The stinky king of fruits is so popular in Singapore that cabbies have to put up “No Durian” signs to keep their cars smelling fresh. I actually have seen this sign plenty of times, but didn’t really find it out of the ordinary because I was so used to it. I guess that just shows how fobby I am!
(Thanks, Gil!)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hahaha that is hilarious, but pretty smart! That fruit is super stinky! I guess I’m not surprised that this is in Singapore, aren’t you not allowed to chew gum there too or something b/c they are clean freaks??
haha yes, they banned gum for a long time because the government didn’t want the gum marks ruining the pavements. In the recent years, they started allowing the sale of “medical” gum like the nicotine gum. I missed gum so much while I was living in Singapore!!
I went to college in Singapore, and I remember seeing the “No Durian!” signs on the taxis, and like you, I grew used to their presence.
I remember once asking one taxi driver about the “No food/drinks!” sign, because I was holding a little candy (not gum, of course), and he said, “In my cab, having a little bit of candy isn’t a problem; it’s more towards the people who have whole McDonald’s meals or durian or a bowl of laksa that I’m worried about.” Though I feel no one has attempted to eat laksa in his cab (although anything is possible, really), I found the driver’s accessibility and friendly humour relieving that I had a couple pieces of candy without any guilt. I don’t eat candies that often in cabs, though.
To add to the previous comments, I don’t think I really missed gum as much when I was living in Singapore. Before living in Singapore, I used to think of it as the place that doesn’t allow gum. But when I started living there, I completely forgot about that stereotype. Even when I went home to Indonesia during school holidays, I never felt the jonesing for gum. Perhaps I got used to the Singaporean way rather quickly when I lived there.