Malaysia (Covid 19 - Transition to Endemic Phase - My Staycation No 20 to Bentong, Pahang) Thursday July 7 2022

2 Bentong Durians D-24 (4.2kilos)
@Rm20 = Rm84 (US$18.70)

Our group's mini durian D-24
feast in Raub (April 2022)
6kilos @Rm20=Rm120 (US$27)

" Eat Well. Live Well. Be Well "

" My Staycation No 20 (Transition to Endemic Phase) free & easy visit (07.45 > 14.30) together with my travel buddies, KF Wong & Thompson Tham, travelling by KF Wong's vehicle from Surian MRT station > Bentong, Pahang; my 53rd outdoor trip after a National Lockdown (Movement Control Order / Emergency) imposed by the Malaysian Government on May 6 2021 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases; a National Vaccination campaign is currently being implemented by the Malaysian Government (Phase 1 started in Feb 2021), as at Feb 5 2022, a total of 22.9 million individuals or 97.9% of the adult population in Malaysia have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations; Malaysia is now under the Transition to Endemic Phase starting from April 1 2022, an exit strategy that could allow Malaysians to return to near-normal life after nearly 2 over years of battling the pandemic "

My travel buddies: KF Wong & Thompson Tham

Total cost incurred: Rm25 (petrol/toll) + Rm6 (food) = Rm31 (US$6.90) per pax

Travel itinerary: SS15, Subang Jaya LRT station > Surian LRT, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya; Surian > Bentong, Pahang (by car, approx 80km one way)

This Bentong day trip (approx 80km from Kuala Lumpur) was initiated by my travel buddy, KF Wong with the main purpose of buying home some durians for our family members to savour ! I had been to Bentong & Raub (Pahang) numerous times over the last 5 to 6 years, mainly with my Klang buddies for day trips ie sightseeing & eating !

Another short & sweet outing to Bentong (Pahang), a country town famous for durians, gingers & taufu puffs accomplished by our travel group in 2022 ! What a wonderful Thursday for our travel group & as for me, a "Durian Thirsty" day indeed having the opportunity to buy home & savour the D-24 (my preference is yellow flesh, bittersweet) & Musang King (small seeds & creamy rich flavours) with our family members in the comfort of our home sweet home ! It's durian season in July so expect to see more durians in the market place - so for the whole of July month, you will see durians durians have a great fall in Bentong & Raub durian farms ! Go for it if you are a durian lover but do not over eat as durian is a "heaty" fruit (the good news is that durians contain no cholesterol) but could cause a big dent in your pocket as this King of fruit ( you either love it or hate it) is pricey to eat & taste ! One small bite of Musang King durian seed with flesh is worth about Rm10 (US$2.20) ! You will be "speechless" if you are fortunate to choose & place a creamy rich flavour small seed Musang King durian into your mouth ! After the 1st bite, surely you will be striving for more .... 

Travel Highlights: 

1) Stopover No 1 - buying D-24 durian from a roadside durian stall in Bentong, Pahang prior to arriving at the Bentong Town; KF & myself bought home a total of approx 10kilos (Rm207=US$46) of D-24 Bentong durian from this stall ! A durian feast with our family members in the evening awaits us after this Bentong visit ! Our travel group also had a small D-24 durian feast during one of our Cuti Cuti (Vacation) Malaysia visit to Raub, Kuala Lipis, Kuantan, Kuala Rompin etc in April 2022 ! 

Bought 2 pcs of D-24 Bentong Durian
4.2kilos@Rm20=Rm84 (US$18.70)

4.2 kilos (Rm84) of D-24 Bentong Durian

2) Stopover No 2 - KF & myself bought home a total of 5 packets of Bentong taufu pok or tofu puffs (fried bean curd) Rm5 (US$1.10) per pack from the Pasar Besar Bentong Wet Market, Pahang 

Bought 3 packets of Taufu Pok
@ Rm5 (US$1.10) per packet

3) Stopover No 3 - Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) near the Bentong Wet Market, Pahang - a small country town in Pahang famous for durian, ginger & taufu puffs ! 

Bentong Musang King Durian
Selling Rm42 per kilo

Bentong Ginger Rm8 per kilo

4) Stopover No 4 - an interesting visit to a home made taufu pok / taufu puffs small factory in 18, Kampung Perting Bentong, Lorong Chan Sang 6, Bentong, Pahang, this factory also has a Stall No30 operating in Bentong Wet Market selling taufu pok or puffs in the morning ! KF bought a pack of Taufu pok (Rm9) home & our group also sampled a pack of freshly-made warm taufu puffs at the factory site ! 

5) Stopover No 5 - Lunch in Yuan Kee Kopitiam, Jalan Chui Yin, Bentong, Pahang, each of us ordered a mix of yong tau fu just to satisfy our taste buds ! 

5) Stopover No 6 - buying Musang King durian from my travel buddy (Thompson Tham)'s contact in Bentong, our group bought a total of 6 Musang King durian (approx 10 kilos @Rm38), also a treat from Thompson's contact giving an opportunity for our group to sample a few pieces of D-24 durian in his home ! 

Our group bought home
6 Musang King durian
+ free sampling of 3 D-24 durian 

Sampling the D-24 durian

Musang King Durian @Rm38 per kilo

Makan Makan (Eating) Saturday July 9 2022 - meet up with my travel buddies (KF Wong & Thompson Tham) over a lunch (a treat from KF Wong) at Sin Hua Little Fried Kopitiam in Ampang Town, Selangor to discuss a forthcoming Cuti Citi Malaysia visit to the East Coast of Johor (Mersing, Pulai Tioman, Kota Tinggi Waterfall, Desaru Beach Resort & Kluang etc) & explore overseas travelling opportunities to nearby Asian countries in 2nd half of 2022. 

Salted egg / minced pork + steamed rice
Rm13 (US$2.90)

Salted fish fried mihoon Rm10 (US$2.20)

Cantonese fried yin yong Rm14 (US$3)

Cendol Rm4 (US$0.90)

ABC iced dessert Rm4.50 (US$1)

Rapid KL train rides from SS15, Subang Jaya > Masjid Jamek (transit) > Ampang & the cityscape near the Masjid Jamek & Ampang Town, Selangor