Jalan pagi

Early morning walks anywhere in the world are one of the very best methods for getting a real feel for how life unfolds on a daily basis. 

Bali is a tropical island so heat and humidity dictate peak times of activity.  Add a belief in a unique island isolated Hinduism and a culture thousands of years old and rich in rituals and patterns.  Throw in a society that retains a need for open air fruit vegetable and livestock market places and you have a perfect recipe for a sensory filled early morning amble.

For those interested in witnessing how the human dog interaction plays out, early mornings are the optimum time to observe Bali dogs doing their thing.  Late in the afternoon just before sunset is also another perfect space of time to observe a more relaxed version of morning busy time. 

Moving parallel to their humans they can be seen exiting their family compounds and scouting their designated area.  Each dog has its own space that it patrols and guards against any unknown intruder(s).  These are professional working dogs, not pampered pets.  It’s not unusual as morning moves on to see dogs gathering around food carts and outside lokal warungs looking for scraps or discarded food.  Bali dogs have historically survived on whatever is dropped or left behind, another reason why one of their jobs as garbage disposal units is vitally important to their community.

​One of the many joys of being actively able to walk through lokal areas as morning breaks is watching Bali people going about their everyday routine business and their dogs going about their everyday routine business without either party even knowing that they balance each other without it being a big deal at all.