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The three of us, my cousin, his friend and I sat quietly in my cousin’s as we made our way along the narrow winding road to Lee’s house. Lee is a friend of mine. He looks after his father’s durian plantation near a small country town.

We found him on his motorcycle waiting for us just about a mile from the town. We greeted each other and then we followed him into a bumpy uneven late – rite road that led to the plantation.

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Majestic Durian Trees

A mile into the densely wooded area we reached the plantation itself. We got out of the car and breathed in the cool country air. Immediately mosquitoes started to attack us. We started hitting them. Also I could hear the sound of insects and other living things of nature.

Lee led us into the plantation. It was situated on the slope of a hill and covered an area of about five acres. I could see huge majestic durian trees all around us. On every tree I could see scores of fruits hanging from the branches.

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Spiky Durians

We walked up the slope among the durian trees. I felt a bit uneasy having so many spiky durians hanging above me. I asked Lee whether the durians might fall on someone below. He replied that the trees were intelligent and such a thing would not happen. However I was not convinced and I avoided walking under any hanging durian as far as possible.

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Eating Durian in a Plantation

A quarter ways up the slope we came upon a shed. Here was where Lee and a friend of his sat and waited for the durians to drop from the trees. They had already collected a number of durians. Lee opened a few and invited us to eat.

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Ah, yes the taste of durian is always a pleasure and it was no different then as we happily ate as much as we could. Eating durian in a plantation surrounded by nature was a new experience to me. It was indeed wonderful.

Crash! I was started by a loud crashing sound that completely shattered the peace of the plantation. Then I realized a durian must have just dropped from a tree. Lee’s friend headed towards the direction of the sound. Soon he returned with a spiky fruit which he nonchalantly tosses among the collected ones.

Never in my life had I ate so much durian as I did on the plantation. Feeling a bit full I had to stop eating. My cousin and his friend seemed to have larger stomachs than I. So they continued to eat.

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Guided Tour of the Plantation

After we had enough to eat, Lee took us on a guided tour of the plantation. It was hard work walking up slope. Things were not made easier by bushes, grass and occasional holes. Anyway it was good exercise after a grand feast. I marveled at the height of the durian trees. Some of them must be about a hundred feet or thirty meters tall.

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Coming down the slope was far easier than going up and soon we were at the foot of the hill again. We thanked Lee profusely. He invited us to come again. We promised we would. Then we got into the car and returned home. It had been a great visit to the durian plantation.