Why They Celebrate at Funerals, Stay Silent on New Year’s, and Build Temples Instead of Toilets
IT entrepreneur and blogger Igor Poltavtsev, who has been living in Bali for several years, shares his impressions of the Balinese. He runs a Youtube channel about this and you can visit his eco-village for remote workers, swap your dreary winter scenery for a real paradise, but more on that later.
So, the Balinese:
- Are very religious. Most of them are Hindus, performing various rituals five times a day. It is so serious that an altar or mini temple is the first thing they build when constructing a new house. In their homes, there may be no toilet, but there will definitely be a temple. They spend up to half their income on donations.
- Eat strange food (to our taste, of course). Like all Asians and islanders: spicy, fragrant, unfamiliar. Prepare your stomachs!
- Are less clean than Europeans. They may throw garbage right at their feet on the streets. Possibly due to this and the huge number of tourists, many beaches are not very clean.
- Have gotten used to living, sleeping, walking, working, and relaxing in the rain. From November to May, it rains at least half the day in Bali. However, it is noted that in general, it is very hot there (25–30 degrees Celsius year-round), so such precipitation is quite pleasant.
- Treat women like slaves. Women do the hardest work (even on construction sites), while having almost no rights; they are de facto owned by their fathers and then their husbands.
- Love bargaining. In markets for food, handmade items, and many other goods, it is perfectly normal to have no price tags and to reduce the announced price by 5-10 times.
- Speak English well.
- Drive motorbikes. The roads have terrible traffic jams, and it seems there are no traffic rules. With narrow roads and left-side driving, one must be extremely cautious.
- Are friends with snakes, insects, and spiders. Or at least they are used to them and are not afraid. It’s completely normal if a snake crawls into your kitchen or falls on your head in the jungle. Keep a brave Balinese nearby and don’t panic; their snakes are not venomous.
- Some Balinese only eat prama (i.e., “holy spirit”).
- Celebrate New Year in March. To be honest, they don’t celebrate it at all; rather, it’s called “Day of Silence.” One cannot go out onto the streets or even show themselves in windows; the island goes completely silent, and even the airport doesn’t operate. It is believed that on this day, evil spirits fly over the island, and one should not attract their attention or anger them.
- Enjoy cockfighting. An event not for the faint-hearted, it’s very bloody!
- Create amazing and unique items and crafts from wood, stone, and other natural materials. These are not just souvenirs but also valuable interior items, furniture, fabrics, and so on.
- Rejoice when someone dies. They believe in karma and reincarnation. It’s hard to imagine, but funerals are a celebration where everyone genuinely has fun and no one cries.
- Enjoy crazy ceremonies with papier-mâché elephants and deities. It’s normal for such a parade to block the already crazy traffic for half the day.
- Appreciate and love their stunning nature—volcanoes, islands, mountains, waterfalls.
- Are friendly and peace-loving, polite, and love life.
- Can be happy with minimal (extremely minimal) income. They need nothing for happiness beyond sunshine, air, prana, friends and loved ones nearby—no ambitions or material dreams.
- Have a good attitude towards IT professionals and remote workers, but not so much towards those who “steal their jobs,” i.e., those openly earning money in Bali, especially through manual labor.
Summarizing all that has been said, the Balinese are interesting, exotic, yet very kind and gentle individuals. No wonder people come from all over the world to Bali in search of soul harmony, magical experiences, or to spend a couple of months in paradise if their work allows.
Follow Igor Poltavtsev’s Youtube channel to learn all about life, relaxation, and work in Bali.
Come to his fantastic IT village where you can live for a whole month for just 400 USD and meet interesting people!
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Read more:
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Danes: What Are They Really Like?
About the Residents of Vienna: How They Differ from Germans and Why They Are Not Happy to See Us
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