Ramadan month and holiday in Bali

It is Ramadan. For about 2 weeks, Muslims all over the world have been celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. This means not eating, drinking, smoking, or making love from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is intended to bring believers closer to God and purify their souls, especially through abstinence, self-control, and focus on the essential. That's the theory...

But as soon as it gets dark, the big fast-breaking begins. People gather in mosques, at home with their families, or in warungs (small restaurants) and eat as much as they can. I couldn't find out why fasting is only done during the day (and I didn't necessarily want to read the Quran). Only that the Prophet Muhammad advises to have light meals when breaking the fast. o_O

Somehow it seems incomplete. There are also several exceptions to fasting. For example, children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, the sick, the elderly, travelers, women on their period, pilots, doctors, etc. are exempted from fasting. And there are surely more reasons not to fast. However, those who are able to must make up for the missed fasting days later.

We don't fully understand all of this. Because on some days, the park is packed with people eating, even though there is usually empty and no one eats, smokes, or drinks. Maybe it's the 12% of non-Muslim Indonesians in the park on those days. Or it's some kind of "exceptional day." Who knows. Apparently, it's all a matter of interpretation and depends on the level of faith of each individual. 

Why am I telling you all this? Because it directly affects us! Whether it's a matter of interpretation or not, there is hardly anything to eat at the moment, as all shops and warungs are closed during the day. Luckily, we are in a refuge of exception, because the restaurants in the park are open! However, they have only half the menu and there are some sacrifices. Also, out of respect, we do not drink, eat, or smoke in public. That also means we have to do everything secretly at work, out of consideration for our 2 Muslim colleagues.

That's why it came in handy when Stephan announced to us from his vacation in Germany that we can go on a holiday to Bali after he returns (Bali is mainly Hindu, so they do not celebrate Ramadan there). Toni had already invited us to the Bali Safari and Marine Park a while ago, but we just didn't have the opportunity yet. And being invited means being invited. The Taman Safari Parks organized everything together, so we were picked up by a driver at home, taken to the airport, and picked up again at the airport in Bali and taken to our accommodation in the park. By the way, it's the first time I've been picked up at the airport with a sign with my name. :D We stayed in a guesthouse in the park where some employees also live.

The entrance to the Bali Safari and Marine Park (the marine park is still under construction and is scheduled to open in early 2019)

The next day, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Just to be safe, we wore official clothing so that everyone would know where we belong.

After the lavish breakfast, we had a tour of the park. First, we went to the Bali Starling Breeding Center. It's similar to our Breeding Center, but with Bali starlings. We also met Sudi again, a zookeeper from Bali who had done a 2-week internship at our Breeding Center a while ago.

After that, we went to one of the shows. There are several shows every day at Bali Safari, similar to Taman Safari Prigen, with various animals. However, they focus a lot on environmental education, especially because of the many international tourists who often view such shows critically. Therefore, the shows have an Asian flair, but with a lot of information and messages about wildlife conservation. Nevertheless, Roy and I think that having an orangutan in the show, despite the information about the threat to the species, comes too close to a circus and conveys a misleading image. Because people mostly do not understand what is being conveyed and only see the "funny, cute, and anthropomorphized" orangutan.

Next was the tiger show, mainly about the threat to tigers, adorned with Balinese dance and a somewhat opaque story.

The elephant show was also filled with dance and kitsch, but there was also a lot of explanation and education. However, the story was as usual somewhat opaque and rather silly.

Lastly, we watched a Balinese dance show. Photography and filming were not allowed. But the huge cinematic scenery was overwhelming, and the show with over 150 actors, traditional elements, and a coherent story was really good.

Finally, we had the classic safari in a safari bus, but unfortunately, we didn't spend enough time in the animal enclosures.

The ride also went through a huge animal enclosure adjacent to the hotel area. So the hotel guests have an exclusive view of various animals... well, those who can afford it...

For this, we were allowed to exclusively feed tigers from a cave in the middle of the tiger enclosure. The portioned chicken meat was weighed at 100g and limited to 10 portions per day. We would have left the 2 portions to the paying visitors, but apparently, they wanted to offer us something special.

In the evening, we had the night safari. It was a safari tour through the park at night (starting at 6 pm when it's already dark). First, we walked through the zoo for about 15 minutes, which was too fast and too short in our opinion. But we had a noisy group with loud people and some party tourists from Australia or something, so we couldn't really enjoy it. After that, we went on a specially made cage cart through the safari park, including the tiger and lion enclosures. In the herbivore area, like with zebras, elephants, watussis, etc., we could feed them carrots. And when the tiger jumped on the cage, we were allowed to touch its belly. All under the supervision of several accompanying keepers, but I still didn't feel comfortable. The photos didn't turn out well because it was too dark and shaky, and anyway, I just wanted to capture the atmosphere, which rarely succeeds.

But here's a photo of the cart driving through the lion enclosure, which can also be seen from the restaurant.

The whole experience had too much entertainment value for our taste. We found it very unfortunate because with the shows, the Breeding Center, and the overall setup of the park, Bali Safari is on a good path towards environmental education, which they slightly deviate from with the night safari.

After the safari, there was a delicious buffet and a fire show with an African theme.

Fire show.

Denpasar, Bali's capital city, was planned for the next day. We wanted to order a taxi to take us to the city, but we got a driver from the safari park instead. It was nice of them, but since he was always waiting for us somewhere, we didn't have real peace or time just for ourselves.

First, we went to the bird market in Denpasar. Since I have reported on bird markets before, I don't want to say much about it. Just let the pictures speak for themselves and imagine the impact this has had, is having, and will have on wildlife.

There were at least 20 vendors with a huge selection.

Full of birds of various species.

Incredible.

There were not only birds but also fish, reptiles, and 4 very young monkeys (long-tailed macaques).

Some animals looked fine, while others were obviously struggling to survive.

He's carrying orioles somewhere.

After the bird market, we went to the beach.

Looks more inviting in the photo than in reality. Like so many things. It was mainly filled with surfers and sunburned tourists, roasting themselves even more. Maybe they were party tourists, because we assume that package tourists are more likely to be found in fancy resorts on paradise beaches rather than in the capital city.

At least I had my feet in the water.

Do you notice that frightened squirrel? Or is it just my imagination? And I don't mean the cat!

Speaking of trash. We were sitting relaxed on the rocks and enjoying the moment when a woman came with a bucket and walked towards the water. At first, I didn't think anything of it, but she actually dumped her trash into the sea. That was an absolute key moment for me, which I rarely experience. No matter what the EU decides or what environmental consciousness every enlightened European claims, it's all useless as long as there are people who are uninformed, ignorant, or dumb. And there are many of them. This doesn't mean that doing something as an individual is pointless, it is actually more than important! Nothing is worse than thinking that as an individual, one can't do anything (those are the ignorant ones). But it has shown me once again that humanity is ultimately destroying itself, and we are leaving something irreparable for future generations. I think people who have been to Asia, Africa, or similar parts of the world know what I mean.

Back to our daily routine, we are missing the delicious food in Bali a bit. But soon, Idul Fitri will be celebrated, the big feast of breaking the fast. It lasts at least 2 days and is a thanksgiving to Allah for surviving the fast. There will be lots of prayers, celebrations, food, gifts, and spending time with family. It's a bit like Christmas, but in a Muslim way. That means there will be food everywhere again, 24/7! 😊

Typical Idul Fitri sweets that replace regular goods in stores days before the actual festival.

Apropos, if there's nothing left, for example because the Indonesians have eaten everything, then I still have my own grown vegetables :D

I have cultivated radishes that are taking shape, lettuce and herbs that can already be eaten, and the tomatoes are slowly turning red.

And this is my pride and joy: this proud specimen of about 10 centimeters. 

And if even that doesn't work out, for example because the Indonesians steal my vegetables during Idul Fitri (which I won't allow), then we still have the two survival packages that reached us in the past weeks. Thanks again to Dad and Grandma, and to Katha, Thomas, and Oscar :D

As always, a lot, but I just can't seem to keep it short...

Thank you for reading! Also to the people I haven't had contact with for a while and who still show interest in what I'm doing.

Terima kasih!