
Happy New Year!
I can’t believe that we are closing our third year Year of Durians. Strangely, as I write these words I am sitting in the exact same room of the same hotel that Rob and I stayed in our first night in Malaysia, before this blog was born or we’d eaten our first Malaysian durian. It feels like a good sign.
In 2014, we posted 50 times from 6 different countries. Here’s a list of the most popular posts of the year.
Australia Seeking stability was a theme for us in 2014. We’ve been traveling since 2010 and in late The Durian Tourist’s Guide to Thailand while we explored the durian farms and jungle areas of this tropical corner of Oz.
2013 plunked ourselves down in Cairns, Australia for a six month stint. Rob worked at a lumber mill and I wrote the majority of the
Thailand In April we moved to Bangkok to gear up for the coming durian season and I finished The Durian Tourist’s Guide to Thailand. Between final book edits I ran in Lumphini Park, which had been more or less turned into a huge tent city. The protesters were very friendly and after a few days started giving me a small bottle of water every morning. I was a little sad when the police cleared out the park a few days before the military coup.
Myanmar My good friend Jess is a teacher in Myanmar, so during one of her breaks Rob and I took the opportunity to explore a new country and durian. We loved it, and look forward to going back when we have more time (and let’s face it, more money. Myanmar is relatively expensive).
Malaysia This year I spent about two months in Penang, learning about durian from Mr. Chang and exploring other interesting farms for a new guidebook, The Durian Tourist’s Guide to Penang (expected release in April). We also spent some time learning about other wild fruits and even found a new species, D. pinangianus.
Borneo With Rob happily settled in our rented house in Thailand, I went on a girls-only durian reconnaissance trip to Sabah and Brunei, where I gave a presentation on durians.
United States Rob and I both ended up in the US this year, although at different times. Rob went back in July for his sister’s wedding, and I unexpectedly went back for the month of November when my grandpa was put on hospice. He passed away Christmas Eve.
Compared to previous years, we slowed down and spent more time in each place, becoming more intimate with the culture and the durians. We watched 2015 roll in from our porch in Koh Phangan, Thailand, and seven hours later I flew to Kuala Lumpur for a visa run. Life is never boring.
In this post I let out my vegan crazy to talk about how fruit farming harms animals, how it could be stopped, and most importantly, why we vegans shouldn’t get too annoyingly smug about our cruelty-free lifestyles.
10. 10 Tips to Travel and Eat Loads of Durian On A Small Budget
Let’s face it: eating gobs of durian can get expensive. After receiving a bunch of emails from readers asking for tips, I decided to write a post on how we cut corners to have more money available to buy durian. Statistics indicate it was a good post.
11. My 3rd Durian Birthday Party | Penang, Malaysia
This post is pure durian porn. I think that’s why it was so popular.
So many new friends came to my party that we completely booked out the accommodations. We tore through at least 100 durians over a weekend, and I got some nice shots. It was good times and good durian all around.
In 2015 even more people are coming to my birthday. Rob and I would love to see you there, so mark your calendar for June 21st in Penang, Malaysia!
Huai Bin says
Hi Lindsay! 🙂
Sorry, I just got your comment about durian jantung. I had it at SS2 too, probably at the same place as you did. There are a couple of shops there and a lot of them sell Pahang and Johor durians. Some do have the occasional stock from Penang but these are usually sub-par in terms of quality (IMHO) as Penang consumes a lot of their durian locally (to my understanding) and hardly exports any unless it’s to a more financially viable country e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong.
I had a lot of trouble getting Hor Lor and Red Prawn/Ang Heh in Penang too as it was the end of season.
Yup, I agree, the cultivars from Pahang tastes nothing like the ones from Penang. They don’t look the same too, but it’s supposedly the same cultivar/type. What I hear is they took the originals from Penang and cultivated it in Pahang, which is closer to the Klang Valley but it doesn’t taste the same to me either…
…but you know *a lot* more about durians than any locals I've ever know, had a lot of fun reading your blog and telling my better half about this wonderful duo from the US who came and basically travelled around eating durians for 2 years and counting!
Amazing blog you have here! I’m very impressed you took several years off to travel Australiasia and eat durians.
Lindsay Gasik says
Hi Huai Bin!
Thanks for responding and checking out my blog! Would be fun to meet you sometime in KL for a makan durian session 🙂