Lombok Elephant Park was amazing with lots of interaction with the "live" creatures...
Ubud in Bali was such a beautiful catch up with Surya and his family
(we first met Surya on our trip to Bali just after Mum died and have kept in touch ever since, so we went and stayed at their beautiful homestay).
We were treated like family, Darryl, John, Christine and JPh also came and stayed there.
They invited us to the most beautiful dinner together with the family...
It was so special to see Surya and his family
We went to visit temples, holy water, rice paddies with Surya...
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| Women making offerings |
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| Offerings |
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| Respect at a temple |
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| Only the "holy man" can be in the sacred water |
There was to be a Funeral Procession for 3 members of the Royal Family - Suryas village were asked to make the food for the event, also Ketut, Suryas Dad was heavily involved in the ceremony itself - what an amazing experience to witness this...
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| Men only, make the meat dishes for the ceremony. These are men from Suryas village |
The horses are built and mounted on huge bamboo carrying frames.
The streets are closed and they are carried by many men from the village, to the burial site
The top of the back of the horse is "cut out" and offerings are placed inside the horse, along with the remains of the person, until it is full,
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| The remains being carried by the men, with the offering beside being presented by the women |
It is a really huge occasion, as there are three of the horses, remains, offerings, blessings...
When they have been filled and blessed by the holyman, they are then lit and their journey to heaven is aided by the horse to take them there...
It was truly something very special to witness.
Nogal and Dragonfly had also come to Ubud and stayed in an incredible Villa Complex
inviting us all over for a evening was very generous and wonderful to experience their special piece of Ubud
We swam, drank, eat and were entertained with a show - thank you so much to Nogal and Dragonfly
Back to the boats, and it was time to move on.
It was JPh's 70th birthday, and we had lots of fun with the children from Nogal, Wakanui and Dragonfly on Our Rose making balloon hats for everyone.
They also decorated JP's birthday cake... and they did the most amazing job!
It is a timeline of his life, from left to right
"French Flag, JPh and Christine, JPh & Christine and their 2 children
JPh & Christine and their 2 children and their grandchildren,
then finally in the middle their beautiful yacht
and the candles in the shape of 70
The birthday celebrations that night were a lot of fun
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| The hat the children made for JPh was in French colors and the largest... |
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| the children explaining the timeline on the cake |
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| Everyone at the party |
Back to Our Rose again, and what do we find at Pureri Marina...
A New Zealand Restaurant - it was frequented rather well by us all!
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| Darryl and his friend Jim who was visiting from Canada - Really great to meet you Jim! |
From here it was off to Pangkor Marina.
On a rainy Sunday, what better thing to do
than have Harvey from Wakanui come over and make Peach and Apple Turnovers...
followed by his sister Melia, who made beautiful Apple Roses
Darryl, Jim and Us headed off to Penang for a week.
Richard and I both had extensive medical checks done while in Penang,
including ECG's, Chest Xrays, Abdominal Scans,
many blood/urine tests as a general total all over health check - total cost... $200NZ
We really enjoy Penang, fabulous food, great walks, temples, and being a World Heritage Site the architecture and history is amazing, as is the street art!..
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| This one of Bruce Lee is quite old |
Back to Our Rose and time to Haul Out for her preventative maintence...
