Bali's Nyepi day -- Day of Silence --30 March 2006

As part of keeping track of holidays to avoid, I found this good explanation of Bali's Nyepi day at Bali News, Bali Hotels - Villas - Tour and Travel - Information Services: "Bali will celebrate Nyepi - Bali famous 'official day of silence' starting from 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2006 and ending 24 hours later on Friday, March 31st."

For tourists, this means:
"By sunrise on March 30th all will be required to take refuge in their hotels or homes before sunrise - there to remain until the following morning. Major hotels, with the permission of the Island's government, generally allow their guests full use of their various outlets with the understanding that guests will not venture outside the property's grounds. To ensure services to guests are not interrupted, special arrangements are made for the hotel's staff to stay overnight at their place of employment as normal traffic between their homes and place of employment is impossible on Nyepi day.

Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport is closed throughout the designated 24-hour period. Flight are allowed to transit the airport on Nyepi, but no passengers will be permitted to enter or leave the terminal area until the holy day has passed. Special exemptions, however, are made for technical and emergency landings, as well as medical evacuations."

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