Bali airport to close for the day on ‘Nyepi’
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Hundreds of thousands of Balinese Hindus conducted the Melasti ritual march Tuesday in preparation for Thursday’s Hindu Day of Silence, when the resort island will come to a standstill, including Ngurah Rai International Airport.
A spokesman for state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, Ahmad Munir, said the airport would close at 6 a.m. on March 30 until 6 a.m. the following day.
“We have already sent letters of notice to all airlines and companies using the airport’s service,” Ahmad said.
The last flight scheduled to arrive at Ngurah Rai is a Japan Airlines (JAL) service on March 29, at 11:40 p.m, while JAL 720 is to depart to Tokyo at 11:55 p.m.
Bali transportation agency head Putu Ardana said the island’s ports in Padang Bai, Karangasem, Benoa, Gilimanuk, Amed and Celukan Bawang will also stop operations during the Nyepi holiday, along with all government and private offices.
Private and government banks will end their transactions on Wednesday at 12 noon, but many bank ATMs will still be in service.
Bank BCA ATMs, however, will shut down at 12 p.m. on Wednesday in places outside Denpasar, Kuta, Sanur and Nusa Dua, but will stay open in tourist areas until 10 p.m.
School students will have three days off from Wednesday through Friday.
Starting Thursday morning, the tourist island of Bali will become a silent place, with most Balinese staying in doors and tourists asked to keep a low profile.
Around three million Balinese Hindus are expected to observe the €aka New Year 1928 in total silence and later in darkness, turning off all lights and machinery and extinguishing cooking fires.
Prior to the Nyepi holiday, the Balinese perform a series of rituals, including the Melasti or purification of the soul, at the island’s beaches and rivers. A ritual on Nyepi’s eve, Pengrupukan, symbolizes the fight of good against evil. It is observed throughout the island Wednesday night with an all-night parade of hundreds of giant demonic Ogoh-Ogoh papier-mache dolls along city streets.