Bali Is Not Quite the Indonesia You Imagined

Spend a few days in Bali and you will start noticing them everywhere: small woven baskets made from palm leaves. They sit outside homes, on sidewalks, beside cars, in restaurants and even on scooter seats.

These are canang sari - daily offerings to the gods.

Made with flowers, rice, leaves and sometimes incense, they are placed every morning as an expression of gratitude and a wish for balance.

Even the flowers are carefully chosen. Their colors and arrangement carry symbolic meaning, connected to the directions and the divine.

And here is the part that may surprise you: once an offering is placed on the ground, it is not considered rubbish. It has simply completed its purpose. So the next time you see one outside a doorway, just walk around it. It is one of the smallest and most beautiful - details of everyday life in Bali.
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