in Denpasar offers a double bed for two nights for only Rp 182,000 (US$20) and the service includes transfer from the airport to the hotel, a welcome drink, free breakfast, lunch and dinner, free laundry, and no tax payment. A hotel in Nusa Dua is offering a single bed for Rp 195,000 and a double bed at Rp 266,000 for two nights. In addition, the guest will get free breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, coffee, and even a souvenir.

Some hotels and travel agencies have advertised the Nyepi packages for a few months, not only in local papers but also abroad.

A public relations officer at a hotel in Nusa Dua said that the Nyepi packages were usually fully booked. Most of the guests were Indonesians, some were Hindus.

For rich Indonesians, staying in hotels during the Nyepi holiday seems to have become a trend. They might want to escape from the situation around their house, which could be depressing for them as they cannot not walk or turn on the lights or television.

Unlike in most of Bali, life still goes on inside the hotels during Nyepi. Although it is dark outside, in the rooms, the guests are still allowed to turn on their bedside light.

Criticism

For years, the Hindus in Bali never complained about the privilege granted to hotel guests. But, this year some people have apparently become more sensitive and started to criticize the Nyepi packages. They are frowning on the commercialization of the holiday, especially because the government allegedly charges the hotels and travel agencies hundreds or even millions of rupiah for the dispensation certificates.

The head of the central board of Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia, the Hindu Council, Ida Bagus Agastia, expressed his concern about the high number of the Nyepi dispensation certificates issued by the government. He worried this would tarnish the sacred holiday.

"If one hundred cars are going to and fro around the city, we won't have the right Nyepi," Agastia said.

He urged the government to limit the issuance of dispensation certificates. He also called upon hoteliers to tell the guests not to check in or check out during the holiday.

Ideally, no dispensation certificates should be issued "because Nyepi is not a business. Nyepi needs quietness, it is a religious day," Agastia said.