Sunday, June 3, 2012

Praya Market

The Indonesians said that it couldn't be done, but we wanted to have a BBQ. Everything they grill is satay style- on a skewer, so when we wanted to grill directly on the fire, the locals thought we were out of our mind.

We had to drive about an hour and a half to the bigger town of Praya to get supplies for our beach BBQ. We were going to construct our own BBQ grill since they obviously didn't have those on Lombok. As we approached Praya market, the Muslim faith became more and more prevalent- women were covered head to toe in 90+ degree weather. I immediately felt uncomfortable as locals stared us down. We were unwelcome guests there.

We decided to split up to maximize time getting all our food and wares together- we would meet up in 45 minutes. Sandra and I went to find the veggies and spices, Paul and Dom to look for meats and Ky off to the hardware store to construct our grill. Everything was open and subject to flies. It's no wonder Westerners suffer when they travel- Our food is so sterile compared to foreign countries, especially poor ones.

As Sandra and I wound through the food and spice stalls, women glared at us, wagged their fingers and even pinched us! I thought I was appropriately dressed in long cargo shorts and a T-shirt, but obviously not. One woman even yanked on my hoop earring and told me "Go home!" It was the first time in my life that I had received such ill treatment from a complete stranger. We hustled to get everything we needed and returned to the meet-up spot.

The boys eventually showed-up and we learned they received similar but not nearly as aggressive treatment. Dom and I both wanted to find a pirang, a machete. So the four of us went to the knife dealer before heading to the hardware store to grab Ky. He constructed the most clever grill rack for our chicken for under five bucks.

As we trudged back to the Kijang with our groceries, I felt thankful that I had the freedom to leave this place of hostility.



This is the only way Indonesians know how to grill- satay
Fresh Vegetables at Praya Market

Spices
Meat, raw and open. It's a miracle that I'm still alive.


Miniature haters in training