The First Pre-Trip Entrée for this Visit
Tomorrow I leave for Thailand to continue my work in Bangkok. This means that the snoozing Bangkok Blog will come back to life. This first pre-trip post, about a Thai food delicacy, will hopefully whet your appetite for more entries that I will produce during my trip. After all, so much about the Bangkok Blog is about food and food culture.
Some of you will know that the national fruit of Thailand and, Malaysia for that matter, is the humble Durian. The Durian is probably the stinkiest fruit on earth, but the Thais love it and there are even Durian Festivals to celebrate this stinky fruit in both Thailand and Malaysia.
I thought that mentioning the Durian would be a good natured way to start this series of episodes on the Bangkok Blog. For a westerner’s perspective, you might want to watch the following video, which I think is hilarious. It will give you a good sense of what we folks from the west, with few exceptions, think of Durian.
I hope you’ll enjoy the Bangkok Blog during this trip. I will try to deliver only the tastiest of entries (entrées). There are even some earlier entries that have been posted in-between visits to keep you engaged.
Welcome again to the Bangkok Blog.
Cute video! It reminded me that I should have made one changing diapers C 1990..
Diapers – you’re right. Durian does smell a bit like dirty diapers. Good point. Interestingly enough, Thais don’t see or smell it this way.
They sell frozen durian on Spadina just north of Dundas. They keep it frozen for smell purposes but on one particularly hot day recently I could clearly smell it in all its glory.
My sympathies to those people walking on Spadina at Dundas on hot summer days.