I'm not sure I can see the upside of being in Bali for "Nyepi Day, the Balinese Day of Silence"

Shutting up. There isn't much of a chance of doing that for 24 hours straight. Once a year, that's exactly what the Indonesian island of Bali is all about. "Religious cops" (hello, irony) patrol the streets, asking locals and foreigners alike to "please return to your home or hotel", or "please refrain from enjoying any personal amusements or indulgences". Nobody is allowed outside. Nobody. Even the Denpasar international airport shuts down for 24 hours. Now, apart from being perhaps the ideal 24 hour period to nurse a banging hangover, I'm not sure I can see the upside of being in Bali for "Nyepi Day, the Balinese Day of Silence". Fortunately, our one-way tickets departing Perth, Australia are now finally booked, we will be arriving at Denpasar in about 48 hours, four days prior to "Nyepi-Oh-Ten" (sounds a lot slicker than  "Nyepi 2010", I mean come on, "Nyepi-Oh-Ten"? Theres' a Bintang co-lab in that for sure, thank me later).

I estimate we can be off the island of Bali within about 48 hours. Nyepi, a local tradition dating back eons, will sensibly be avoided, the impossible day of excruciating tasks that torments so many locals and foreigners alike will certainly not be our downfall. No, it will be onwards, to the island of Java. "Java - The Most Populous of ALL Muslim Islands" (tm). The next post is tentatively entitled  "So, now we're in Java, do ya think a little fucking research might have helped?".

Before we leave, a photo from our home town of Perth. Photo number one, of many to come on noplanes.com. 140 William Street, Perth, Western Australia. My favourite "under construction" tower in the City of Perth.