Singapore: What's the fuss about Durian?

The dreaded Durian. It sort of looks like poop too I think.
see all photos »

We had heard all about Durian long before our trip to Singapore, first from our Lonely Planet videos and then from several word of mouth experiences, but we were looking forward to seeing what all of the "fuss" was about for ourselves.  We had seen the oddly shaped fruit present in many fresh fruit stalls but did not know that this was actually what we were seeing for a very long time.

Now, Durian is very popular to the Singapore people - to southeast asians in general I think - but even more so to the Singaporians who actually built a rather large building resembling this very odd fruit.  This is especially weird in some respects because Durian is sooooo stinky that they will not allow you to have it on any form of public transportation or in most anywhere public for that matter - unless the area is heavily ventilated!  (The fact that this is even classified as a fruit is another story...)  Anyway, the smell to describe it best is like poop so you can imagine our excitement when our buddy Tay asked us if we wanted to have a try.   We both replied "sure" - we had obviously never tried something that smelled like poop before.  So, on our next visit with Tay, he produced a nice pink bag filled with 2 rather large pieces of Durian (see picture).  I asked Michael to try it first and he said he would if I promised that I would give it a try even if it was gross.  I agreed and he stuck the piece of durian in his mouth.  Well, I have never seen an expression of such disgust on Michael's face before, it was more than obvious that I should obviously back out on our deal.  He had a hard time getting it down to say the least and then I am sure that it almost came right back up!  BUT a deal was a deal he said so he made me eat the Durian.  Yep - it was disgusting.   I have no idea what poop tastes like, never having had the experience of eating it - but the next time someone offers me a choice between Durian or poop.  I think I'll take the poop.

the next time someone offers me a choice between Durian or poop. I think I'll take the poop.

Michael eating the Durian. Hehehehehe.
see all photos »

Heather and Michael