You have to stay on your toes when considering a trip to Myanmar, because things are changing fast. Most of the old warnings aren’t true anymore – at least, in Yangon there are ATMs everywhere, a plethora of hotels, and no one seems to care if you use crummy wadded up kyats or dollar bills […]
Our Favorite Durians of 2013
We thought 2012 was the Year of the Durian. Turns out, we may be in for a few years of durian yet. And that’s just fine with us. It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since we returned from our epic adventure. We tried to settle down and be normal again, but it […]
Durians of Suan La-Ong Fah Farm | Photo Essay
There’s a farm just north of Bangkok that keeps making headlines for it’s unique durians. Fifty years ago, when everyone else in the country was chopping down their ancestral varieties to make way for the new commercial ones, Chatri and his father were saving them. Over fifty of Thailand’s original durian species can now be […]
Puerto Rico Fruit Hunting Trip | Photo Essay
As far as fruit fanatics go, we’re pretty intensely obsessed. Luckily we’re not the only ones, or it would be a bit lonely. A lot of other fruit fiends can be found online at the Tropical Fruit Forum, a discussion board for people obsessed with growing tropical fruits. This year, a group from the forum […]
Woodstock Fruit Festival | Photo Essay
Six-hundred fruit lovers and health seekers swarmed to the upper corner of New York state last week to attend the Woodstock Fruit Festival. It is by far the largest gathering of certified fruit freaks that I know of, and that includes durian fanatics. Although the durian was imported frozen from Thailand, this was the […]
International Mango Festival Photo Essay | New Delhi, India
“Mango, the King of Fruits is here,” announced the India Times at the start of the season in May. Our beloved durian might be the King of Fruits in the rest of Southeast Asia, but in India the mango reigns supreme, stealing the hearts of poets and bewitching kings and commoners alike for thousands of […]
Supatra Land Fruit Theme Park | Photo Essay
At this point, I’ve visited a lot of durian orchards. A lot. Some offer tours and fruit buffets to tourists, but on a small scale. I’d never been to anything like Suan Supatra Land, a 700 rai orchard that takes fruit tourism to the level of a theme park. Tourist gimmicks aren’t usually my thing, […]
2013 Chanthaburi Durian Festival in the Rain | Photo Essay
The Chanthaburi World Durian Festival is probably the most famous of the durian festivals, although there are actually no less than 6 durian festivals in Thailand. (Count ’em and weep with joy, durian fans). The festival attracts hundreds of visitors from Bangkok and neighboring provinces, and a fair number of foreigners too. Despite the heavy […]
Laplae Durian Festival, Uttaradit Thailand | Photo Essay
Laplae is a little known district in northern Thailand’s Uttaradit province that has recently made headlines for its unique and expensive durians. The city hosts an annual durian festival every year in June. This year’s festival started on June 1st, the same day as the more famous Chanthaburi Durian Festival. I had to make a […]