A world full of smells

"Eau de Terengganu", if available for purchase, would whiff of open drains and raw fish. Not that the whole place smells like it ... some people throw a piece of lino or pile of newspaper over the open drain next to their al fresco restaurant to make the food seem more appealing.

And then there is the wet market. We have been there a few times on the weekends - I had an interesting drink there one week, hid from a gunman behind the stalls on another occasion.

But with Bea here, it was compusory to visit again.

Over-riding the delightful aroma of various spices, and the odour of fish at various stages of freshness, there was another ... durian!

If you stay in a hotel here, there is a warning outside the lift that durian is forbidden!



In fact, I think the local durian season has finished, and these specimens have been brought in from Thailand.

But at least the chap was opening them and packaging them in a little container for RM5 ($1.80) a shot.

So we grabbed one and found a spot in the shade to sit and eat.



When we first sat down, the place was quite crowded. But it cleared almost instantly! The durian was quite nice - although a local chap who lingered despite the smell pointed out that we were eating the not-so-nice Thai version of the fruit.

And talking of lingering ... first there is the sticky smell on your fingers, and then there is the repeating taste ... we are wondering how long the memory will linger!