Bentong durians

Bentong durians are in season in August. And I love durians.

After our visit to the SEMOA orang asli centre at Tras, where we had pigged out on durians for lunch, I wanted to stop and buy some to take home.

There were quite a lot of sellers along the old Raub to Bentong road, and also on the main newer Raub to Bentong road. We chose one on the old road. The price was RM5 / kg, which didn't seem particulary cheap, but the fruit were really delicious, just how I like them, sweet, creamy and yellow. I bought 4 kg, I'd intended to buy 3 kg, but the seller used the old trick of "no change" to make us buy more, even though my Chinese friend was doing the buying on my behalf.

And even though we were all full, we stopped at the famous Kow Po ice cream shop in Bentong, for their special chendol. Gee, I was so full after.



checking that it is a good one



wish I could take the lot home

waiting



durian seller's house



3 kg, then 1 more is added

opening the fruit

a bus goes by

Bentong

special chendol



I was full after this!!!


The durians I took home were really good. Had one for dinner (even though I was still full), the small one for breakfast, and the large one for lunch. It's nice to eat them alone cos I can eat them slowly and savour each mouthful rather than gobbling them down. For some reason when eating them in a group, everyone eats them so fast, almost as if it is a race.

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© Liz Price <br>
No reproduction without permission

Orang asli at Tras, Pahang

I joined a group of more than 20 from St Andrews Presbyterian Church in KL, 21 August 2010, to visit the orang asli group they help support in Pahang.

The location is at Tras, which is on the Raub to Frasers Hill road, just east of the tiny town of Tras. The place is part of the Semoa project, which is an NGO that serves orang asli communities in Selangor, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan.

The centre is quite new and is funded with donations from various churches and companies. There are 30 children, aged 5-12, staying in the centre and schooling in Tras. During school holidays they return to their own village which is a 2 hour trek up in the hills.

View from the gate
Kids waiting to meet us -

they are a bit shy, unsure of us

These orang asli are farmers, and have no skills in crafts etc. At the centre, they have dorms which are cleverly made from cargo containers, and each one sleeps 6. Cleverly disguised container -

The central area is used for meetings, and as a place to do homework etc. There is a separate new building which is the library and resource centre,

and upstairs they have brand new computers just connected to the internet. I was quite impressed as the computers are latest models, slimline, with Windows 7.

New washing machines -

A fish pond is currently being built, and will contain patin and tilapia for food.

One of the donors There are also lime / lemon trees. In the future there will be a fruit and vegetable farm. Sample Temuan house -

We timed our visit for the durian season, and after lunch, we pigged out on durians.

And as we drove back to Bentong, I bought some more durians to take home, RM5 a kg.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Tourism Malaysia London

I've often wondered how Tourism Malaysia can afford to run an office in the heart of London, at Trafalgar Square. Other people obviously have the same thoughts, as last week this question was asked in The Sun.

Today, 16 Aug 2010, I found the answer in The Sun.

"Malaysia House, at 57 Trafalgar Square (where Tourism Malaysia office stands today) was a gift from Her Majesty the Queen of England as the Head of Commonwealth to the Malayan Government in 1957."

So it's nice to know that it's not costing Malaysia anything in rent to run this office. It's just a pity that Tourism Malaysia doesn't put more effort into making it more attractive, considering its prime location in the very heart of London.

See my comments from May 2010.

Photos from May 2010 -

whitewashed window

And March 2009

 

My next blog on this was May 2013.