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Part 18: Singapore the sequel.....
The time passed quickly over the next week.
It was mostly spent keeping fit for my Merrell adventure mountain trail.
with a series of keep fit sessions and boxing drill classes.
My trek buddies took me on a 10k practice run through some wonderful nature trails, about 2 hours South of Manila, my fitness was really coming on now and also I was pretty much acclimatised to the heat.
In the background of the trail there was a very distinctive looking Mountain called 'Mount Makiling' which to me resembled a lady laying down.
It was no coincidence as it was named after a 'Maria Makiling'
There was very famous story behind this.
According to Legend, she was a lady of the woods who fell in love with a simple peasant farmer.
She watched over him, bestowing the farmer with a magic that protected him from harm.
War broke across the land and the army came to the village to recruit young unmarried men for battle.
The farmer entered into an arranged marriage with another so he could stay safely in the village.
He visited Maria one last time and
she told him he needed an earthly woman.
But It broke her heart that he had no faith in her love
She then vanished and was never seen again.
I was literally learning something new every single day.
The Filipinos really enjoy telling people stories about their history, Not sure this one was true, but a nice one nonetheless.
Before I knew it, my Unscheduled Singapore trip was upon me.
It turned out there was an unexpected, but most welcome bit of fortune related to the trip.
My brother was there on business again, he would be bringing supplies from the UK for me from my family.
See, every cloud has a silver-lining.
What seemed like a disruption to my travels at the time and a horrid experience, has now turned into a blessing.
Learning my lesson, I arrived at the Manila airport ridiculously early this time.
It was a 6.30am flight.
With no drama whatsoever, much to my relief.
I was getting used to the jolly, Cebu Pacific in flight games by now.
Although there where a few jitters as the plane was approaching the run way to say the least.
Just a few moments before the final runway descent, the pilot pulled up and to the right really sharply whilst thrusting, aborting his landing at the last possible second.
He climbed again circling the airport a few times before re-landing about 15 mins later to mine and everyone else's relief.
My brother was not due for a couple of days so I booked the very same 'pod' hostel in China town I stayed in 3 months earlier when I began my travels.
The staff, who remembered my last visit, were really happy to see me.
'Hey Vince' they smiled before showing me to my 'sub zero' pod.
No apprehension this time.
I made a list of the area's I wanted to visit that I missed before.
And more foods to try, including the fabled 'Durian' fruit, but more on that later.
First stop was The 'ethnic' and very 'Bohemian' Arab quarter.
This was super cool and I loved it.
A charming area off the beat and track, well away from the center.
There were bazaar's, beautiful, Arabic architecture, great cafe's, restaurants and the famous Sultan Mosque, easily noticeable from its large golden dome that stood out from all the other buildings.
Traditional 'ethnic' Arabic music was playing, making it feel really authentic.
What trip to an area like this, would be complete without sampling a Shisha pipe.
I glanced across at couple of Arabic hippies out side a cool looking cafe which really got my attention.
With out even offering a menu, they took one look at me.
'Shisha?' they said.
Do I really look like a stoner I thought.
Anyway they gave me a beautifully crafted Shisha pipe to sample.
It was cool, fruity and refreshing.
Even though there are no illegal substances in the pipe (or so I thought) why was it that I couldn't help but slouch back into the big comfy sofas, eyes squinted beneath my sunglasses, and smiling away to my self?
Best leave that to the imagination, but they kept loading me up.
Finally it was time to go.
My head was spinning so I spent a good few hours in Arab street exploring away and discovering more narrow streets, with vintage clothes shops, Arabic trinkets and jewellery even an old 1950's toy museum which I loved.
For anyone heading to Singapore, this is a great area to escape to and one I thoroughly recommend, you will not be disappointed.
Later that evening I arranged to meet with my Singapore friends who decided to take me on a food tour, which was fine by me.
Firstly stopping to try a fantastic Mongolian restaurant.
We all sat around a big table, leaving the honours of ordering the food to my them, I was not disappointed.
The waitress brought over a huge iron pot of boiling stock, placing it on a gas hob in the middle of the table.
Then we all helped ourselves to a delicious plethora of meat, vegetables or seafood and just dropped them in the stock waiting for them to cook.
It was a really nice experience and a thoroughly delicious one conversation was flowing as we all shared the food.
Next stop was for dessert.
And my friends were really excited about taking me to 'Chewy Junior's donuts'
A japanese shop which made Krispy Kreme's taste ordinarily average.
They were quite simply exquisite.
A chewy like pastry with bizarre combo of sweet and salty fillings.
There were so many flavours to choose from.
I opted for cheese and salted caramel and blue berry cream cheese.
They where absolutely fantastic!
After digesting the donuts they saved the best till last.
They kept telling that no trip to this lovely country would be complete unless I where to sample the fabled 'Durian' fruit.
But they had to be just right and perfectly ripe so we travelled by car to a small district, where apparently they had the prefect Durian, or the 'King of fruits' as it is known here.
It was a small outdoor cafe beside the road full of locals, with no foreigners or tourists in the Serangoon district.
They spent ages discussing and picking the perfect fruit whilst I watched and waited, wondering what on earth to expect in the background.
I must admit the strong pungent smell was hardly filling me with any enthusiasm at this point.
Proudly bringing over this lethal, and large looking green shell, covered with formidable spikes.
It resembled more of a medieval mace than a fruit, with a smell that was even stronger close up.
It was beginning to make me feel nervous and equally curious.
I could not help but think what have I just let my self in for.
Especially as they all chuckled when they were opening it up in front of me.
My first impressions were not great to be honest.
It smelled so bad, hardly looked appealing and the almost impenetrable exterior was mother nature trying to tell us something.
Once opened the pod like white, sticky flesh looked almost extra terrestrial, it had a custardy consistency and pulpy texture.
Now the moment of truth, it was time to try it as all my friends, and a whole host of locals looked on in anticipation and laughter.
Not to much pressure then.
I picked one of the mushy pods, pulling it away with a little difficulty, coating my fingers and it quadrupled in smell.
Before pausing for a brief moment, I reluctantly put it in my mouth.
Everyone watched closely to see my reaction.
The taste, which I can only describe as indescribable was much sweeter than I expected, but it was still savoury.
There was a definite oniony essence.
Chewing the sticky flesh was not easy as it went down my throat kind of warming my insides.
It tasted like an over ripped, rotten banana, mixed with over cooked and soft salted onions.
It wasn't as bad as I was expecting though, strangely satisfying but still an odd combination of flavours and smells that were confusing the hell out of my taste buds and senses.
Still, importantly I had passed the test.
The locals where expecting the westerner to spit it out or gag like most of them do apparently.
I had earned my Durian stripes.
But they passed me another, just to make sure It wasn't a fluke.
So I obliged once more.
My fingers were coated in the sticky flesh so I licked them before eating my second pod, raising my arms immediately after in victory.
They told me not to drink any alcohol for a few hours.
It would react badly, and in some instances, it can even kill you!!
I had no intention of finding out if that was true. However It was rich in minerals, antioxidants and vitamins apparently.
On the way home we all stank in the car, my fingers smelled really bad and it repeated on me throughout the night.
But I had came, I had seen, and I had conquered the Durian fruit!
The Kingliest of all fruits...
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