Our Balinese friends and guides, Yenta and Darta, often joke about "rubber" time in Bali (that's one of the great things about our friends at Tour East - they're always on time). But it's not surprising that time would be perceived a little differently in Bali than here in the States.

The Balinese use three different calendars at the same time:

•The Gregorian calendar (to stay current with us in the West).

•A lunar calendar that is the basis for religious festivals and temple celebrations.

•A special 210 day Balinese calendar that has a complex numerological significance to it. The first week of this calendar is 1 day long, the second week is 2 days long, the third week is 3 days long, etc. up to the tenth week - and all 10 weeks run simultaneously!. The Balinese consult specialists in the calendar systems in order to figure out the best days on which to undertake anything special (like a trip, a wedding, or even a funeral). 

And you thought it was hard to figure out when Easter is!