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Episode 09 · Bali

Bali, the island that goes silent.

Om Swastiastu! Tiny Zara lands on the Island of the Gods in a lace kebaya — tasting sate lilit, climbing emerald rice terraces, and uncovering the one day a year the whole island holds its breath.

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UBUD → ULUWATU → TANAH LOT → NUSA PENIDA

Tiny Zara in a red lace kebaya twirling on a giant frangipani flower in front of a Balinese temple gate

Zara is 3 cm tall. In Bali, a frangipani petal is a dance floor.

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01 / The silence

One day a year, an entire island holds its breath.

Detective Zara is on the case. Bali hides one secret day a year: Nyepi — the Balinese New Year. Twenty-four hours of total silence, fasting and self-reflection, to cleanse the island and let Mother Nature reboot.

Tiny Zara on the Tegallalang rice terraces beside a bamboo pipe at sunrise

Then, total silence. No fire, no work, no travel, no noise. The island goes so dark the sky explodes with stars.

Tiny Zara gazing up at a giant Ogoh-Ogoh demon effigy at night

The night of noise The night before Nyepi, giant Ogoh-Ogoh demons parade through the streets — shaken, spun, then burned.

24hours of island-wide silence, every Nyepi

4Catur Brata — the four sacred restrictions

1airport on Earth that fully closes for the day

3 cmZara’s height for the journey

02 / Tastes of Bali

What Bali feeds a tiny traveler.

Fried-rice royalty, lemongrass skewers, festival lawar — and a fruit attack Zara never recovered from.

Tiny Zara beside a giant plate of nasi goreng and a fork

Nasi goreng

Indonesia's legendary fried rice — the national dish. Zara tasted it and simply said: so good.

Tiny Zara hugging a sate lilit skewer taller than she is at a night market

Sate lilit

Spicy minced fish wrapped around lemongrass sticks. One skewer is taller than Zara.

Tiny Zara eating lawar from a coconut-shell bowl

Lawar

Chopped coconut, meat and spices, cooked for festivals like Galungan. Spicy! Whoo!

Tiny Zara peeking out of a hollow rambutan

The fruit attack

Rambutan! Mangosteen! Dragonfruit! Salak, the snake fruit! Zara moved into a rambutan. She is not leaving.

“One island, silent together, once a year. Maybe the world needs a Nyepi day too.”

Zara · detective mode, Nyepi

03 / Greatest hits

Ten stops. One unforgettable island.

Zara’s Bali album — temple cliffs, jungle paths, hidden beaches, holy springs, rice fields and sunset sand.

Tiny Zara on a giant seashell at Tanah Lot at sunset — Tanah LotSunset hits different when you're 3cm tall.

Tiny Zara beside a basket of flowers on the Uluwatu cliffs — Uluwatu TempleFront-row seats to the kecak fire dance — on a flower throne!

Tiny Zara under a leaf with a monkey in the Ubud Monkey Forest — Ubud Monkey ForestMade a new friend. He tried to steal my kebaya.

Tiny Zara on a leaf above Kelingking Beach — Kelingking BeachThe T-Rex of beaches. I stood on its leaf.

Tiny Zara on a rock at Tegenungan Waterfall — Tegenungan WaterfallShower time! (The rock is bigger than my house.)

Tiny Zara at the split gate of Lempuyang — Lempuyang Gate of HeavenGate of Heaven: unlocked. Next stop, the clouds.

Tiny Zara on a lotus flower at the Tirta Empul springs — Tirta EmpulHoly water hits different at 3cm. Purified!

Tiny Zara on the stone steps of Besakih with Mount Agung behind — Besakih Great TempleBali's Mother Temple — I climbed all the way up.

Tiny Zara under an arching rice stalk at the Jatiluwih terraces — Jatiluwih TerracesEndless green. I swung from a rice stalk.

Tiny Zara beside a giant pink coral on Seminyak Beach — Seminyak BeachBeach day! My coral lounge chair is bigger than me.

Instagram

The Reel lives on Instagram.

YouTube stays the full episode. The 9:16 Reel opens on Instagram so nothing here is cropped or blank.

Zara in Bali — open the Instagram Reel

Notes & further reading

Nyepi — Bali's Day of Silence
The 24-hour Catur Brata Penyepian: no fire, no work, no travel, no entertainment.
Subak — UNESCO World Heritage
The thousand-year-old cooperative irrigation system behind the emerald terraces.
Galungan — Bali's biggest holiday
Every 210 days: dharma defeats adharma, ancestors come home, penjor line the streets.

The loudest island party of the year ends in total silence — and the stars come out.

THIS is Bali… and she is MAGICAL!