July and August, every year, is ‘kite season’ (layang Layang) in Bali. I can count 30 or so kites, flying high up in the azure sky, just from where I sit on my balcony. I can also hear some of the closer ones really clearly, as they are deliberately made to sound as distinctive as they look – in fact, their sound could make all the difference to winning competitions. Some of these kites are just little dots swaying back and forth in the distance, but let me tell you about the character of some of the closer ones.
Kite near my balcony
There is the local owl, its black body topped off with big bright red and blue eyes. Oh, and I really like the bat, and then there is what I call the twins…. 2 identical kites with white ‘heads’ and red, black and white striped trailing tails that must be a good 5 meters long. The way these kites sail the winds really has to be seen to be appreciated, you see them dancing so gracefully on the currents.
I went to the Kite Festival on the coast in Sanur this year, and the festival kites made these local ones look like child’s play.
The kite festival has all manner of shapes, sizes and sounds. The really big kites reach over 100 meters long – I kid you not (see pic below)! Many kites are so huge that, carried on the back of a truck, they often take up the whole width of the street and it is hard work for the team to carry them from the truck to the festival site – letting alone running along to launch them!
Kite festival
My friend told me what type of kite had impressed him the most at the annual kite competition – “it was a Bakso cart” he explained. Now Bakso is like a meatball and noodle soup and the sellers of this tasty dish walk through the street with a Bakso Cart on wheels selling it to local people. Imagine seeing a food cart flying high in the sky.
Well I didn’t see that kite myself, but I did see the 100 meters long kites – take a look yourself…
Another story about kites can be seen here: https://julieinbali.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/unexpected-reason-for-a-traffic-jam/
Janggan Kites – at least 100 meters long!
Julie in Bali 
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