Bali Travel Forum

hi..

i will go to bali in august 08, have heard that the galungan festivsl will be held during 21-30 august 08....where is the best place to see the festival? please enlighten me...

thank you in advance
rungtip

I was in Ubud for Galungan in 2006. In my opinion, you won't find a better place than that - where better to take in the festival than Bali's central cultural attraction?

I wrote this about Ubud - enjoy!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/590023/ubud_the_cultural_hearth_of_bali.html?cat=16

While the Galungan to Kuningan time for the Balinese mark their most important religious period, this is not necessarily the best time for spectators to enjoy public displays of the ceremonies that mark other times of the Balinese calendar.

Galungan is all about ancestors, and as they descend into the family compounds throughout Bali, the majority of celebrations and ceremonies are out of public view. Certain temples in Bali may also have their odalon, or “birthday” during this time, but that is not really a part of Galungan...rather, it is coincidental and determined by the lunar (Balinese) calendar.

During Galungan, most all of Bali’s streets are lined with penjors in front of every Balinese compound. These full size bamboo poles are lavishly decorated, and their omnipresence during this time indicates the very serious attention the Balinese pay to their ancestors.

What many visitors to Bali during Galungan to Kuningan are likely to see are the processions of Barongs throughout all the villages in Bali.

In short, I would not recommend Bali as a place to be because of Galungan, as this time is primarily for family. While tourism does not shut down during Galungan, as it does on Nyepi, the fact is, all the Balinese who work the tourism business on Galungan day would really rather be home.

Great reply by Ubudian

In essence Galungan is celebrated throughout Bali not necessarily in one spot, so there isn't one best spot to experience the celebrations, it's all around you.

everyone will be celebrating galungan in their family homes. maybe not so much to 'see'. best to look on bali tourism board website, find the balinese calendar and where the local temple celebrations are (not related to galungan) and have a stroll past / around the area while this is taking place. much more to 'see' as ceremony will be in public temple as opposed to galungan at home.