Yesterday was Nyepi here in Bali. That is their calendar new year. They have a very interesting way to celebrate, something I’ve never heard of anywhere else in the world.
The day before is also a big celebration here though the government is trying to suppress it. Nyepi eve is the party time. The tradition is to party in the streets until late at night. I missed that part, so I don’t know if the government restrictions on partying in the main streets worked or not. My guess is that it did. The people here are likely to go along with that, as long as they could have their party in the side streets.
Nyepi is a day of reflection for the Balinese. They are stay in all day and don’t do any work. It was amazing to not hear any motorcycles all day long. Now, at 6 am, the streets are busy already and someone is blaring music just down the street.
They also turn off the electricity and don’t cook. It’s a day of complete silence and contemplation and reflection.
They make allowances for foreigners. The hotels are allowed to keep the power on, but we have to keep our curtains closed and stay within the compound. It actually got pretty crowded at the place where I’m staying. A lot of locals escaped the imposition of Nyepi by going to a hotel where they don’t have to obey the rules.
I don’t really think it’s true, but one thought I had is that Nyepi is a day to stay in so that people could recover from the party the day before. Which brings me to the health tip always want to include in these posts.
If you party and happen to imbibe a bit too much, you might develop a bit of a hangover. Not that I think any of you drink to excess, I just had to squeeze in a health tip here.
There are many parts to a hangover, toxins from the break down of alcohol and dehydration are the main ones. So, the treatment is to drink lots of water and take vitamins that will help the liver deal with alcohol’s toxic residue.
Water you drink now won’t hydrate your body for 48 hours, so drinking water earlier would help more. B vitamins are the main support for helping the liver do its job. B12 is one of the most important.
A friend of mine who lives here takes an energy drink that can be bought in any of the little stores around. it has L- taurine and ginseng in it. It seems to pick him up really fast. Part of that could be the sugar though.
I wouldn’t recommend ginseng to everyone, it’s a very hot herb, especially the red or Korean ginseng. Many Traditional Chinese doctors say to never give Korean ginseng to women for example, and it can be a bit much for the male body in many instances.
I hope you don’t imbibe too often if at all, and then with moderation. But if you do find yourself suffering the morning after, be sure to get your B vitamins and lots of water.
