On Legian Beach on August 17, dozens of foreigners raced in sacks, played tug of war and competed to eat krupuk the fastest — the crispy tapioca-flour cracker served with almost every dish in Indonesia.
That was how Bali marked the country's 81st anniversary of independence. The contests were organized by the Bali Friendship community, and turnout was noticeably higher than usual.
The line-up of games was the standard one for August 17: eating krupuk, where you have to take the cracker off a hanging string without using your hands, sack races, tug of war, running with a ball, and trying to drop a nail tied to your waist into the neck of a bottle. Winners were given packs of the same krupuk.
Foreigners competed alongside locals: both community members and people simply strolling along the beach were invited to join. Francesca, from the UK, who has lived on the island for two and a half years and teaches English, came to the beach right after the flag-raising ceremony at her school: she enjoyed eating krupuk the most, while she preferred to watch the tug of war from the sidelines.
Jessica from the Netherlands has been traveling to Indonesia since 2015 and has lived in Bali for eight months, but this was her first Independence Day here — she chose the tug of war, because you pull as a team.
The flag-raising ceremony, for which tourists get up early, took place in the morning in Denpasar at Niti Mandala Renon field. About ten foreigners stood at the edge of the field, some with their families and children, filming the flag-raising on their phones. Thirty-one-year-old Kieran from England had deliberately put on a red T-shirt and white trousers to match the colors of the flag, and next to him were people in sarongs and white shirts.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster called the presence of foreigners on August 17 a special value for the island. Ahead of the holiday, the hotel and restaurant association asked hotels to hold their own ceremonies on their premises, and guests joined the general formation and then took part in the games together with the staff.
In Sanur, the main venue was the The Meru Sanur hotel, also known as the Bali Beach Hotel: a flag measuring 8 by 7 meters was unfurled from the tenth floor, and the ceremony on the beach was held together with foreign guests, schoolchildren, representatives of the adat village and people with disabilities.
Next came panjat pinang, climbing a greased pole to reach the prizes, along with the same krupuk, tug of war and sack races, while a market of local traders operated nearby. It all started at dawn with jazz and Balinese gamelan and ended in the evening with kecak.
On the morning of the same day, on nearby Segara Ayu Beach, some fifty elderly residents of Denpasar held their own ceremony right on the sand at low tide: they raised the flag and sang the national anthem.
You can add one right now!