Big papayas, little papayas in Seminyak Bali

Bali is in the tropics, as anyone who is in Bali at the moment can attest to. Its steamy, and last night that steam conspired to create a sudden downpour. I actually did not hear it as I was asleep, but this morning I noticed the bathroom was flooded, the flower pots were full of water, and one of the papaya trees, was laying on the grass. Four large unripe papayas were still attached, so when Ana showed up, I asked her if we should try to re-plant the tree. “Tidak bisa.” (not possible) she said, and with sawing gestures indicated the path she would take.

Papaya trees grow fast, so its not like we lost something that took 20 years get big. A few yards away, I noticed a small papaya on another tree was ripe. Bats and other creatures also notice, when a fruit turns yellow / orange. The small papaya was tasty and I gave 4 large green ones to Ana, who said she would use them as vegetables. Indonesians make a sour fruit salad called rujak, which I’ve had, but am not crazy about.

Papayas have many small black seeds inside, so planting a few of them, and waiting to see what comes up can be fun. As the tree gets bigger the new papayas get higher and higher, never growing in same place twice.