Day 39: Invited to a Balinese Hindu Ceremony in Bali

Once again, when I have to get on a plane and to my next hostel, it's pouring rain. Luckily, the Singapore public transportation system is so well connected that I really only spent 60 seconds in the rain before I was safely under the cover of a bus stop, on the bus, connecting to the MRT line (the entire transfer covered by a roof), and inside the airport. The Singapore Changi airport has individual security setups at each gate, so checking in your bags and getting to your gate is seamless, and I made it to my gate two whole hours before my flight left.

After losing an hour and a two-hour flight into DPS, I met with my taxi driver whom I had previously arranged through the hostel I was staying at, Gandhi Hostel 2.

Once I arrived at the hostel I decided to take a walk around the immediate area and get myself some caffeine and a SIM card. Looping back, I heard a gamelan orchestra performing in a temple off the street. I stopped to watch, but it wasn't long before some of the men sitting inside the temple were waving me through the gate. Some of them spoke a bit of English, but what was obvious was that they all wanted to take selfies with me and stuff me with food and coconut wine. Things got a bit out of hand and I ended up dropping 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah ($7.50) on beers for the whole orchestra.

Me, clearly inebriated, posing with a gamelan drum

For a religious ceremony, the group as a whole seemed to be pretty lax about the usual Christian vices. Smoking was nearly ubiquitous, and everyone stayed hydrated with a steady diet of coconut wine. The ceremony itself was behind a wall, and I could only glimpse it occasionally through the entrance gate. When the others caught on to my interest in the ceremony, they told me I could go inside the walls to watch, but only if I had the proper formal wear. They offered to trade me the appropriate formal wear for my sun hat, which I accepted. 

I'm going to miss that sun hat, but I'd be a fool if I didn't want to trade a sun hat you could pick up at any outdoors store for some authentic Balinese ceremonial wear! Though, I could already envision it's $5 replacement from a shop here in Bali (I originally payed $35 back in America, always the pragmatist).

After the ceremony they loaded me with fruits and snacks and I walked back to the hostel. I had to give most of the fruit away because it would have gone bad before I could eat it all, but the snacks are making a good breakfast the next day!

In conclusion, the anti-vacation is going rather poorly so far. But I was able to participate in a unique, Balinese experience that money can't buy! Well, except for those beers.