Balinese new year means two things. Ogha Ogha and silence. The celebrations here take the form of firstly (over the weeks leading up to the day) building huge demons out of paper mache, these are called Ogha Ogha and each area has it’s own one. On the day before their new year, they parade these mache monsters down the streets before arriving at a meeting point to show them off with each village performing their own dance.

It’s pretty amazing to watch, and although Canggu has it’s own Ogha Ogha, I got the local knowledge and was told they’re bigger and better over at a place called Mungoo.

So, myself, a small scooter squad, and a few Bintangs took the shortcuts through the rice paddies to ride over to Mungoo. There’s something awesome about riding to a new spot in Bali, the scenery is always beautiful, and scooters handle like a dream.

Upon finding the parade we almost became part of it. We wanted to see all the Ogha Ogha before they arrived at the meeting point so we rode up some side streets. Unfortunately the parade was coming in fast from the other direction. We about faced and quickly. I’ve never been chased by a parade of monsters before but it’s more trouble than it sounds.