Arak Attack-ed

Some people have heart attacks, some have fainting attacks, some have panic attacks. I had an Arak Attack.

Arak, for those of you that have never ventured onto Balinese soil, is a locally made palm wine with a 40% proof and therefore not for the faint of heart. I've always tried and rarely enjoyed locally made liquor in Asia but Arak proved an exception. It's tasty mixed with lemonade, orange juice, honey or lime juice or a combination of all three. Our favorite and most common cocktail made with Arak has been the "Arak attack" in which liquor is mixed with lemonade and lime juice. We'd been having a few of those per night until a few days ago when I had a sharp pain on my left side in the heart area and then slumped down and fainted at the lunch table, giving Mike and my mom a huge fright. The doctor's diagnosis was good and he said I had just had an increase in food or acid which caused the sharp pain. I put it down to this: My Arak Attack attacked me and now I shall have no more.