Durian Island: Koh Kong Cambodia

One of the things I like about durian hunting is that it has a tendency to lead me off the beaten track, even in heavily tourist-ed areas. There are no beaten tracks in Koh Kong. Koh Kong is the southwestern-most province in Cambodia, and is still largely unpopulated. Most of the interior is accessible only by boat and the mountains are home to Asian elephants, wild ox, leopards, and tigers.  With such untapped wilderness tourism agencies have been making a stab at the eco-tourism industry, but there are still few organized tour packages available. You're on your own, and what you do is up to you. I chose durian.

A Very Durian Border Crossing: Hat Lek/Koh Kong

It's pretty well established that crossing overland into Cambodia is asking to get ripped off. Whether it's bogus visa sellers, fake quarantine tents, artificially elevated transport prices or corrupt officials, somebody's getting more cash than they should. I remembered that Rob and I had a little trouble last year when we took the Ban Pakard/Prum crossing, but I thought that was because we idiotically didn't have the correct change. This time I was ready.

The Inedible Durians

Of the 27 species of durian, only a handful are generally considered good enough to eat. The main qualifier for the "edible" category seems to be a relatively high flesh-to-seed ratio. The rest aren't poisonous, but their palatability is in the tongue of the beholder.

Laplae Durian Festival Schedule 2013

Below is the schedule of events for the Laplae Durian Festival from June 1-3rd, 2013. It's located in Amphoe Laplae, about 15 km from the train stop in Uttaradit, halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. 

Hope to see you there!

Chanthaburi One Year Later

I arrived in Chanthaburi, Thailand too early for the Chanthaburi Durian Festival but just in time for a gathering of durian freaks. My friend Grant Campbell hosts a shindig for raw foodists every year, usually during the festival. Grant is the two year reigning champion of the durian speed eating competition. This year's festival was delayed to June 1-10th due to some bad storms, but Grant and his durian chowing cohorts are still here  knocking back a serious quantity of durian and having a great time. Durian Part-ay!

Durio Grandiflorus

sketch by Masters

This is the last in a series about edible durian species. It's definitely the saddest, because there is no picture of the fruit. I'm trying not to be a crybaby about this.

Of all the durian species on Borneo, I was the most excited about Durio grandiflorus, known locally as the ghost durian.  I didn't believe that finding it would be hard, as it apparently grows all over Borneo. I was much more concerned about finding the admittedly rare Durio testudinarum and Durio dulcis. But this is the most elusive of durians. Although we searched Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan, Durio grandiflorus evaded us. Not even my botany contacts have a picture. Ghost durian indeed.