Thailand Blog :: return to "normal"

So I did the watermelon cleanse for 3 whole days, I am so proud of myself because I was so tempted to rip open a potentially unripe jackfruit or walk to the big C when my neighbour started playing guitar and wailing like a strangled cat after 9pm, just after I tucked myself into bed. I was tempted to go knocking but I didn't. He stopped at 10.30pm. However, if he does it again tonight I will tell him because I'm up early to catch the minibus to Cambodia and back to get my second 60 days stamp. 

I went out early to find the visa run buses and was unsuccessful, so I cycled to the wholesale market on the highway. It's just over 7km from my accommodation and it didn't take long to get there. 

I went to every stand asking for "Monthong nim nim", which I think means really ripe. Most of them said no and the ones who had them wanted 100baht or 80baht per kilo. I returned to one of the first stalls where I actually got a 2.5kg Monthong for 80baht! However, it lacked a real flavour. It was OK, but compared to the one I had 4 days ago it was bland. 

I don't know what made me buy more from that seller though! But I did and the second Monthong I got was also lacking flavour. I just hope the Chanee I bought it better. 

Then after I went there I was on a hunt for US dollars. After sitting in numerous banks (one bank I waited 30 minutes!) I couldn't find any that had money so I have to spend  little more on the Cambodian visa because I'm paying in baht. Nevermind. 

I cycled around most of the day, which means my tan on my arms, legs and face will be even better, but my white bits will still be white... I better start staying in the sun for longer when I'm naked sunbathing on my balcony. 

I also kept wondering why my lips hurt. It's because they're burnt! So on with the coconut oil, except I love to lick it off my lips! 

I bought pineapple at a different market and now my tongue is burnt too, so I'm feeling a little battered and worn out from my hectic day. I will be happy to turn off the lights and sleep. 

I am grateful for my bicycle and the ability to use it. I appreciate rest and relaxation. 

Borneo Blog :: tarap, durian, coconut milk

Today has been epic! 

I wanted to buy a cheap tarap as a last goodbye to this amazing fruit, so Des took me to Dongonggon Tamu on his motorcycle. On the way he took a detour to a different market near Cyber City apartments close to KK airport. 

This market did not have tarap, but it had an incredible coconut milking machine! I say milk, but it was thick like cream. Oh so good. I got a 500g bag but only drank half as I was already still full from breakfast (my new favourite avocado, coconut oil and soaked walnuts). 

I put the rest in the fridge when I got back but after checking it a few hours later it has turned sour! Seriously the fridge in this hostel is absolutely rubbish at keeping milk fresh! 

So after this we went to Dongonggon and I was so disappointed to find that the tarap was more expensive than what I found in KK the previous day... However, I did find a lady selling just 1 for 3 ringgit. It's not the cheapest I've paid but it was still cheap in my opinion. It isn't ripe until tomorrow. 

As the tarap has to wait until tomorrow I decided today would be my final durian in Sabah. I had only planned on getting one, but as I'm addicted I ended up buying 4... I got a tray labeled as Musang king, but if it was it was over ripe. It didn't taste as amazing as I expected based on other people's reviews... And so I bought 3 wild durian. One after the other of course, after each one I said "OK this is the last" but it is by far my favourite durian I've ever tried so I had to eat until I was 100% completely sure I couldn't eat any more. 

I feel good though, I definitely did not over do it like in Ranau. 

Then to top off the day nicely I had a chat with my Mum :) it's been a long time since we talked, mainly because she works and I'm 8 hours ahead of the UK. 

Borneo Blog :: durian addict

If you've been watching my YouTube channel and my Instagram feed you may have thought "wow, she really likes eating durian". Yes, I have enjoyed every moment of eating it, but recently I've not been enjoying the after effects, which include increased temperatures, sweating, burping, generally feeling too full because I over ate and then there's durian breath, which if I eat a durian that was too ripe can be awful!

I wanted to leave Ranau, but I decided not to because I hadn't told Sherry so I'm leaving tomorrow instead. I also decided to be more conscious of eating, so I finished the bunch of red bananas I had after waiting a few hours after getting up. The feeling of emptiness was pleasant. I headed to the market at 10 and got a yellow coconut. I think it was my first one ever and it was definitely sweeter. I enjoyed it so much I decided that I would drink 2 more for lunch and buy a small tarap. 

Normally I'd eat durian around 2 or 3pm, so when the clock struck 2 I automatically knew because I had a surge in craving durian. Yesterday I decided I was giving it up, but today because I was staying in Ranau I knew I could get it easily and cheap. So I cycled back to the market and bought 4 small wild durian for 5 ringgit and then a tray of ripe durian for 5 ringgit. 

I made sure I was fully aware of my actions and how I felt whilst eating these durian. I honestly believe I am addicted to it and I hope that I can just got cold turkey! Needless to say I over ate and felt sick. 

I have thought recently how food is a major part of my life and it's ridiculous that I am centering my entire existence upon it. I've been given an interesting book to read and it's the first educational book I've ever been excited to read! I'll tell you more about it when I finish it... Just know that it's changing my whole perspective of food. 

My aim is to stop consuming durian for the next few weeks, reduce the amount of fruit I eat and focus more on drinking liquid, listening to my body and allowing healing time. I do believe in the cycle of consumption, which goes for food as much as material consumption. So I eat when I get up, then I feel hungry again so I eat more, which causes more hunger so I eat again and again and again, etc. It's one big viscous cycle. When I eat more I want more. Same for buying things. When I shop I just want to buy more and more and more. But it's not good!

My eyes are opening further and my ideologies are changing. I think it became more apparent to me when I noticed food wasn't actually energising me anymore. This started happening before the excessive durian consumption, but it definitely played a role.

Borneo Blog :: too much durian?

If you haven't been expecting this post I'd be surprised. So if you've been following my Instagram then you'll know I eat a lot of durian every day (pretty much since I got to Ranau). Therefore, it was inevitable that this day would come that I say perhaps I've been eating too much! :P 

This morning I didn't feel all that great in my stomach. I actually burped a bit of sick during my morning coconut. I thought perhaps I didn't leave enough time between dinner and breakfast. I've read some raw vegans leave at least 16 hours between their last meal and first meal. I think I left around 10 or 11 hours between my late salad and coconut. 

Yesterday I ate 1 normal durian, 1 wild durian and 2 packets of mixed durian, which together made me so full. It was an eyes bigger than my belly moment and I just couldn't resist, which makes me question whether durian is actually an addictive fruit. 

I was going to avoid eating durian today, but I went up to Kundasang with my new friend Nelli this morning and on the way back we stopped at a durian stall just outside of Ranau town. It had so many varieties like D24, D101, kura-kura, tembaga and many others. So I tried the D24 (Nelli thinks it wasn't actually D24) and I bought a kura-kura because someone on Facebook has asked me for the seeds. 

The kura-kura was actually quite poor, tasting like it may have been a day too old and it wasn't as sweet as the D24 I had. Then the lady at the stall offered us free durian so I had a few pieces and it was creamy and semi sweet. 

Early on before going to Kundasang I bought 4 wild durian. I left them at Nelli's hotel, which is opposite the market! Unfortunately one of them was so ripe it had cracked at all seams and was calling me with its scent, so I've just polished it off... 

Nelli has worked on some durian farms, collecting them in return for free food so she's had some amazing durian. She reckons the durian here doesn't taste as good as in Kuching (Sarawak) and I'm beginning to realise just how mediocre it is in comparison to wild durian, which packs a punch of flavours. I think from now on I'm just going to eat wild durian here in Ranau unless I'm presented with something amazingly sweet smelling. 

It's not that hard to pick it up around here, so fingers crossed I can continue to get some from the market. 

I've been planning my days this evening and I am thinking about cycling to the hot springs tomorrow to see the rafflesia flower (weather permitting). I've been sat around for too long, I need to get out and take some amazing photographs. There's a butterfly farm, orchid conservation centre, canopy walk and waterfalls at Poring, so it will be a long day in nature. I will pack my basket full of fruit so I will have the energy to see it all! 

I definitely want to see Kota Belud tamu on Sunday and proceed to Kudat, so I want to round off my time here in Ranau by doing the things I had planned to do when I was in KK. I just need to figure out the logistics of buses and taking my bicycle. If it's possible to cycle for part of my journey I am definitely interested in doing that! 

So even though I've eaten too much durian, I'm still going to to eat it but just wild durian because it's the most flavourful and apparently is lower in fat! 

Borneo Blog :: new friend!

Today I finally met another durian lover. The girl at the market told me there was a German girl staying in Ranau and said she goes to the market everyday to eat durian. 

I've been here for 1 week and I finally met her! I hadn't planned on visiting the market today, but then I was looking at durian photos and decided to go and get some for my afternoon meal. 

I ended up eating 1 normal durian, 1 wild durian and 1 packet made up of 2 or 3 durian... I was stuffed! 

As I sat at the market observing the men load their trucks full of durian and langsat I was greeted by Nelli. She looks very similar to my friend Ines who is (let me get this right) German, but of Italian decent who lives in France. Please correct me if I'm wrong Ines! 

We have both been told about each other by the same girl at the market and it was nice to finally meet this other durian lover! I had always imagined she would be a raw foodie and I was right! Ask the universe and ye shall receive! 

We had a good discussion about our travels (Nelli has had an impressive trip, working in orchards for free accommodation and durian!) and about raw foods. I'm so glad to have met her and I hope that we can go to Kundasang together tomorrow to share our love of rollinia. 

Unfortunately just like Beverley, I've met her when she's close to leaving. It's funny how the universe works! 

Borneo Blog :: wild durian

Welcome to another blog post :) if you're new here I hope you have a chance to read my previous posts and I hope you stay tuned for more! If you're a regular then thank you for your loyalty, I hope to entertain and inspire you some more! 

Shameless plug, follow me on Instagram and Subscribe on YouTube! 

Saturday is the tamu day in Ranau and as always when I visit a fruit and vegetable market I am never disappointed! I couldn't believe how busy the street was, the normal market here rarely gets busy, I always feel like I'm the only one there so it was great to see more people occupy the small space in this town! 

I had a mission of finding a coconut and getting breakfast before I got to the serious business of buying some exotic fruits, but then I saw some wild durian and decided I had to buy it in case they disappear (in KK there was a champedak seller who literally sold out as he pulled up to the market!) 

May I present my durian finds for the day... 

Top left clockwise costs: 5 ringgit for 4, 10 ringgit for 3 and 10 ringgit for 3

I ate the durian from left to right 

So right about now would be a good time to name the durian, but I'm not exactly an expert yet and although I've read the posts by Lindsay on Year of the durian I am too lazy to go over the information again to give to you guys so you'll have to excuse me and just read about how they tasted. 

The first durian was just so tiny it falls into the category of being cute. It was the most fragrant, being able to smell it from far away and had the most flavour. The spikes were sharp but it was easy to handle and open because it had pretty much burst at the seams. 

This durian smelt like a tropical fruit punch, wonderfully aromatic and it made my senses go crazy! I just wanted to rip it open and eat it up so fast. The flesh to seed ratio is probably one of the worst I've experienced, but the flavour is so intense that all is forgiven! The texture was so dense, moisture was minimal and it reminded me of eating a rich cake. It tasted like chocolate. This was incredible! I have found nature's rich chocolate cake in a tiny durian. The Seeds were such a deep red colour too, probably the most beautiful seeds I've ever seen for a durian. 

Tasty, fragrant and beautiful 

The best things come in smaller packages 

The second durian was disappointing in comparison to the first one. It lacked fragrance and the taste was quite off-putting. However, I loved the appearance. It's just a green ball of long spikes that curl toward the seams, which makes it easy to spot the place to open it. The texture of this durian was moist, silky and smooth. The flavour can only be described as garlicky mashed potatoes, at least that's what it reminded me of. It was definitely interesting to eat and by the time I'd had the last one I was wanting more! 

I never expected it to taste like garlic! 

I'm not actually sure if the third durian is wild or just a local durian, but the spikes were similar in appearance to the first 2 so I just decided that it was wild! This durian is pretty much summed up by the word mild. Everything about it was mild, from the aroma to the flavour. The texture was in between the first 2 durian, slightly dense and slightly moist. This was the biggest as you can see and the flesh to seed ratio varied for each piece. There were a lot more seeds in this than normal durian (in my experience). I enjoyed this one because it filled me up more and it lasted more than 30 seconds! 

Bigger but milder 

My favourite durian for flavour was the first. My favourite durian for texture was the second. My favourite durian for satisfaction was the third. My favourite durian for appearance was the second. 

Overall my favourite durian was the first. Come on, nature's own rich chocolate cake! I had the most amazing durian experiences today and I cannot imagine anything better than this! 

Have you ever tired these durian before? Let me know if you have and what you thought.

Borneo Blog :: durian orchard tour

I've relocated to Ranau, home of durian. It takes between 2-3 hours to arrive here by coach, depending on the traffic. There are many steep hills and if you get caught behind a lorry then the journey time increases! 

I'm in a homestay that has 7 rooms, but I'm the only person here! I have 3 bathrooms, a large living area and dining area, kitchen (with so many pink plates, bowls, cups! My kind of living!!) and balcony. It's awesome compared to the hostel. Also the temperature is lower due to being higher up, which is a welcome relief. I have been wearing my jumper and leggings so I appreciate having them (I've been wondering if I'd ever use them in the tropics!). 

The owner of the property also owns an orchard and when I told her daughter (Sherry) I love durian she immediately suggested taking me to see it. Unfortunately on my first day here it rained heavily, which cancelled the trip. However, I visited this afternoon. 

We took some very long battered roads. It's as if the council has forgotten that there's roads there because it hasn't been well maintained. Pot holes, bumps and huge chunks of tarmac are missing, which makes it hazardous and if you don't concentrate you could easily damage your car. 

When we arrived there were rows of papaya trees lining the entrance with huge fruit dangling from them, all green. It was muddy due to the rain so I took a stick to help my descent. I guess at this point I should mention that it was very steep, I don't envy the job of the workers because they have to navigate the orchard every day in all weathers carrying durian up these steep hills. 

The workers still use traditional baskets for carrying durian up the steep slopes

There were coffee trees, bananas, langsat, salak (snake fruit), mangosteen, coconuts, rambutan, another fruit similar to longon, some jungle fruit and of course durian. 

From top left clockwise : coffee, banana, langsat, fruit similar to longon (unknown name) and salak 

The views were incredible. It was amazing to see the durian hanging off the trees and then spotting empty branches where they've fallen to the ground set amidst a backdrop of steep mountainous landscapes. Breathtaking. 

Unfortunately I wasn't fully prepared because my camera battery plus spare ran out of power! So did my action camera. I am pretty sure I got all I could though. The weather wasn't fantastic either so the lighting was poor. 

Once we had had enough of walking around the muddy slopes of the orchard we returned to the entrance, where there is a large wooden building, and sampled some durian. My favourite part! Unfortunately Sherry forgot to call ahead of time to arrange for them to have ripe durian for me, but we did have 1 ripe durian to share (well I say we, Sherry and her daughter don't like durian, but her husband does!). 

Doesn't it just look so creamy and beautiful?! 

Apparently the people who work in the orchard don't see tourists often so they were excited that I came, that might be why they gave me a whole basket of durian to take back with me! I think it's 10 durians to be exact. I will be in durian heaven soon. It needs to ripen over 1 or 2 days. 

I have forgotten the durian variety, it's very pale, creamy and tastes like vanilla. Incredible. Sherry said the fruits are mainly round. I will update you when I eat the ones I have. 

Borneo Blog :: Tai Chi, the other woman, Ranau

I woke up to a message from Des asking me if I wanted to go to the beach with him and his son Ronald (another spooky coincidence, my dad is called Ronald...). I am pretty sure I hadn't even put my socks on and he was at my hostel already! I was feeling rather shaky this morning so I needed to eat something. It's the Sunday market on Gaya Street, right outside my accommodation so I didn't want to break my tradition of tarap for breakfast so I got a huge one! Little did I know Des was buying me durian! 

We drove to the beach and Des showed me some Tai Chi moves after I played in the park of course lol. Ronald was too shy to show me how strong he is on the monkey bars so I just hung upside down from them instead! Eventually he showed me, wow for 7 years old he has great upper body strength! 

Ronald was so shy! 

I met Des' wife and then his in laws, which was slightly awkward given that he just takes me on the back of his motorcycle, leaves me standing alone feeling like I'm his mistress lol awkward... 

After I packed my things Des picked me up in the car and drove me to the bus station! Seriously this man has done a lot for me considering I'm a stranger. After a few snaps he left because his wife's car couldn't start and he was attending a course at 2pm, when my bus was leaving. I waited almost 2 hours. I cannot believe how slow the first hour went but then the rest of the time flew by. 

V for vegan!
When I look at photos I wish I'd have a more stylish appearance... 

The bus took around 2.5 hours and the roads were so windy but the driver drove quite fast around the bends and I felt sick because of it plus the air freshener that he sprayed at the bus terminal in addition to the automatic ones the goes off every 10 minutes. It was so easy to find my new accommodation though. 

The guy who is in the house, Sampson, was so kind when I arrived, he drove me to the market so I didn't get wet cycling and he did a quick tour of the down. Very quick actually because this town is so small!

The durian here is so cheap. I bought one with a slightly red tint on the spikes, it was very pale inside and when I tasted it I almost died... Creamy, check, good flesh to seed ratio, check, tootie fruitie flavour, check. Wow. I was so happy because I only paid 4 ringgit for this beauty. 

And now I am here, sat writing this after munching on some iceberg lettuce, some pretty strange tasting tomatoes and a very crunchy carrot. Someone is practicing their drumming which sounds awful and I have that weird energy feeling I've had all day. As if my chakras have been activated and they're waiting for me to do some deep meditation. So I'm going to floss, brush my teeth, poop and go to bed. Perhaps tonight I will go to the astral side... One can try! 

Borneo Blog :: I'm a loner with an uncontrollable durian addiction

Today I didn't have a coconut, I just went straight for the watermelon for breakfast after drinking 1 litre of filtered water. (This is one of the reasons I'm staying at this hostel, because I don't have to buy plastic bottles filled with water! It also makes washing fruit and veg so much cheaper!) After having an incredibly sweet and juicy watermelon yesterday I realised today that the watermelons I have been getting have been mediocre. The one I ate for breakfast had a powdery texture and it wasn't very sweet. I was quite disappointed so the one I bought for tomorrow is a lot smaller and I'm hoping this will be good. 

I've had a very poor day in terms of food combining and tomorrow I expect issues... For example, I ate that watermelon and felt hungry within 1 hour (it was 3.5kg in total so should have been 1000 cals). So I ate a bag of ciku's and one had maggots in it so I was super conscious about eating the rest. One was still under ripe and it stuck to the roof of my mouth, which was most unpleasant. I brushed my mouth with the toothbrush and it stuck to my toothbrush! It's a good job I already bought a spare brush. 

So I cycled to Dongonggon again for the tamu and had a coconut. It wasn't exactly sweet, it was sort of salty and savoury but I drank it and ate the flesh (hard and fatty mmm). Then I walked around the market, bought a tarap for 2 ringgit and ate it for lunch (sooooo good) and that was shortly followed by an incredible durian! Oh my it was the best durian I've had here, it was so yellow almost orange and it tasted like a creamy fruit cocktail mix! Just before I left I bought a different durian and a package of jackfruit. The jackfruit was definitely not ripe... 

Mmm tarap

The super fruity durian

When I got back to my hostel I ended up eating the durian, but then I wanted something crunchy so I snacked on organic sunflower seeds! Urgh what is going on with me and fat recently? 

I went to the market to get a coconut and watermelon for tomorrow and I ended up buying pineapple. It was the sweetest I've had possibly ever, but I ended up putting it in my salad and it burnt my tongue and spoilt my salad. My salad was little gem lettuce, cucumber, carrot and jicama noodles with tomatoes and celery. Bad combination in hindsight! I suppose what makes it even worse is that I smacked on more sunflower seeds. I think I'm trying to "emotional" eat but I'm not emotional. Strange. 

Here's that salad! 

So my poops haven't been as regular today and that's why I say tomorrow I'll have problems. I imagine pain, so I'm already prepared to do a watermelon and coconut water cleanse. I will try avoid eating the coconut flesh, but it will be hard! 

I must tell you about my dream. I dreamt that my mum won the lottery so I Googled it and it suggests that means I'll get more friends/social interactions. Strange but true. I saw a lady I met last week at the tamu and she gave me her number to meet up, then I've had numerous guys talking to me and one asked me out last night (I declined). I'm having a hard time keeping in touch with my current friends so I don't know how I'd be able to have more lol apologies if you're waiting for me to reply to an email or Skype with you! I know I have all the time in the world especially not having a job but this has always been my weakness. Oh and the loner part of my title relates to how I feel when I meet people, if they're not fruity they have a hard time understanding me so I still feel very much alone! 

Well I have reached the conclusion that I have a durian addiction because of what I ate today, yesterday and then on previous days. It's like as soon as I say I'm not going to eat it I automatically go into binge mode. I think this highlights some underlying issues I still need to address regarding food and my mentality towards it. 

Whilst I sit and ponder this I hope you enjoy the rest of your day :) 

On a side note but semi related, I keep thinking about my ex boyfriends and I wonder if they watch my YouTube videos, read my blog, see my Instagram, etc. I think there's underlying issues in this area too. I think part of me needs to go through a process of closure once and for all. I've been a terrible girlfriend in the past and I just need to take the time to process it, forgive myself and move on. And if you are one of my ex boyfriends then know that I am working through my issues and I know I have been unreasonable to you (all of you!) and I do think about some of the good times we had :) life is strange. 

Silly picture...

Borneo Blog :: locals, coconuts and durian

This morning I went out on my bicycle first thing to buy a coconut. It is my current routine to do 10 minutes of oil pulling, whilst I stretch and brush my teeth, drink about 1 litre of filtered water followed by a coconut water and meat and then a whole 3.5kg watermelon for breakfast. 

This sets me up to cleanse my colon, pee clear and rehydrate after a long sleep. I stopped drinking in the middle of the night because it disturbed my sleep and I was told that our mouths contain so much bacteria in the morning that we should do oil pulling without having a drink. So that's what I do. 

I love getting young coconuts that are slightly maturing inside, so the meat is a bit harder and whiter. I find the slimey meat to be just that, too slimey so I opt for the higher fat option. 

I sat in the place where I bought the coconut and drank it with my reusable glass affirmation straw. I bought this in Bali and I love it. The message says "I love who I am and all that I do". Perfect. After I finished I went to the sea front and sat down to eat my watermelon. 

As I was taking some selfies, a local young man walked past. He saw me taking pictures and decided he would come back to ask if he can have a photo too. "Sure" I said. I thought he would just take one but no he climbed over the ledge where I sat, put his arm around me and took a selfie with me. To him this meant it gave him full access to my personal life and his leading question was "so are you single? What is your name?"

There's something that's been grating on me over the last few weeks and that is that the men here all seem to assume that because I'm alone, beautiful and generally always smiling that it gives them a right to hit on me, that I want a boyfriend and that it's OK to ask really personal questions. Well it's not OK, I don't want a boyfriend and I would prefer my own privacy. 

Fair enough I am travelling in their country and yes I do appreciate friendly conversation, but as I found out in Turkey many years ago Muslim men and women cannot be friends, so if you are talking to a Muslim man they generally want something. I have been patient, I have been friendly, but when it's the first question someone asks I will not stand for it. He interrupted my peace so I told him that I would like to eat my breakfast in peace. Thankfully he respected my wishes and left. 

Now I'm not so vain to think I'm the desire of all men, but it certainly feels like it here. To them I'm classed as exotic! I haven't seen many single Western women walking around, but that doesn't mean that I am here to get a husband. I had exactly the same problem in Turkey. People in Bali left me alone for the most part and in Thailand I don't recall having this problem. That's why I enjoyed being in the cinema yesterday, I blended in because it was pitch black! The attention was no longer on me because I'm white, female, blonde and cute! 

Moving on, I decided that the durian here was actually pants, I haven't really been enjoying it, mainly because it costs more than I want to pay so I've been buying the cheaper packaged fruit. Well after my second Ionic Detox Foot Therapy I went to the guy with the cheap packaged durian. I took about 5-10 minutes just looking at the fruit because he has piles of durian stacked on the road, 3-4 fruit for 10 ringgit. This fruit looks really old so I sniff a few, no smell and decide that I don't want to get them in case they sucked! 

I then started opening his 5 ringgit packaged durian and decide it looks a bit battered, so I just asked if I could buy one from his baskets (where he's replenishing the old ones from). He also sells fresh durian too for 12 ringgit /kg but I don't want that. The one I picked was mediocre, nothing to write home about. Then one of the guys picks out a small one and it is the sweetest and creamiest durian I've had since Bali. Oh sweet heavens you answered my prayers! Then I got the taste for more and so I got another durian and it too was so creamy. I wanted it to last forever... The best thing about eating durian is the leftovers on your fingers. I licked them clean hahaha

So now I'm sat on my bed writing this blog, feeling super full from 3 durian and day dreaming about how good is tasted. So much for giving up durian... I might go back tomorrow. 

*passes out from durian coma*

Borneo Blog :: a new adventure

I arrived at Kota Kinabalu airport around 5.30pm on Saturday 10th January 2015. It took about 20 minutes to get through passport control so this meant when I got through to baggage reclaim my bike was sat waiting for me. 

Eager to eat durian I wanted to get out of the airport as soon as I could, so I rushed to find the ATM machine and waited patiently for the man to finish using it. This took at least 5 minutes and at the end of his multiple transactions the machine just shut down. He cleaned it out. 

"I have no money" was my first thought. Panic struck and I was wondering how the heck I'd get a taxi with no money! A young couple were in the same boat and then they mentioned the exchange booth (so silly of me to forget about that!) and I remembered I had £25 in my purse, so I quickly changed my money, paid for a large taxi and made my way outside. 

The taxi was pimped out to the max. It was covered in (hopefully faux) leather with diamontes and had 2 chandeliers hanging in the back. Awesome! I tried to have a conversation about durian with the driver but his English wasn't very good so most of the journey was silent with the barely audible radio playing in the background. (Animals by Maroon 5 was the song I mainly remember) 

When I arrived I left the bike in the box, put my bags in the locker and set off on my durian hunt. I found it quite easily, but was disappointed with the price. It's more than I was spending in Bali and more than what I've paid in Thailand. Still cheaper than getting it in the UK though! The seed to flesh ratio was against me and I was left day dreaming about the Bali-Bangkok durian I had in Ubud. Nowadays I daydream about Monthong. That durian has an awesome flesh to seed ratio and is so sweet and creamy. It has to be my favourite durian variety so far. 

On the way back to the hostel I found a shopping centre and bought a 7kg watermelon for 5 ringgit. Unfortunately this was a 1 time deal. Watermelon goes for 2 ringgit/kg and the girls who sold it to me were inexperienced! 

In the morning I woke up feeling awful because I ate too much and it didn't sit well in my stomach. But after half of the watermelon I felt refreshed. 

Sunday is a market day on Gaya Street, right outside my hostel so I had a brilliant morning looking at the fruits and vegetables. I had been doing some research and was able to spot tarap and champedak so I bought one each. Both are awesome fruits, tarap is less messy because there's no latex on the skin or fruit. 

Check out my YouTube videos of me eating tarap and champedak. 

Bali Blog - happiness, friend, raw food cafe, plans

I hope you enjoyed yourself on Thursday having a jolly time with friends, family, loved ones, or on your own. The festive period is usually pretty positive for most, but for some it can bring up bad feelings. 

I hope that you're all aware that happiness or joy is our natural state of being and that anything else we may feel is an external influence. Therefore, we choose to be unhappy, sad, angry, frustrated, stressed, etc. Once you understand that you are not the body and it is actually a vehicle then you will understand how you can be happy without external influences affecting you! 

So what's been happening with me? 

Well I'm in raw food, spiritual heaven in terms of location. Ubud has so many raw restaurants and cafes offering raw dishes it's just incredible! There's not even a shortage of fruit here either. I am finally able to say I like the mangoes despite the perfumey taste. My taste buds accept the flavours now. And there's so much yoga, meditation, qi-gong, tai chi, etc that it might take a month to visit one new class everyday. (I've not taken any yet...) 

I have eaten out everyday with the exception of my second day in Ubud because I had a dodgy stomach. It was very easy to stay home that day because of how I felt, but since then I have been moderately OK. I do wonder if I eat out too much but then I think about going to Borneo, Malaysia and Thailand and I think about the lack of raw restaurants and in Thailand lack of good salad options so I'm making the most of it whilst I can! 

I was in Alchemy and someone approached me and asked if I am Braless and bananas... I was a bit surprised at first! It absolutely made my day though and I thought about Joe Best because he had the same thing happen during his trip to Bali. It's an amazing feeling being recognised, like someone actually watches my channel or views my photos other than my family! 

Her name is Beverley and she looks incredible. I must admit I was shocked when she showed me how overweight she was because she is so slim now, her skin was golden brown and she looked healthy. There were no obvious signs that she had ever been overweight and in my opinion this just proves how powerful a vegan diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables can be. 

We didn't have a lot of time together, but the time we had was quality and well spent. I really enjoyed talking about so many things to do with spirituality, our experiences with raw food, the sexiest raw vegans ;) and life in general. She kindly invited me to visit in Sydney (as well as let me use her yoga class card and gift me food and a knife!) so I may very well end up in the land down under soon! 

I hope that this new friendship will be a long lasting one because we just had so many similarities and the conversations were always interesting. Bev said that I have helped influence her through my channel (and through meeting me) and just how I am trying to live life so I find that to be one of the biggest achievements I have made in life. I just want to help others help themselves. 

Today I went to Sunday Dance and it wasn't as good as last week. I didn't feel the music as much. The music is upbeat but the DJ doesn't mix well and some of the songs he plays just seem to stop dead continually throughout so one minute the dance floor is jumping, the next it's still. 

I had a moment where I just stood still and meditated for a few minutes. It was incredible. I felt the floor bouncing, I could feel the vibrations of the speakers, I could feel people moving around me. When I opened my eyes I just started to well up. I have no idea why. 

That leads me to my sleep last night. I slept so well and I needed it. Yesterday I had a terrible headache. I wasn't sure if it was from the sun, looming thunderstorms or raw food. I slept well and woke up refreshed, but I had such a weird dream. I've not looked into it yet but it's stayed with me all day. I think I still have emotional baggage to work through but it's not family related. It's just strange because I don't feel affected by things anymore, but this dream was about something that happened over 15 years ago and I've never given it much thought until now. 

I plan on going to a lot of meditation classes this week and then some yoga, qi-gong and tai chi. So hopefully I'll learn something useful to help work my baggage out! 

I've just extended my stay in this accommodation until 4th January so I need to either find a new accommodation or visit Seminyak for 6 nights before I get the plane to Borneo, as the place I'm staying is now fully booked. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading. There's so much going on, but I'm trying to keep i1t chilled. Oh today is the first day since I got here that I've not had durian! Shock horror! It'll be nice for a break, I'm definitely getting some tomorrow though! I had an avocado instead and it was so creamy, one of the best I've had and is well up there in the leagues with La Palma. 

Love Jennifer x

Travelling Thursday - Bali 1st week

If you don't know then today is my 4th day in Bali. I left Manchester at 8pm on Saturday and arrived in Bali at 8am Monday (12am GMT). It was a long journey with 2 stops. The first at Abu Dhabi, probably my favourite airport so far because of the interior design and the fact that I can buy lots of different types of dates that have been washed and deseeded! The second stop was in Jakarta. This airport is probably my least favourite! However, the flight from Jakarta to Bali was one of the best flights I've ever had because of the beautiful scenery. 

So far I've had 2 nights in Kuta and 1 night in Ubud. I liked Kuta because it has a long beach, a gorgeous raw food restaurant and it is flat! Ubud has many raw restaurants (but so far my first meal here wasn't the best) but it has so many hills... 

I cycled for 2 hours yesterday from Kuta to Ubud and it was definitely a challenge towards the end. About 30 minutes in I needed a wee, but I kept going. I think that could be part of the reason why I had a bad stomach all night. That and the raw food dips that I had the night before and then having slightly overripe jackfruit between papaya for breakfast and lunch. 

There's so much to photograph but when I'm on my bike it is so much harder to stop start, especially as road users here are crazy! So I'm just posting what I can photograph and the rest will just be in my head. 

Bali has some fantastic architecture and art. It seems like Ubud is home to a lot of artists. On the street I'm staying on it appears that every other shop is selling paintings, sculptures or other arty items. It's brilliant for me as I love being around creative people. 

I have had durian every day since I arrived, which has been awesome. So far I've only had good durian. It's great that the quality seems to be consistent and I've purchased them from 3 different places. I would like to go to a durian orchard but I've been told they grow in the North, which is great but I don't fancy cycling there... It's 32km from Kuta to Ubud, which took me 2 hours so I don't want to imagine how long it would take me to cycle to the top of the island. It's about double or triple the distance on the map, but cycling on the road might be even longer due to twists and turns. 

I am pleased to announce that I didn't suffer from jetlag and I'll be posting a video tomorrow about how I avoid it. 

Tomorrow I will go to the market around 6.30am to see if I can get cheap fruit and durian! Check out my Instagram page for all of my photos (it's hard to upload them onto the blog from my tablet). 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my second week in Bali. 

Jennifer x

Make it Monday

Durian "pasta" sauce

Steven and I went to Wing Yip in Manchester today for some frozen durian. We buy it in a packet, but today they had whole frozen durian (5.55/kg) and fresh durian (10.89/kg). 

Steven had the idea to make a pasta sauce as he said durian tastes cheesy anyway. The result was amazing!

Recipe is here

I recommend this recipe. Although we used lemon instead of lime, I think perhaps it would have been better without lemon, but it was still an amazing taste sensation.

I hope you all get to try this one day!

Jennifer x

Wishful Wednesday

Welcome to Wishful Wednesday!

As it is the start of a new year we now have 365 days (including today) to do something to make our wishes come true by the end of the year!

I wish to eat a lot of durian this year.

Photos from a Google search, I should try to reference where they are from...

And I'd love to be eating it alongside Durianrider ;)

Much love

Jennifer x