So after the event, we went back to Bung Didi’s family’s house, which was walking distance from the event. This was his family’s village. Apparently, every Friday night, durian is free. I don’t know much about this tradition, other than that. So we had been at this event ALL DAY. I was covered in layers of sweat and the heat makes me SOOOO tired. We were all about to leave, when Mas hambali noticed a couple people were missing from our group. He called them and found out they went to get some durian. The whole group, as exhausted as everyone was, seemed to get excited about this news. They all proceeded to ask me if I like durian, which at this point, I did not. If you don’t know what durian is, it is a big fruit, with prickly looking things on it. And it smells. I have been in places that actually have signs saying it is not permitted. Thats how bad it smells. I mean, it REALLY smells.
Soon they arrived with the durian. I was not able to try any at first because I was involved in a hardcore photo shoot with the local kids. I guess they heard that there was a bule on the premises, so I spent about 30-45mins posing for them. All with their camera phones. Kids as young as probably 3 taking pictures. Sometimes they would pose with me. It got kind of annoying after a while but I figured that it will probably be a while before they see one again, so I just went with the flow, laughing and posing and speaking my broken Indonesian, which kind of freaked them out. I have included a picture of the kids below. And yes, they were all taking pictures. Even the tiny ones.
After my photo shoot, it was durian time. It smelled so terrible, but I knew that refusing it would be a mortal sin. And not only that, I wanted to participate in this ritual. I mean, thats why I am here right. So I tried it. The first piece wasn’t so good. It smelled and tasted as bad as it smelled. I was honest about this, and Mas Hambali found one he was sure I would enjoy, that was a better quality durian. He was right. It was sweet and mushy, and had a really weird aftertaste. But I jsut went with this flow too, and had a great time. Below are some pics for your viewing pleasure.
Next time you see durian…just do it. Take a deep breath and (insert British accent) GET IN!!
That stuff made Andrew Zimmern puke. Really !