my apartment is about a 15-20 minute walk away from the durian stall. with the haze and heat, i decided i'd take a cab back if possible. now, this leads me to my next story. but most taxi drivers don't allow durians in their cab. i proceeded to explain my problem to the guy selling the durians and he said 'no problem, i'll package it well', and package it well he did.

i hailed a cab and jumped it with my durian. the driver asked me if i ate durian, i said yeah. he was then amused and told me 'thats good, young people today no longer like durians, they can't stand it'. it was then my turn to be amused, i reckoned all singaporeans were durian lovers regardless of age or generation. i was raised as a baby eating durians. we had a durian conversation for, well, basically the entire ride. but a couple things he mentioned stuck out to me. somewhere along the way he said 'it's shameful to be a singaporean and not eat durian', of course please don't take offense if thats you, the tone would be mostly joking with a tint of seriousness. i have equal respect for those who don't enjoy durians. before this turns into a durian novel, i'll wrap this up by saying eating durians is a true singaporean delicacy, something i find great joy in and never forget.
fun fact: we don't have durians growing in singapore, they're mostly from malaysia, but they're our national fruit.

oh and if after reading this, you're in singapore and in the mood for some durians, try Combat Durian by Balestier, it's in my opinion the best in the country.