THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512010039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TRAVEL-WISE
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
A COUPLE of leftovers from a recent visit to the Far East . . .
Do you know how the Taiwanese greet one another?
They don't say, ``Good morning, how are ya?'' like we do. They don't have an expression for that.
Instead, they greet each other by asking, ``Have you eaten yet?'' It's a double entendre that means much the same thing - the assumption being that anyone who has eaten (and therefore isn't hungry) must be feeling good.
So I will assume that the dialogue of a typical Taiwanese greeting would go something like this (in Mandarin Chinese, of course).
``Have you eaten yet?''
``Fine, thanks. Have you?''
``Not so good. I think I'll order Chinese now.'' WHAT'S THAT SMELL?
The durian (or durien, or tu-rian; pronounced doo-re-n) is Thailand's fruit of fruit. It has a prickly skin not unlike a pineapple and about the same color, and grows to about the size of a volleyball, although it is oblong.
It also has a distinctive, extremely pungent smell and an unusual taste that people seem either to love or hate - if they can get past the smell. They say it is an acquired taste. I wouldn't know because . . .
It smells something like kimchi (a fermented cabbage) covered with a rancid Limburger cheese-vinaigrette sauce and aged in the body cavity of a dead skunk.
It is highly unlikely that anyone would ever accidentally eat a durian.
I never actually tasted durian, but I have been assaulted by durian, my olfactory sense violated in a most terrible way. Someone brought durian aboard my China Airlines flight from Bangkok to Taipei.
Now, I appreciate off-color humor as much as the next guy - whoopee cushions, plastic vomit, whatever - but there's a place for that. Algebra class, for instance. But it's not supposed to REALLY STINK. And not on a crowded plane from which there is no escape.
At first the flight attendant said she did not know what that insidious smell was. Then she admitted she did know but could not say. Expected a riot, I suppose.
I suspect some thought may have been given to turning back. As it was, we didn't. It was three and a half hours of durian-induced agony. EURO TRAVELING
If you know you're going to Europe next summer and want to travel by train, consider buying your Eurailpass before Jan. 1. That's is, if you're planning to travel before July 1.
The prices on the various passes will increase by between $20 and $70 in 1996. But buyers have six months to validate their passes, so you can travel through June 1996 on a pass bought by the end of 1995.
The savings range from $20 on a one-month, consecutive-day, second-class Youthpass ($598 after Jan. 1) to $60 on an 11-days-in-two-months, first-class Europass ($568 after Jan. 1). Among the dozens of passes, savings can go as high as 12 percent.
For more information on Eurail deals, call (206) 771-8303 for a free copy of Rick Steves' Newscat 47. (He's the guy you see on the Travel Channel and PBS stations.) For Eurail purchases or price information, contact any travel agent.
A similar buy-now-and-save advantage exists for the first time this year with Eurobus, a new bus service that connects 23 cities in 12 European nations with a pass system similar to Eurail's. Eurobus is discounting its passes by 20 percent when they are purchased by Dec. 15; passes must be activated by mid-September. The company plans price increases April 1.
Fourteen-day unlimited bus passes for adults age 27 and older are reduced from $189 to $151; passengers under 27 get the same pass for $111. Other sales prices are one month, $159 (under 27) or $208 (over 26); two months, $200 (under 27) or $260 (over 26); three months, $260 (under 27) or $320 (over 26). Eurobus info: (800) 517-7778. MAKING PILGRIMAGES
The world's most revered shrines aren't all religious sites, according to Weissmann Travel Reports, a trade publication. Many of the most-visited shrines, in fact, are dedicated to departed pop-culture heroes and political or literary figures. Among them:
Graceland in Memphis, home of Elvis Presley. The mansion draws more visitors than any other house in America with the exception of the White House.
The tomb of Chairman Mao, who is on display under glass in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
The grave of rock star Jim Morrison in Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. Fans have painted directional signs on the tombstones of lesser-known people to point the way to Morrison's grave.
The Boat House in Laugharne, Wales, home to poet-playwright Dylan Thomas. Everything is left as it was when Thomas lived there, and recordings of him reciting his poetry are played.
The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, a monument to a talented performer's extravagance. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The Virginian-Pilot,
Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449; phone (804) 446-2904. by CNB