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Sunday, January 14, 2018

The King of Fruits

Durians aka The King of Fruits
The Hubs and I were on our way to the mall exit when we walked past a popsicle cart. The Hubs had a hankering for something cold and he bought a durian flavored ice pop. The Hubs happily lapped his icy treat as we walked towards a swanky hotel. The hotel lobby and mall shared the same exit to the basement car park.

There was already a small crowd awaiting the elevators as we were approaching the hotel lobby. Suddenly, a lady in the crowd exclaimed,  "I smell durian!" The Hubs quickly stuffed the popsicle into a pocket of his trousers. Ding! The elevator doors opened and everyone got on board. As the doors closed, the pungent durian smell was even more intense. "Eeew! I wonder where it is coming from?", the same lady complained, sniffing exaggeratedly like a hound dog, her eyes scanning around for the culprit.

Feigning disgust, I covered my nose with a piece of tissue paper so no one would suspect we were the offenders. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors finally opened and everyone rushed out save for The Hubs and me, an old man and a young couple. The old man looked at The Hubs and said cheekily,"I know it's you!"  The Hubs sheepishly fished out the offensive item from his pocket and protested, "But it's only a popsicle!" Just then, the doors opened and as the old man was stepping out, he winked, "Don't worry, I won't tell!"

Ooops!  It just didn't strike us  that durian popsicle  was....well....durian! :smack: Honest mistake!

This sign at the Singapore Airport prohibits the transportation of durians.
 Penalty: SGD500
In case you are wondering what I am ranting about, durians are prohibited in public transportation, hospitals, taxis and hotels in our country and most parts of South East Asia because of their overpowering pong.

Interestingly, did  you know that in 2013, Sydney officials had to evacuate an entire floor of an office building after smelling what they thought was a gas leak.?!  It was only much later that they discovered it was durian! The odour  had wafted up through the vents from a neighboring warehouse where Malaysian agricultural staff were unloading a shipment of the pungent fruit!

The Star reports

Malaysia's Sydney Consulate agriculture director Muhammad Rudy Khairudin Mohd Nor said the 'gas' alert followed Agriculture Malaysia staff opening 10 packs of 'Musang King' and 'D24' durians at 2 pm for lab tests in their Sydney CBD office.

The strong, pungent smell of the durians went into the ventilation system and reached the next office on the 15th floor of the Market St building.

"The staff in the adjoining office, all Caucasians, panicked because they thought there was a gas leak ... they summoned the emergency services. The whole floor was evacuated within minutes," he said.

Muhammad Rudy said security and emergency staff arrived at the 15th floor to investigate and, sniffing out evidence, ended up at the consulate seeking answers.

"We explained that the smell came from the durians. The officers were amazed and puzzled how similar the smell was to gas, although they were convinced after we showed them the fruit and how it smells," he added.



Durian, anyone?

More durian stories here


ethannevelyn.com


Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday

21 comments:

  1. Hahaha! I like that story today. What a trouble-maker your husband is!!

    Never tasted or smelled durian. I wonder if you can get it here in the states??

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  2. hahah.. we were in Malaysian many moons ago and while we didn't taste a durian we sure did smell one and saw all the signs posted in hotels stating No Durians Allowed.

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  3. Wow, if a fruit has an odor that is banned in public, I'm not sure I could savor the flavor. Have a blessed day.

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  4. I've heard of these, but I've never had any. I'm guessing now I'll pass if they smell that bad. Too funny.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥

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  5. yow- not sure I could eat something that smelled so awful! Have a stink free day!

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  6. Haha! I have never heard of a durian. I can only imagine the smell!

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  7. I just learned about this fruit. One of my son's has a friend who's Mom is from Mae Sot. She had a post on social media about it. They don't have the fruit here. I'm always willing to try anything including Durians. My nose (scent wise) only works a little, so it wouldn't bother me like others.

    That's funny that he had to put that in his pocket. YIKES!

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  8. Veronica,

    I've not heard of this fruit before but judging by the mixed reviews given by these little experts then I think I'll just pass on the King of Fruits. What did the hubs think of the ice pop? Thanks for visiting & linking up. Have a good day!

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  9. This is so interesting. I'd never heard of them before! oops never mind. I bet your hubby will remember next time. Thanks for sharing with #bloggersbest x

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  10. Oh yes the durian fruit has a terrible smell - he must have been so embaressed. #FabFridayPost

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  11. DURIAN! The King of fruit..the king of troubles, hahaha. My hubby loves it so much, Veronica and I can't stand it LOL. Can you imagine the fight we have at home :)

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  12. Hi, if the odour is that bad. I ma not sur that I would want to try it #FabFridayPost

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  13. Hahaha. Your story is too funny. I've never heard of Durian. I would never be able to eat anything that smells that bad. Thanks for sharing on Sunday's Best.

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  14. Never heard of this smelly offensive fruit! And I think I may want to keep it that way! Wow! Does it at least taste good? Too funny! SOunds like a Ginko to me! #fabfridaypost xoxo

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  15. How interesting, and funny haha! I had never even heard of a durian. I'm now intrigued to know what they smell like! #kcacols

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  16. Ive never heard of or seen one, let alone smelt one but i don't think i want to after reading this! #KCACOLS

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  17. I’ve heard the taste lovely but smell very bad but never tried one #KCACOLS

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  18. How interesting, I have never heard of durain before. I can see why it is banned lol, oh dear! #kcacols

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  19. I've not heard of this before. Very interesting read! Funny too! Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time

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