Since self-reflection is at the core of Nyepi, the best way to achieve this is to have no distractions, hence the silence. Essentially this means no work, no lights or fires, no entertainment and no travel resulting in no one leaving their home, or for a tourist, their hotel or villa. There are exceptions for mothers giving birth or emergencies to hospital.
Included in this shutdown is Bali’s main airport (Ngurah Rai) which is Indonesia’s second busiest airport and normally sees over 65,000 people processed daily.
Additionally, for the first time ever starting in 2018, mobile internet wifi services were shut down though just to be clear broadband internet service providers (ISP’s) are not required to switch things off so if you are in your villa or hotel the internet will still be available.
To ensure this silence is adhered to, policing the streets are the “pecalang” who are local security forces that are the eyes and ears of the different Royal Families that make up the Bali Kingdom.