Look above you as you walk through sanur in the late afternoon, and you‘ll see what appears to be a flock of huge, colorful bird hover -ing in the wide sky. These are in fact the fruits of the neighborhood’s favorite pas time: kite flying. But the flying is only a small part of the fun. Much more goes into this traditional sport than meets the eye.

The kite starts out in the imagination of young girls and boys, who come up with inventive designs to try out over the fields. The simple are geometric- squares, triangles, cylinder, and boxes that are easily lifted by the slightest breeze and are flown by the youngest of toddlers. Favored shapes are modeled after the island’s main winged creatures: birds, bats, and butterflies. Other popular motif includes dragons, lizard, fish, and turtles. The kites are sewn by hand with any suitable fabrics the maker can find. The insides are created out of light wood or stick, gen-fly curved beneath the materials to catch the wind at the best angle. Simpler shapes are cut from old clothing; professional kites are made out of store-bought parachuting materials. You also see larges sheets of plastic creatively welded into flags, faces, and significant symbols (such as those of popular rock bands). Most animal kites are quite large, 3-6 ft wide, with nylon wings and papier-mâché bodies, downy, dyed feathers and life like glass eyes. The most complicated are competition kites, supported by long bamboo poles bound by thick ropes. Among the world’s largest kites, each can be as big as a house, weigh as much as a small car, and require 20-30 men to carry it.

The kites take only a day to finish before they’re taken to the family shops; some craftsman can make as many as three in a day if they hurry. Those you see in the air every day, made by the children who fly them, are usually of a lesser quality than the competition kites-and yet they soar just as high. You’ll be amazed at how they can pull nearly anything into the air, from miniature boxes to flags 12-ft high. Informal competition take places on holiday and weekend, with prizes for those who can get the largest and the most creative shapes into the air. The crown-ing contest in the bali kites festival, held over a weekend in July, which draws crowd of thousands to see which kites is champion of the skies. Villages can take month to create their entries, enlisting the help of every man and boy available. When finished, a kite is christened in a flurry of ceremonies, parades, and offerings. During the festival the beaches and street or sanur are crowded with on lookers and competitors, the latter of whom are often team of men clad in identical uniform-and soccer shoes, to get the best beaches traction when hoisting the huge kites into the air.

If you buy the kites, don’t just cart it home without testing it. Take it right to the beaches, where you’ll get expert flying advice. Particularly in sanur, almost every-one knows how to make and fly kites, so you’ll learn from the best. these unique toys are one of the most special(and fun) souvenir you’ll find on the island and the island, and the experiences of flying one here will give you found-and useful- memory to take home with your kite.