In the heart of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia we stumbled upon a celebration in the streets unlike any other.
The birthday of the villages king.
On a steep hillside we stopped and among hundreds of people we made our way into the street where we found what can only be described as the largest glimpse of fun propelled chaos that we have ever seen.
His vessel so large that feet ahead, men would sprint down the road, hoist large bamboo poles into the air, and physically lift the large messy entanglements of power lines which already looked on the verge of coming down out of pure lack of any type of electrical codes or guidelines. The king was coming, the men were running, and us witnesses yelling…..they had missed a power line, and the tall traditional temple that was being carried by over twenty men with a king on top was going to be clothes lined for sure. Shockingly they continued and sure enough the tip top of the kings temple, him on top waving and laughing, caught on the forgotten line and the entirety of it all began to wobble and tilt. Us viewers still providing sound effects to the extents of “ohhhhhhhhh” as the men struggled to regain composure and not drop their leader. They prevailed, took a rest, lifted again, and continued.
Catch a glimpse of the celebration below!
Find more on our stay in Ubud here.
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