Bao Sheng Durian Farm

Location : Bao Sheng Durian Farm, Balik Pulau, Penang

Date of Visit : 19.6.2013

URL : www.durian.com.my

The Environment

 It takes about 30min. from George Town up in the hills at a more rural area of Penang, with winding roads and small towns along the way. There is a waterfall near by right before reaching destination. You will see the Bao Sheng wordings in chinese and the first thought was you'd be going off a cliff but don't worry, just turn in when you see the chinese wordings and you will have to go down a steep narrow road to reach the reception area.

They have only 3 home-stay rooms, 2 opposite of each other with a swimming pool in the middle and another isolated down below with a private pool. All pools are filled with cooling hill water so you can go for a relaxing dip at night. We took both the opposite ones and the rooms are quite cozy with air-cond, fan, TV and water heater showers. The only set back is the ants crawling all around the toilet bowl... and erm... just our luck... a snake in the room (will tell more on the story down below) The room on the left is oven warm during the afternoon though... but everything will be OK when night falls :) As a plus point, they are PET FRIENDLY too... You can bring your furkid along for the stay~ Just above the rooms you have the reception or actually it's the owners home and where people try out all the durians. While you enjoy your durian you can relax and feed your eye with the green hill scenery as well~

Tips : Mosquito comes out at about 7pm ~ 9pm (around that la... as told by the farm owner) so you'd probably wanna shut all doors and windows so they don't get a tasty meal while you sleep...

The Fun & Entertainment

Basically... eating Durians... they have many many varieties of delicious durians from different grades, but since you're at the "Durian Farm" I'd really high recommend  that you check their durian schedule on the website and go for the 4 star and 5 star grade durians... trust me... it's delicious!! take it from a person who usually hates durian smell (a.k.a ME - in case you're wondering why I went there, it's because my parents LOVE durians...) My favorite would be the Hor Lor which it taste a bit like wine~ Yummy!! 

They don't have any restaurants or food stall so you'd have to either bring your own food and drinking water or you can ask the owner a.k.a Durian Seng to help "dabao" dinner / breakfast for you if you're spending the night there. Or if you are going in group you can actually borrow BBQ tools from Durian Seng, but you'd have to inform them earlier to check availability and bring your own food and charcoal to BBQ la... 

They don't have Astro or Vision Four channels but they do provide plenty of movies in the hard disk which you can watch all night long! Or just chill and play some simple board game or card games for the night...

Tips : must ask for aluminium foil & bring your own net if possible cause their BBQ stove is very dirty and rusty

Summary 

The durian is definitely worth the trip but we didn't get to visit the farm itself, perhaps you'll need to make a booking with Durian Seng or arrive earlier (We arrived at about 3pm) We had about 5 durians all from 4 star and 5 star grade at only RM150 in total which you'd probably be paying hundreds in George town and yet not as tasty~ But if you're a city kinda person and are not really fond of nature (example : ants, insects, funny taste hill water...) It's probably best for you to stay in the town area and just go up to the farm for the durians... If you'd decided to stay over night, make sure you prepare enough water and some light snacks to get you through the night.

The Snake Story

The snake was hiding behind the extra mattresses laying against the wall in the room. While we walked in and out of the room the whole day no one bothered about those mattresses until night falls and my husband was looking for the TV remote when he saw this 3-4 feet long yellow snake laying quietly. He then walked out of the room calmly and told me "There is a snake in the  room..." I thought I heard him wrong but then he said it again. They then went looking for Durian Seng for help... After sometime, Durian Seng came with his wife with sticks and a big net and they started the catch. They eventually smashed the snake's head as they said the snake has a triangle shaped head which means it will bite people and could be poisonous... They then bagged the snake in a big grey plastic bag while it's still moving and I can still hear it struggling (goose bumps!!!!!) After all is done they cleaned the floor and changed all the bed sheets for us lo...

Durian Seng said the snake was probably there since last night as the tenant before left the door wide open at night while they went to sleep at the other isolated room with their friends... They apply sulfur around the area once in a while but sometimes it's hard to prevent due to the surroundings... 

Lesson taught :1. NEVER leave the door open when no one is around

2. Check everywhere, behind the mattress, under the bed before bringing down all your luggage