Bali, Indonesia
One thing that we’ve discovered about traveling is that it is often more fun to stumble upon a local activity than to try to find something in particular from a guide book. One of these instances was the Kite Festival at Sanur Beach. During the week, we saw tons of kites being flown around the beach area (we counted 75) and we wondered what was going on. It turns out that people were practicing for the Kite Festival which was being held that weekend. So we made sure to find the details and come back on the weekend.
The Kite Festival was the definition of a “local activity.” Definitely not a tourist attraction, but a few thousand locals turning up for some traditional fun. The teams of anywhere from 10-20 or so, dressed in tradional clothing (checkered sarongs) flew homemade flags with their team names, banged on gongs, and had a great time. Some of the kites were so big, they had to bring them on big trucks! And they definitely aren’t flown with string — they use rope! We had such a fun afternoon, pretending to be local, and taking in the activities.
Big trucks are used to haul the enormous kites for the Kite Festival
Different teams await their turn at the Kite Festival in Sanur
One of the kite entrants — About 20 men and boys for a kite this size
The Kite Festival is a time to dress up in traditional clothing!
These kites are held with thick rope, not kitchen twine!
Another team prepares to launch their kite
Several kites of the same category all flying together.
On the black sand beach in Sanur, Bali.
Leaving the kite festival
Did they happen to have kite runners too? Is it anything like that book?