Ever Experienced Durian?

The first time I ever heard of durian was when my sister-in-law Dawn told me about it. Durian is a fruit that grows in Southeast Asian countries. Dawn spent her teenage years living in Malaysia while her dad worked there for Boeing. She was like "Yeah there's like this fruit that smells really, really bad..."

To call it foul is like giving it a compliment. It is illegal to take durian on public transportation (in Cambodia, at least). As in, You brought this retched fruit with you onto the train. Now everyone is puking. Thanks a lot. Here's your fine. I was pretty much under the impression that although it smells bad, it tastes fine, because when I asked the dental students if they eat durian, they were all, "Yes. Durian good." The looks on their faces were like hello, duh.

I was curious about this, and when we were in Siem Reap Darold pointed some out to me. I laugh every time I see this picture. When I brought it up to my nose, I thought to myself, Oh yes. I've smelled this before. In the market. But I just thought I was walking past a stall selling filled cow intestines that had been left out in the sun for five days.



I actually tasted some at the CACO party after we'd gotten home. It was baked into a custard. And yep, still nasty. I am a pretty brave eater, but no amount of sugar can make that awfulness palatable to me.