Bali by the numbers

To breakdown the island into numbers seems anti romantic but sometimes it helps to get your arms around it - how romantic.

So some you might and some you might not - know -

• It is one of hundreds of islands that make the Indonesian Republic
• 8 degrees below the equator
• It is about 2,220 sq miles which is half that of the Big Island of Hawaii (which if you drive it is a round trip of under five hours) - not so in Bali - one point to another can take a day (roads are narrow and congested)
• It houses close to 5M people most of which clutter around the eastern part since the western thirds is a national park 
• Housing and constructed buildings tend to be shorter than the tallest temple in town so nothing over five stories was visible for miles making for tightly packed homes that house more than one family in the compound.  

1. Typically Balinese families stay as joint families.  
2. They have a family temple right on the edge of their home and visible from the road.
3. The kids are numbered like the Cat in the Hat books - thing 1, thing 2 etc.  
4. Except they are named in the delivery sequence - the first offspring is usually Putu (boy or girl); second is Made - yes we know but pronounced Maa Day; third is Nyoman; fourth is Ketut and then they start all over (assuming they want to - literally)

• They observe one day of complete inaction and silence - usually in March - called Nyepi - literally brings the island to a halt - no sounds, no lights - nothing.  A plane flying over that evening sees a dark blob in the ocean.  It is a time to meditate and reflect.  Some don't eat all day.  The day after Nyepi is the local New Year's Day Festival where they have a big party.
• Perhaps we can all take that to heart and just do nothing for a Day!