Durian. Oh, infamous durian. Banned from buses and trains, inappropriate to eat in mixed company, the durian has one overwhelming feature – its smell. Pungent, cloyingly sweet, with overwhelming tones of rotting garbage, the scent of durian is a uniquely nauseating experience. So overpowering is the smell that at Bangkok’s International Airport, the warnings for traveling with durians are identical to the warnings for checking firearms in your luggage, only the graphics are different.
I have tried durian several times, but I just cannot divorce my taste buds from my olfactory senses. I can only hold my breath while eating for so long. It just tastes exactly how it smells, with the added bonus of being super mushy.