Jimbaran Hills, Dreamland, Uluwatu and Padang Padang

Winnie enjoys an ice cream treat.

Beside Bali Holiday House is the shop where Made, the wife of Wayan, makes and sells the food that Hindi people buy for their offerings. During the day Made is the security for the villa. At night Wayan sleeps here to provide security. The family were very kind and helpful to us. Winnie is Made and Wayan's
granddaughter. She is the daughter of their son Ali and his wife. Family is very important to people in Bali and this family spends a lot of time together.

Blaise bought a surfboard when he was in Bali.

Braeden enjoyed swimming laps in the pool!

We tried Mangostein fruit for the first time here. You eat the white part of the fruit. It is delicious.

Here is Made feeding Winnie. Winnie is two years old.

Lounge chairs outside the villa.

Entrance to the villa.

Ali's wife made us a delicious meal for a good price. We had chicken, pork and vegetables Cap Cay (a vegetable dish) as well as rice.

Sunset near Padang Padang.

Bananas growing on the other side of the wall of the villa.

Flat Mrs. Abbott and Mrs. Abbott go mopeding with Blaise.
The helmet I wore was so heavy I felt like a bobblehead!

Tourists on Dreamland beach. The lifesavers put up flags and people are encouraged to swim between the flags for safety reasons.

Linnea on Dreamland beach. I am wearing runners because I didn't want to wear sandals when riding on the moped. I was also overdressed wearing this t-shirt and capris. It was so humid in Bali, we sweated a lot.

Terry and Linnea at Dreamland.

Isn't Dreamland a beautiful beach?

The water is really warm here in Bali.

A cavehut we found on Dreamland beach.

Blaise at Dreamland beach.

Notice the pyramid like structure on the top of the cliff near Dreamland beach. I'm not sure what kind of building it is.

Terry and the boys on Dreamland beach.

Blaise sitting on rocks on Dreamland beach.

Black sand at Dreamland beach.

Braeden walking down the stairs to the beach at Uluwatu.

The water was cold and the water pressure was hard walking down these steps to the beach.

A guy slipped before us and hurt his foot. I held on to Terry so I didn't fall. Terry has really good balance.

On the way to Uluwatu beach.

Linnea on Uluwatu beach.

View from up high at Uluwatu.

Braeden, Linnea, Blaise at Uluwatu.

A hotel at Uluwatu.

Linnea looking out over Uluwatu.

View of Uluwatu.

Surfers were out beyond the furthest waves.

Wayan Kodang, the head of the family who looked after the villa. He is the driver and security person for the villa.

Padang Padang beach.

Terry at Padang Padang beach.

Padang Padang beach.

Kelly sold me a sarong on Padang Padang beach. The Balinese are very friendly and they try to get to know you and then they try to sell you something!

Blaise on Padang Padang beach.

Blaise borrowed a body board on this day at Padang Padang beach.

Linnea at Padang Padang beach.

Linnea enjoys the shade at Padang Padang beach.

A view of Padang Padang beach.

Drummers prepare for the funeral ceremony on Padang Padang beach.

Women file in during the funeral ceremony with the cremated remains of a family member on their heads.

Each basket holds the cremated remains of a family member.

The men start a fire before the funeral ceremony begins.

There is a live duck hanging off the end of the stick the man is holding in the center of the picture.

Dancing during the funeral ceremony.

Prayers are offered.

Near the end of the funeral ceremony.

I haven't written since we left Sanur because the internet connection was so poor in the Jimbaran Hills that I was not able to post pictures on the blog so I just didn't write anything! After leaving Sanur we went back to the Bali Holiday House in the Jimbaran Hills for 7 nights. The Bali Holiday House is near Nirmalla and is a beautiful place but we felt quite isolated there. You may remember that the Bali Holiday House is where we began our holiday in Bali. It is a few kilometres past the university and about a 35 minute drive from Kuta. It is close to Dreamland Beach, Padang Padang and Uluwatu which are all great spots for surfers. Unfortunately, only Padang Padang is a good spot for beginner surfers which is what my boys are. The beaches in this area were the nicest ones we saw in Bali. The boys rented mopeds again and one day Flat Mrs. Abbott and I got on the back of the moped with Blaise driving. Blaise drove us first to Dreamland beach. There were lots of tourists visiting from Japan when we were there but there were no surfers. It was a day when there really weren't any big waves. After walking on the beach we got back on the moped and drove past Padang Padang to Uluwatu. To get to Uluwatu beach we climbed down stairs and a path past cafes and shops until we got a place where there was a rush of water flowing over some steep stairs down to a cavern. I held on to Mr. Abbott so I didn't slip down the stairs. The beach at Uluwatu was quite beautiful but small. The surfers were quite a ways out, they were not surfing anywhere near the shore. We climbed another set of stairs so we could go to a lookout and watch the surfing. It was hot and sunny and we enjoyed the view.

Another day Wayan drove us to Padang Padang beach. Braeden was back at the villa sick so it was just Blaise, Mr. Abbott, Flat Mrs. Abbott and me. Blaise went out surfing while we sat in the shade on the beach with the locals. The other tourists were sunbathing. While we were sitting there we noticed a large group of Balinese Hindis preparing for a ceremony. They were dressed in their best clothes and a group of men with drums were practising in the shade of some trees. Women paraded down the steps with offerings on their heads which they placed on a table. The offerings had names written on them. It was only later back at the villa when I spoke with Ali, Wayan's adult son that I learned that what we were witnessing was a funeral ceremony. In the baskets were the cremated remains of loved ones who had died. I couldn't tell that it was a funeral or memorial because the people didn't mourn like we do in Canada. They were praying, then dancing and it was wonderful to see how joyful they could be. A fire was started and the men started beating the drums. A man had a stick across his shoulders and a live duck as well as other offerings which were hanging from the stick. The women took offerings to the edge of the water, knelt down and placed them on the sand. There were also a few men who did the same. Near the end of the ceremony, which lasted just over an hour, we thought we saw a live duck placed in a basket at the end of the surf lifesaver's surfboard. He then began to paddle out to sea. The Balinese are a very spiritual people and they have celebrations for many aspects of life. One day when I wasn't feeling well, I stayed back at the Bali Holiday House and the family was participating in a ceremony to celebrate car day. I think what they meant was to bless people who drive cars and motorbikes and keep them safe. It is a celebration that happens all over Bali on the same day. The women took water and sprinkled it on the bicycles in the yard and on the motorbike on the side of the road and they put offerings of food in little banana leaf baskets and placed them on the temples in the garden of Bali Holiday House. I even saw them throw something into the pool, I think it was rice. In my next post I will tell about our day trip around the island.