As our time is up and the piggy bank is nearly empty, Bali will sadly be the furthest (east) we will be travelling this time around.
We arrived in time for the Balinese new year, Gulungan, based on the Balinese pawukon calendrical system and takes place every 210 days. The streets are decorated with coconut palm leaves and the population is busy ferrying offerings back and forth from the temples.
Balinese was strongly influenced by Indian, and particularly Sanskrit, culture, Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia.The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined as a result of rise of Islam (spreading east ward from Sumatra), there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.