Invited to Dinner

After many days of spending my free time with my friend Putu, he asked me if I would kindly join his wife Nyoman, his son Gede, and himself for dinner. I jumped at the chance to eat with a real Balinese family and thanked him for the wonderful offer.

Now right off the bat, Putu told me that he and his family had very little. I took this as a kind of heads up for what was in store. I got the impression that he almost felt ashamed of what he had before I had even gotten there. I firmly believe that no one should be ashamed of what they have in life and should be proud of who they are.

At times, it’s tough to relay this message to people. I usually try to compliment them as much as possible on what they have and thank them profusely for what little they have offered me. I always do this with a smile on my face because a lot can be lost in the translation. I also graciously accept anything that one offers me. Unfortunately this has gotten me sick twice, but it’s still no consolation to the pride they feel when they are able to offer me a gift, as small as it may be.

Another thing I try to be cautious of is how they feel about having photos taken of themselves, their possessions and their surroundings while I’m there. In this case, I knew right away that Putu would rather I leave my camera at home and just come and enjoy celebrating with his family. He gave me fair warning of his meager living conditions and I took this to mean that he would like it if I didn’t capture it on film. That is the impression I got, so I obliged to his unspoken wishes and left the camera at home.

We had arranged a time of 5:00 pm to meet at my bungalow. I was really excited to meet the family I had heard so much about. Putu was a very tough, proud man who was well respected by everyone. But as soon as you would mention his eleven-year-old son Gede, he would melt and get a great big smile on his face. I could really tell he was proud of him.

Putu picked me up at a quarter to five. He was early, which never happens, so I knew he was just as excited as I was for the big event. Our first stop was down the road a block or two; to where a woman was selling freshly caught tuna fish. I asked for six fish and she proceeded to cut and gut the fish with a rusty old blade. She then washed them in a bucket of blood stained water. This was the first indication that my belly may hurt in the morning. I smiled and thanked her for the wonderful catch that was going to feed us tonight. Grinning from ear to ear with one lone tooth revealed she nodded in approval.

So with fish in hand, we hopped on Putu’s motorbike and headed off to the village. After ten to fifteen minutes of passing through windy dirt roads, we motored up a steep hill and arrived at Putu’s home. Nyoman was standing outside ready to greet us while Gede was playing football (soccer) with the neighbor boys.

Nyoman spoke very little English so we both said hello, which is also how the Indonesians greet people, with a smile and I tried to communicate how beautiful her home was and that I was very grateful for the dinner invitation.

Five minutes after I got there, some of Putu’s friends who lived nearby came over to say hello and help with the food preparation. I think that they just wanted to meet this strange white person Putu had been spending so much time with.

They started the cooking process by breaking up coconut shells and spreading them evenly on the ground and then lighting them on fire. Soon there were some nice red coals onto which they placed a metal grate. The fish were thrown on that and the cooking began.

Our meal consisted of various fruits and vegetables, rice and fish. It was a delicious feast.

Here are a couple of things I found different. The men did not eat with the women. The men ate and the women ate after we were finished. We also didn’t use utensils and we ate the whole fish from head to tail. It tasted better than I thought so that was good. I’m used to eating fish that have been cleaned and filleted. It was quite the experience and something I’ll never forget.

After dinner, we all sat around and talked. Both Ari (Putu’s good friend) and Putu worked in the tourism industry so they spoke good English. They translated the numerous questions the other friends had for me. It made for some good laughs, a lot of new things learned about on another and a good bonding of two very different cultures. The night ended with many smiles and fond farewells. It was everything I was hoping for and more.

Shipwreck

Our last two dives were to take place at the famous shipwreck site of the US Cargo Ship Liberty that went down in 1942. Many believe this to be Bali’s best dive site. I was very excited to see for myself.

My transportation came at the same early hour as the day before. I was quite happy when I got into the van and was greeted by two lovely Canadian girls. We hit it off right away and had a nice chat during the ride to Sunrise Dive. We were all excited to get to spend the day together since our personalities clicked and our journey throughout Southeast Asia was very similar.

The girls were heading to Malaysia the following day but would be in Thailand around the same time I was planning to be there. When we arrived at Sunrise Dive we received a bit of bad news. The girls were going snorkeling and I was diving so we would be heading to opposite places. With disappointment in our voices, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways hoping to meet in Thailand.

Serge lifted my mood with his friendly banter and all was well again while we prepared to head to the small village of Tulamben where the US Cargo Ship Liberty lay at its final resting place.

When we arrived, we departed the van and headed towards a beach that was covered in large boulders. There were many people selling T-shirts, hats, little trinkets, and many other things all along the beach as we maneuvered over the large boulders.

Dewa announced to the group that we would be gearing up here, on the beach, and walking out into the water. There would be no boats this time for the shipwreck lay just feet off of the coast. I was relieved that there was no boat and excited that we would be starting our dive right away. Patience still isn’t my strong suit and when it’s something I’m really excited about it just goes out the window so this was great news.

We all got into the water and went over the guidelines. Soon after, I deflated my vest and began to sink further and further down. Fish were all around me, full of the most amazing colors coming in all different shapes and sizes. Once again, it was a beautiful world underwater and I thoroughly enjoyed taking it in.

I saw a lot of the same fish from the day before but had the added bonus of being able to see a real life shipwreck from over 50 years ago. That in itself was a treat.

We made it to the shipwreck after descending to around 21 meters. It was old, rusty and coral had formed on and around it. There were fish swim through the many open wholes that were either windows or worn out places in the ships structure. I was amazed at how well preserved everything was. I swam in, out and through many areas of the ship all the while trying to avoid the heavy current that was present. At one point, I saw a large fish, bigger than me that just lay in the shadows watching me with the same curiosity as I watched it. I even found the vessels steering wheel and held onto to it to see what it felt like to be an underwater captain of the ocean floor.

The two dives lasted sixty minutes each with us once again having a quick lunch in between. During lunch, Serge decided to buy a blowgun from one of the touts to bring back to Russia for his brother. Once the other touts saw that Serge was in the buying mood, they swarmed him like a pack of hungry wolves. It was quite the sight to see.

When all was said and down, Serge was the proud owner of a blowgun, sword, bow and arrow set, hat, t-shirt, shark tooth necklace, and a pair of sunglasses. The touts loved Serge and the group got a kick out of watching him haggle for a better price and grin with each new purchase. He was like a kid in a candy store, loving every minute of it.

We packed up our gear, showered, had one final look at the sight that brought us so much pleasure and headed back home. It was another successful journey. It also meant I was now PADI Dive Certified for Open Water.

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone upon our arrival back home. We had all had a wonderful couple of days together. Sandra and Jaap were leaving Bali the following day and Serge was going back to Russia a few days after that.

When I arrived at my accommodation, Dewa gave me my certificate, dive book and some instructions on where to send my info to get my official license. I had a paper copy that would work until the real one was finished. We said our goodbyes thus ending the journey towards one more thing I wanted to accomplish in life. Now it’s on to surfing.

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Shipwreck

This photo was taken off the coast of Bali, Indonesia after completing my last dive to get my PADI Dive Certificate. My crazy Russian friend Serge is credited with the photo.