One of the aspects of life in Bali that locals enjoy, is the street life. At various times in the day, roving vendors, such as the man selling nasi bungkus, the small pyramidal packets of rice, vegetables and meat for 2,000rp, the stationary sate vendor, or the salmonella cart (bakso). Shop and office workers wait eagerly for the ‘Ibu’ (female seller of small snacks) who puts own her over flowing bowl goods to let shoppers rake through it. The snacks can include some fruit, but are mainly krupuk (crackers), nuts, a cooked packets of vegetables and other items. Usually the packets are 500rp each.
Fruit sellers are particularly popular and I stopped to photograph 2 of them on Jl. Legian. The first was lady selling durian. Known as the ‘king of fruits’ in Indonesia, durian tastes like heaven and smells like hell. The smell is so strong it will set of the smoke detectors on aircraft. Riding by a stall in the street you’ll catch a whiff of the ‘garbage can’ or ‘rotting cabbage’ that accompanies the fruit. Inside there are egg sized holes containing creamy substance, which is edible. Not being partial to durian, I guess the attraction is similar to Europeans love of blue cheese, or the Chinese love of stinky tofu. The lady offered me a small durian for 10,000rp.
Durian grow from trees in the same way jackfruit do. They grow to about 40cm long. A short way down the street a penjual buah (fruit seller) had found a customer. Her tray was carried on her head and contained bananas, oranges, sliced watermelon, mango, rambutan as well as prawn crackers. Here’s a guide to some of the tropical fruits you find in Bali. When driving around the island, it can be a fun experience to stop at a fruit stall and pick up a selection of items. Prices will be cheapest close to the place where the fruit was picked, then at a market like Pasar Badung in Denpasar. It will get more expensive when bought from a strolling vendor, maybe 5,000rp for 8 small bananas. If you don’t like the taste, the staff at your hotel will appreciate it as a gift.
