I am still in Ubud. There is a big hindu holiday here tomorrow called Galungang Day http://www.wonderfulbali.com/ceremonies/galungan.htm for which everyone decorates their homes with huge bamboo sticks of 6 to 8 meters long called penjors.
A Penjor is made from a long bamboo pole about eight meter high with curved end, and decorated with palm leaves, rice paddies, corn on the cob, coconut, cakes, a piece of white or yellow cloth, etc. It is the symbol of Mount Agung and also as gratitude for the agricultural produce. The arched top of the bamboo pole represents Mount Agung, the body of the pole is a river that flows from the mountains to the sea, and along its route are the products of the harvest, tied to the pole.The people in my guest house have been spending days and nights getting the thing ready.
Tomorrow morning everybody will go to the temples with offerings to celebrate this most important holiday here in Bali. Here in Ubus there will be a competition for the most beautiful Penjor, rumors say the winner will get a Honda motorbike.......
