24 hours of silence for 4.22 million people on Nyepi day

As long as we live we learn.
I had no idea that somewhere on Earth there is a day where for a full 24 hours normal life is totally suspended.
No people on the streets,  no noises,  no traffic,  no airports opened, really nothing works for 24 hours.  It has a huge impact, much larger than Earth hour for instance.
24 hours with no pollution, be it from factories, cars or plains.
Tourists are confined to their hotel rooms with black curtains covering the windows. No lights can be seen from the streets.  Total silence.
A life changing experience.
4.22 million locals and many thousand tourists in total silence on an island 60 times larger the size of Manhattan.
It’s amazing to observe from the roof top pool of our hotel the stillness that surrounds you everywhere.

 The meaning of silence and abstention to leave home and be in the streets comes from the popular belief that malignant gods visit the island during Nyepi day. If they believe nobody is on the island, they leave for another year. In reality, the main purpose of Nyepi’s abstinences is to invite everyone to an introspection on personal values, and to pray to the Supreme God – Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa – so it keeps the world in harmony.

Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection, and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. The main restrictions are no lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no traveling; and, for some, no talking or eating at all. The effect of these prohibitions is that Bali’s usually bustling streets and roads are empty, there is little or no noise from TVs and radios, and few signs of activity are seen even inside homes. The only people to be seen outdoors are the Pecalang, traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed.