If You Feel Stuck In Life, Read This! (Nyepi Travel Story)

I’ve got a crazy story to share with you that had a pretty big impact on me and actually taught me a great lesson too.
It’s from a few years ago, when I traveled through Asia and visited the beautiful island of Bali.

So, sit back, and let’s dive right into it!

Okay, so this happened in 2017, right when I landed in Bali. I stayed at this cozy guest house, which was run by some nice local people.

On one of my first days there, I returned from the beach, and the guy at the guest house asked me if I had already gotten groceries.
I told him “No…?”, and was a bit puzzled why he would ask like that, especially since I didn’t carry any bags or anything. So I asked him why.

Little did I know that his response would change my plans entirely…

A Surprising Revelation: Nyepi Day Approaches

He said I had to stock up because the day after tomorrow was a special day called “Nyepi.”

“Huh?”

Now, here’s the kicker:
As it turns out, the day after next was Nyepi, also known as Silent Day—a major Hindu holiday in Bali.

On this day, the entire island shuts down, and nobody is allowed to leave their homes—for 24 hours!
It sounded unbelievable, like something out of a movie. The locals, tourists,..everyone is required to stay inside, with the police enforcing the strict rules.

And let me tell you, they took it seriously.

The Significance of Nyepi and its Rules

So, why this restriction? Well, Hindu tradition says that Nyepie is meant to be “Silent Day”. Not “a” silent day, “THE” silent day. It has to be the quietest day of the year, actually.

The more I learned about Nyepi, the more surreal it seemed.
All activities come to a halt. The shops, the supermarkets…everything shuts down.
No sounds, songs, or shouting; also, no TV shows or radio.

But it doesn’t stop there. No lights are allowed at night. So you could only use the dimmest of lights when the curtains are closed. It must not be visible from the outside.

And trust me, the penalties for breaking these rules were no joke!

If the police see any light, they’ll come knocking, and you have to expect a hefty fine.
Walking outside? Jailtime.

I remember the guy at the guest house told me this crazy story about how someone turned on a light during Nyepi the year before, and the police threw rocks at their window to make them turn it off.

Can I flee from Nyepi?

So there I was, contemplating my fate. I just arrived in Bali and wouldn’t stay there for too long, and then I was stuck indoors for a whole day.

I reached out to other travelers since they were in the same boat.
And you know what? Almost all of them knew about it, of course, and had plans for trips to other islands nearby, partying it up while I’d be here, twiddling my thumbs.

I looked for short trips to islands nearby, but everything was either booked out or had intense prices a couple of days before the event.

Embracing the Unexpected: A Relaxing Day Indoors

Well, I made my peace with it. I felt like I was going to waste a day in the hotel room instead of a beautiful beach, but oh well.

Initially, I was disappointed that I couldn’t leave the island like other travelers, but I embraced the idea of a relaxing day in my hotel room.
I stocked up on groceries, and drinks, and settled in for a peaceful day. The hotel had Wi-Fi, so I knew I could keep myself entertained with videos and browsing the internet.

Not too bad, right?

(I actually heard that after Nypie that year, they even blocked the wifi that day. Crazy!)

I had no idea that a breathtaking surprise awaited me as the night fell (pictures at the end of this post!).

The Big Surprise!

Nyepi itself went by slowly. Pretty unspectacular.

But then, as the night came, the following happened:

I received a text from a local girl I was texting with. She tells me to turn off every little light source that I might use, open the window, and look outside.
I was like, “What’s there to see? There’s just darkness, right?”

But she insisted…

I open the window, and BANG!

A dead, silent island with no single light source anywhere. It was pitch black outside. Luckily, there was no full moon that would brighten things up. Even more luckily, there were no clouds in the sky either.

And there it was.

The, by far, most beautiful night sky I had ever seen in my entire life (pictures at the end of this post!).

Nothing came even remotely close to what I saw at that moment. It truly was a sight beyond words.
I must have stood there with my jaw on the floor for minutes. Absolutely unbelievable. It was as if the universe had put on a show.

I felt incredibly lucky to witness such a magical moment.
A moment I wanted to share with everyone I liked.

The silence, the darkness, and the brilliance of the stars created an atmosphere. I don’t have words that could do it justice, trying to describe this.

My phone camera was, of course, not able to take any pictures of this, So it was something to be fully enjoyed only at that moment.

But then, a week later, a friend contacted me who saw on social media that I was in Bali, and coincidentally, she was there too and stayed there for Nyepi Day.
She managed to somehow sneak out and get on the hotel roof with some friends to take a couple of pictures with a good camera. She sent those pictures to me, and I will share them with you in a bit.

But first, I want to say that…

Life Lesson: Finding Beauty in Challenges

Looking back, my experience on Nyepi taught me a great lesson—sometimes the path we least expect to take leads us to the most extraordinary moments.

Despite feeling initially unlucky, being “stuck” on Bali during Nyepi turned out to be a stroke of luck for me. It allowed me to witness a breathtaking night sky that unfortunately only very few get to see these days. Even though it is always there, every night, above our heads.

But with all the light pollution going on, most of us never see a night sky like that, just like I might never see one again.

This whole thing reminded me of the importance of trying to find beauty even in challenging situations.

We think we’re on the wrong path or facing bad luck, but exactly on this path might be a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. Who knows, maybe what seemed like the wrong turn at first will end up being the best thing that could have ever happened.

What started as a seemingly inconvenient situation turned into a crazy and profound experience that left a lasting impact on me.

First, I felt like the idiot who had to stay back while so many people left the island to enjoy their day and party on some beaches at night.

But after all, this amazing night with the stars…It made me feel like the lucky one while the other people were totally missing out.

Life has a way of surprising us, and sometimes, the most memorable moments come from the situations we least expect.

Conclusion

So, my friends, let this story serve as a reminder for us, that even in the midst of challenges, there can be beauty and opportunities for truly amazing things.
Don’t let setbacks discourage us. Instead, let’s actively seek out the positive. Maybe something will find us, or maybe we can create something beautiful exactly because of where we ended up.

Sometimes the unplanned detours in life lead us to the most incredible destinations.

Listen, I know that if you are going through rough times at the moment or in the future, the last thing you want to hear is someone telling you that something good will come out of it.

That things happen for a reason or platitudes like that…I know in those situations you don’t want to hear that because I’ve been there, and even at the moment, I’m in that place too…

The only thing I want to say with this story is…Don’t stop looking. Don’t stop trying. Don’t stop believing, that something great might be just around the corner. You might be closer to a gem than you think.
Maybe you just need a little change of perspective, just like I only needed to look up.

I wish you that you will find your starry night sky, too.

To end this story on a nice quote that I read before I show you those pictures my friend took: