Imagine the worst stink from an over-flowing sewer, and then multiply that some. On my first visit to Bangkok many years ago, I had assumed that the city's sewerage systems were on the blink, when assailed by an overpowering, all-encompassing odour. That is the odour of Durian - a fruit considered highly delectable in Asia. I have often watched - from a safe distance - people enjoying the fruit in open-air Asian markets, but have never been able to get near enough to sample the taste myself, until recently, that is.
Needless to say, in disciplined Singapore Durian is banned from hotels and public places - much as cigarettes in the West. But apparently most of the smell comes from cutting into the hard casing in which the creamy, custardy fruit is enclosed. Durian sellers extract the fruit elsewhere, and keep it in enclosed airtight containers, which emit no smell perceptible to me.
Of course my first sampling was no doubt facilitated by a head cold induced by Singapore's unforgiving air-conditioning systems, probably a boon in this equatorial city, but nevertheless set at exaggeratedly low temperatures. The fortuitous juxtaposition of a cold reducing my sense of smell and a vendor of Durian pancakes in the near vicinity of my hotel proved an irresistible opportunity for what I hoped would be a life-changing experience.
Unfortunately I can only report that I found the fruit rather bland. So I can resignedly wait for my head-cold to clear up - but then I may not be able to get near the fruit.
Singapore, March 2010
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