{"id":3708,"date":"2012-06-06T22:54:36","date_gmt":"2012-06-06T15:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/?p=3708"},"modified":"2012-06-07T09:57:07","modified_gmt":"2012-06-07T02:57:07","slug":"will-the-real-chiang-rai-please-stand-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/2012\/06\/06\/will-the-real-chiang-rai-please-stand-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Will The Real Chiang Rai Please Stand Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[dc]A[\/dc]s of Friday night, my first day in Chiang Rai, I was of the belief that I had unwittingly stumbled into an yet-undiscovered durianopolistic paradise. For, it had been on that night that I had eaten the very greatest Durian ever to have passed my lips; purchased from a smiling and affable vendor at the bustling evening Market.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I had earlier in the day downed some insanely delicious Lychees. Moreover<\/em>, the cukes were great as well. I\u2019d come for the Black and White temples; but was beginning to think that the more fun would be attained in the eating than in the templing.<\/p>\n

But then, over the course of the next three days; that smiling and affable Durian vendor never showed up to the market \u2013 neither morning nor eve. And while there were some other Durian vendors; nary was a single ripe fruit to be found. Yesterday, Tuesday, however, the smiling and affable vendor had returned; at whose stall I discovered two fruits that were close to being ready. Okay; this is good. And they were<\/em> quite good.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another vendor \u2013 this one a smiling and affable lady \u2013 selling the best Watermelons in all of Asia (at least that I\u2019ve tasted); and priced to move, no less. But she\u2019s the only<\/em> Watermelon vendor in town; and, much like the Durian vendor, keeps an erratic Market schedule.<\/p>\n

As for the Lychees, there seems to be an inverse relationship between price and quality. \u201cWell then,\u201d you may be speculating, \u201cjust get the cheap ones! What\u2019s the issue?\u201d The issue is, I must warn you, that the vendors selling the heavenly\/inexpensive Lychees<\/em>: they too display a dismaying tendency to go missing just when they\u2019re needed most (i.e., when I\u2019m frickin\u2019 hungry as, and only the mighty Lychee will truly satisfy).<\/p>\n

As far as the Mangoes and Mangosteens go, I only this very evening found some ripened examples of the latter (so insanely good!), but still no luck with the former. The Longkongs have been reliable and abundant \u2013 but more expensive that those in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

So the jury\u2019s still out on the Chaing Rai fruit scene. But it\u2019s certainly got more potential than I\u2019d have expected for such a fairly small town as it is.<\/p>\n

[dc]N[\/dc]o similar ambiguity, however, concerning its apparent status as Southeast Asia\u2019s Mecca of Metal. Happened, on Saturday after returning from the Black Temple, upon a Battle Of The Bands programme in progress down at the mall. All High School kids, I think maybe.<\/p>\n

\"metal1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anyhow, this band were just killing me dead with the Metal prowess; and so I thought to go ahead and record the next song. But instead, \u2018twas the set\u2019s conclusion; and all that was left to it was for them to stand there repeating, \u201cYes, sir; no, sir; thank you very much, sir,\u201d at the judges\u2019 analyses. The emcee’s reactions are pretty hilarious, I think you’ll agree.<\/p>\n

\"judges\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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