OPINION

Durian for the heart in far South

News, Supapohn Kanwerayotin, Published on 14/07/2020

» 'From Bannang Sata Yala," along with PromptPay details for contactless payment, read the sign at the back of a pickup truck parked across the street from the mosque next to Thong Lor Metropolitan Police Station. This is a find on my neighbourhood roaming day. Because at this time of year I would usually have set myself up in Pattani as a launchpad for the annual durian eating season in three southern border provinces. In my pre-corona blueprint, the imagined highlight would be an-all durian day along multiple stalls lining the roadside of Ton Sai, a spot in Narathiwat where a work trip in July 2019 placed me in the divine durian abode. A large fruit picked, weighed and cut open by a lady vendor produced the prettiest plump golden mounds -- the most delicious durian I have ever wrapped my taste buds around. Amid oohs and aahs from Thai colleagues who had actually just finished another fruit before our arrival, plus the expression on my face while relishing that mouthful, must have boosted the courage in a foreign expert I was interpreting for to brave an encounter. Still, that pile of terrifying spiky fruit apparently overwhelmed his other colleagues who opted out. A globetrotting development expert, he nodded his approval as he finished his piece with no trace of aversion.