OMG .. Bali closed for the day!

O my goodness gracious me! Did you know that on Nyepi day, Bali is closed for the day. It seems it’s a day for meditation and absolute silence in Bali, – which this year falls on Friday, 23 March, the entire island of Bali will be closed for 24 hours to all traffic, including air traffic.

In keeping with the strict traditions of the holy day, Bali grinds to an absolute halt from 6:00 a.m. on Friday, March 23 until Saturday, March 24, 2012.

On the eve of Nyepi, celebrations are held when floats of huge colourful paper demons are paraded through the streets of cities, carried to the beach and torched, making a bright bonfire. Each one then quietly retreats to their homes to spend the entire day in silent reflection, free from any noise. Homes may also not have any open fires, nor any lights lit at night.

Also, on this day, no one is allowed on the streets and on the beach, including tourists. Flights to and from Bali will be suspended. While this may sound eerie, it seems those who have gone through this absolute quietness of a whole island find it a most exhilarating experience. See more here

The observance of the day is all-pervasive and includes:

• The requirements that Bali visitors stay confined within the grounds of their hotels for the 24-hour period and not leave the premises, except in cases of medical emergency.
• All streets are empty and closed. No one is allowed on the roads. All businesses are closed. Only emergency vehicles are permitted.
• Bali’s airport is closed during the 24-hour period. No flights are allowed to land or take off from the airport. Technical stops are allowed but no passenger may disembark or embark on a flight during this period.
• Television and radio stations are closed and cable broadcast companies are asked to suspend their signals to Bali during the proscribed period.
  

  

E-books have killed paper books – yeah right!

E-books have killed paper books ‘they’ say. I say ‘yeah right’.  And, something new has happened to show we avid readers  are right – it will be a long time, if ever, that paper will not be used in books.  So, what is it?

The Dutch started it, the Spanish, the French, and the British soon followed . . . and now it’s in New Zealand.

I could start a what is it?  ‘Bigger than a bread-box? Smaller than a box of tissues?”  but these are not the worlds that would help you solve the puzzle.

Try words like paper books, hardback, e-books, Kindles or Kobo, slips easily into your pocket, weighs less that 145 grams, and you would be nearer to the subject.

Then, add words like save trees, extremely thin paper, read from top to bottom,  flip-up, and there you have it: something very new in books.

So what is this puzzle that’s not a puzzle anymore?

It’s the “flipback” book, which seems it originated in Holland, (2009)  and which you hold vertically and flip the pages up as you read. No more turning the pages ‘over’ just flip it UP. The other revolutionary (or is it evolutionary) idea is the spine is made so that the book can lie open for reading without requiring a hand to hold it open (no broken spines either) great for reading  on the go especially in transport, while holding on so you don’t fall.

Flipbacks, published by Hodder & Stoughton, were launched in  New Zealand by Hachette NZ, (July 2011)  I’m sure as I write, these are spreading around the world,  an ideal gift for a traveller. Perfect for planes, waiting in queues for boarding, ticket buying and all those other places we have learnt to grab valuable reading moments.

So when others are talking about the demise of the paper book – here is a new hard-cover book, completely original, and a useful adjunct to my reading pile – offering me just another way of reading.

So, if you are thinking of buying me a book for my travels – I’d be happy with any other 100 titles already out ( 11 so far in NZ, more out in Sept and November)

See what our own Bookman says on Beattie’s book blog