Sawadee Pee Mai! Happy New Year! Yesterday was the New Year’s celebration of the year 2555 here in Thailand. This is our third New Year’s Day in 2012, and definitely the most fun! Unlike our New Year’s back home in Oregon, which is celebrated in the depths of miserably cold and dark winter, the Thai […]
A Durian Feast with Friends
From left: Olivia, John, Terra, and Chris feasting on durian Chanthaburi, Thailand has a reputation among fruit fanatics as the place to go in May. A lot of this hype is thanks to our friend Harley, a.k.a durianrider, who has been touting the wonders of Chanthaburi’s fruit to his following of fruit freaks on youtube […]
Friendly Locals
We arrived in Chanthaburi late last night. At that point, the streets were dark and quiet, and as far as we could tell the only open restaurants offered shrimp balls and noodles. But then I smelled it – durian! In a small shop, two girls were sitting at a small table watching a soap opera […]
Leaving Chiang Mai
Toilets come with instruction, sometimes with more detail In Thailand, durian is banned in most public areas, including shopping malls, most hotels, all forms of public transportation, and weirdly, public restrooms. Yet somehow Rob and I managed to forget durian’s banned status on our way to the train station. We happened to pass the Warorot […]
I Love Thailand!
We’ve been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for about a week now, and we love it! This means more when you consider that durian is relatively scarce here (though for us it’s not too too hard to find because Lindsay has a keen nose and a biological durian compass). Regardless, it’s a charming city. Nestled in […]
Welcome to Thailand
After 2 months in Indonesia, Rob and I are excited to visit a new country! We exited the airport with fingers crossed, hoping for something a little different. After the wild traffic and pollution of Java, Bangkok seemed quiet, clean, and orderly. We thought this was funny, as Bangkok has quite the reputation. I […]
Recipe: Durian Muffins
photo by Aunty Yohana Durian Muffins are essentially breakfast cupcakes. They’re a little less sweet, don’t have frosting, and tend to have some kind of fruit or nut in them so we can feel we’re kicking off our day with something healthy. But like cake, muffins are a little special. They’re not something people typically […]
Recipe: Very Easy Durian Pie (Vegan Friendly!)
I have always thought of pie as something that is difficult to make. Add durian to the equation and it sounds nearly impossible. That’s why I was so impressed when I came across this recipe for a durian pie using filo dough as the crust. I doubt this combination would ever have come about naturally. […]
Bali Wholesale Market
If you want cheap fruit in Bali, you have to go to the market early. And by early I mean really early, way before the sun has risen. Rob and I found this out from Bege, the owner of a local fruit and vegetable warung that we’ve been frequenting for his massive, beagle-sized papayas from […]
Bali Durian Hunt Commences
It’s the end of durian season here on Bali, and the durian pickings are getting slim. Balinese who don’t care for durian tell us that durian season is over, although those in the know tell us its still a good time for the fruit. Our first stop was Ubud Market, a cluttered labyrinth of shops […]
The Stinkiest Fruit: Wani
Richard Sterling wrote that durian smells like “pig-shit, turpentine, and onions, garnished with a gym sock.” Others who share his opinion have added blue cheese, rotting meat, public toilets, and dog farts to the list of interesting odorific comparisons. I actually quite like the odor of durian. To me it smells like… durian, which equals […]
Suprise in Monkey Forest
When Lindsay and I arrived in Ubud, Bali our first order of business was finding her Ashtanga yoga school. To do so we had to pass through the magical Monkey Forest, one of the city’s primary attractions. As is usual, we were traveling with a fruit supply. I was carrying a grocery bag full of […]