Dinner at Wayan's

It was Greg's last day in Bali so the boys decided to head out with our new friend Wayan on a local fishing boat and use some of the new  knowledge learned in the freedive class and spear us some dinner. We found some productive spots and Greg was fortunate enough to catch his first Giant Trevaley, and a real nice one to boot!

Wayan explained that we could give him the fish and later come over to his home for dinner with his family and neighbors. We were gracious for the invitation and excited for the opportunity. That evening we were truly blessed by Wayans familys hospitality. To say they live a humble life would be an understatement. From a western standpoint, these people are very poor. Looking deeper these people are rich in life and happiness.

When we arrived, Wayans family were all sitting on the floor of the front porch. Most of the women and children already eating. They greeted us with smiles and although there was a strong language barrier,  we had a mutual understanding of one another. We joined everyone on the floor and Wayans wife offered us instant coffee and sweet bread. Our attention was drawn to the two youngest children in the family, both about 6 months old. We laughed as Wayans baby would crawl to every member in the group to be held, but every time one of the strange white people would try to hold him he would cry.

We didn't feel comfortable snapping pictures the entire time like typical tourists but I took one of our meal. Before we ate, a bowl of water was passed around for each of us to wash our hands. It's customary to eat with your fingers here (but only with your right hand as your left is used for wiping the other end). Then everyone dug right in.

Greg's fish from that morning had been prepared in a couple different ways. The first, as Satay. The meat was ground up an mixed with grated coconut, ginger, and other local spices to be molded back together like a meatball on a wooden skewer. The meat was then barbecued over a fire.

The second method of fish preparation was banana leaf. The fish (bones, skin, scales and all) was mixed again with chiles and other herbs and wrapped in a banana leaf to be cooked on the grill as well. There was a side dish of green beans and onions and of course plenty of rice to create the base of the meal. Greg couldn't get enough of the Bali Sambal, bali's version of fresh hot salsa, made from onions and different spicy chiles. Siobhan seemed to enjoy the Bali Sambal as well but her only reasoning was that it masked the flavor of everything else.

The meal was a bit difficult to finish as a few items were not the most appetizing to our western taste buds, but not wanting to offend anyone we did our best to eat everything. Siobhan has a quick right hand that can toss a banana leaf fish into your plate in the blink of an eye. Thanks baby

After dinner we washed our hands in the same bowl then passed around a glass of Arak, a local liquor. Arak is distilled from tuak, a sweet wine made from the coconut palm flower. Tuak is about 5% alcohol. Good arak can contain over 50%. Some arak is distilled from brem, which is a wine made from black glutinous rice and coconut milk. Whatever the stuff was, it was harsh and packed a punch!

Wayan asked us if we wanted to join him the following day on a moto bike to the market in the next big town about an hour away. He said he could also take us to a couple of the nearby attractions. Two of the large water palaces in eastern Bali. We had already planned on visiting them, but how much better will it be now with a friend with local knowledge.

We said our thank yous and good night to our hosts and were so grateful for the opportunity we just had. We left feeling so fortunate for the lives we live and for the wonderful people we get to share it with along the way.