Day:	Nederlands
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Tuesday 11-Oct-2005 (day 3) Continued

When cooking is done, then the sugar is placed in jute and cooled down.

This is the boilingpot with charcoal underneath it.

To provide for a break the guide had inserted a picknick.

We had to ride by becak for about 20 minutes to get to the picknick area. On the way to the area I smelt a very familiar fragrance!!

Immediately I said to Achmed: "Durian????"

He nodded affirmatively and asked if I liked it.

I told him that it was precisely my favorite kind of fruit. Immediately he asked me if I wanted to buy it and whether he had to go back.

Of course I said, "Turn back and buy."

I also saw some delicious "Duku"; this is going to be a feast, I thought!!!

I said to Achmed that he would have to approach the seller and buy me 1 Durian and 5 kg Duku as well. The Durian would have to be ripe and the seller also had to open it up for me because I had no attributes to do that myself.

The seller was already quite happy that he could sell something and was prepared to open up the Durian for me.

The first Durian he opened was not yet quite ripe. So a second one had to be opened, and that one was OK.

Ofcourse we arrived at the picknick field last.

I didn't have to say why we arrived late, because the Durian smell told all.

I kept the Durian for later in the hotel, but the Duku I shared with all the becak guys and my travel companions. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our guide had "Kelapa Muda" (young coconuts) picked and all my companions received one whole kelapa muda each from him. Delicious to drink.

When we had finished drinking the content, the coconuts were halved and offered to us with a chunk of Gula Jawa (a kind of local delicacy).

Kelapa muda with Gula Jawa

After the picknick the rubbertrees were on our programme.

On the way to these trees we passed a local fish hatchery.

All little fish and they were then fried together with chicken and sambal (hot spice).

After seven years the rubbertree finally provides rubber.

They apply a cut in the birch and a bowl is mounted beneath the cut to catch the rubber. The rubber slowly trickles into the bowl.

Every morning the bowls are emptied. When nothing more comes out of a cut, then a next cut is made.

The cut in the birch of the tree does not cause damage to the tree.

For the duration of 40 years one can continue to gain rubber from each tree and than the tree is exhausted and they start removing the tree and a new tree is planted.

After having seen the rubberplantation we went in the direction of the hotel.

Afterwards nicely on my porch with a cold "B" brand of Freddy H. enjoying my Durian.

Since the Durian was very thorny (I am not accustomed to much) Achmed took my Durian to my room. The thorns meant nothing to him, to my opinion he has thick skin. Of course I thanked him profusely for this.

In the evening I ate nasi putih (white rice) with ikan bumbu Bali (spicy fish) in the hotel (what was that Hans??)

Since we would leave for Samosir very early in the morning, everyone quickly went to sleep after dinner.

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